Lights coming on all on there own

[Norfolk Jim]

Get Tech II on it as in that they can programme the length of time the 'follow me home' lights stay on for so there might be something in progamming that says 'follow me home' when ignition switch pulled??

Just a thought as you say it happens everytime except on restart.

[sgould]

I've had a look at the wiring diagram.

There are four wires from the Xenon Dipped Beam ballast control box on each side.  Each matching pair connects together, so there are effectively four connections from the dipped beam to the car electrics.

1. Goes to the Main Instrument Unit.
2. Goes to a different connector on the main instrument unit.
3. Goes to a dead end at the diagnostic plug.
4. Goes to the dipped beam relay where it gets a battery feed when the relay is operated.

I think that the two feeds to the instrument panel are for the green "lights on" warning and the blue main beam.  Not sure how the main beam warning is affected by the dipped beam circuit, but it shows diodes and things in the circuit.

The diagnostic plug connection should do nothing, unless you have something plugged in there.  It's under the steering wheel in the parcel shelf.

I suspect that your problem lies in the circuit from the relay.  After all the relay has to work to turn the lights on.  The relay is operated by a current from the DICE unit.  The DICE gets a signal current from the dipswitch stalk on the steering column and does some interpretation before switching the relay to turn the lights on.

I would have to suspect some problem with the DICE unit if you are getting these odd thing happening.  Either the DICE or the signals it's getting.  But if it's a faulty signal why is the light turning off at all?  DICE gets all sorts of different power feeds.  The only one that "fades" is the +54 circuit.  This is the one that makes the internal lights stay on for a bit when everything is turned off.  Are these lights staying on when the headlights do their 3 minute trick?  If so there may be some interaction.  Otherwise I think you need to get the DICE checked.

[Steve440]

I think you have got something there with the interior lights.

I noticed last night when I came home late that it did its 3 minute thing but I had NO interior lights.

Went out this morning and it did not do the headlights but I had interior lights again.

So it seems to do either the interior or headlights, it seems to be doing it as I switch the ignition off. Not sure why it does one or the other?

So it looks like I have a knackered twice unit, what do I need to do? is it just a matter of replacing it with another or does it need programming with Tech 2. Does it need to be a new one or will a used one be OK? Will it need divorcing?

Thanks

Steve

[Norfolk Jim]

I should divorce the car Steve

[sgould]

DICE not TWICE

DICE is Dashboard Integrated Central Electronics

Errors in the DICE generate error codes beginning with the letter B.  You can get the DICE reprogrammed, but beware.  See attachment!!

A new DICE would need to be programmed with the car VIN number.  But the old one does not need divorcing.

You should have the later unit already that doesn't suffer from the aircon problem.


Article : Electronic unit
PartNo : 4712345
Usage : 4D, DICE, NLS-USE 5266267
Also available as exchange unit.
Programmed using a TECH 2 Scan Tool.
Ch. W3070001--
Ch. --X3070000
Order Quantity : 1

[sgould]

If you do need a new DICE, m5_saabcentre have some used ones in their ebay shop for under £20.  I don't know if they are the right spec though, and you will need to programme it as well.

[Audax]

In the current motor when I got it I had no courtesy lights in the bottoms of the doors working, I did a bit of fault finding and cable tracing and wiring testing and worked out that the DICE unit must be at fault, anyhow as I didn't have a spare available at that time I just slapped the old one back in and the courtesy lights magically started working again. I've seen similar before with one that had some kind of fault I can't recall, when probing various things suddenly the headlamp washers popped up and sprayed the front of the car for several seconds so I quickly removed the probe thinking I'd got it in the wrong pin and then everything was back to normal. I'd suggest pulling the DICE out and putting it back in just in case it's a bad connection.

[Max Headroom]

I'd suggest pulling the DICE out and putting it back in just in case it's a bad connection.

We can get faults with 'black boxes' on aircraft, and sometimes those faults can be cleared by 're-racking' the suspect component - which is exactly what Audax is saying should be done here.
Sounds like it has to be tried!

[Steve440]

Great I will try that first before I buy another one, where is it?

Do I need to disconnect the battery before I pull it out?

Steve

[Audax]

It's under the dash, drivers side, remove some torx screws and pull the cover down, make sure you remove the foot well light out and free the diagnostic connector before you pull the cover down. It's up on the right hand side so you may have to find yourself twisting around to find it. It should be a big connector, no need to take the actual DICE out although it may help you to write down a part number (saying that you need to configure them with Tech-2 so you might get stuck replacing it yourself). No need to disconnect the battery if you do this as most times I've ever removed one it has been powered up as I have needed to test the circuits coming to/from.

[Steve440]

Great that is a big help thankyou.

I will have a go at this one day this week as work is quite and I seem to be home early most days.

Will let you know how I get on.

Steve

[Norfolk Jim]

Looking at sgould's post surely that would mean even a second-hand DICE wouldn't work if it says they can't be programmed twice?

I assume the later one as mentioned doesn't have that problem. Quite surprising that Tech II can't reprogramme it again seeing as how complicated the instrument is?

[Audax]

Looking at sgould's post surely that would mean even a second-hand DICE wouldn't work if it says they can't be programmed twice?

I assume the later one as mentioned doesn't have that problem. Quite surprising that Tech II can't reprogramme it again seeing as how complicated the instrument is?

It's only part number 4712345 which was only used in 1998 and 1999 cars and was latter superseded to another number, it's perfectly possible to reuse DICE units.