Parking & Dash Lights Blinking

[ramusr]

Hello,

 

I have a 1999 Forster and, due to the cold weather, needed to replaced the battery. The old (original) battery had become very weak and would not keep a charge for very long. Following this repair the parking (running) lights and dash lights are intermittently blinking. Everything else seems to work fine. When I turn on the headlights, all exterior and dash lights come on as normal, and even though they are not blinking you can still hear the clicking under the dash. I tried pulling some fuses that pertain to lighting and nothing stopped this behavior.

 

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Best Regards,

Bob R

 

P.S. It does this even when the key is out of the ignition.

[NOMAD327]

It sounds like you tripped the security system with the battery changeout. If you have a key fob remote, try turning the alarm off with it. If you don't have a fob, try putting the key in the door or ignition and unlocking it a few times. The code alarm system used on that model always did weird things I couldn't figure out. There should be a button in a recessed ring under the steering column used for programming the system. If not, it was a dealer installed system and the button is on the module itself which is under the steering column. My kids car would sometimes fail to reset even if you went through the procedure, but it did eventually reset itself just by driving for awhile.

[Commuter]

Probably the "silent" alarm feature as Nomad indicated.

 

I've seen other posts where people have indicated that there is a tag with instructions on the battery cable concerning this very scenario and how to clear it. If you have the key fob, simply using it should work.

 

Commuter

[knelson]

Bob,

 

The flashing lights are telling you that you need to "reintroduce" your keyfob door lock transmitter to the transceiver in the car. Press the "unlock" button on the keyfob (while the lights on the car are flashing - battery hooked up) and they'll stop flashing. [i'm 99% sure it's the unlock button - if it doesn't work, then try the "lock" button.]

 

-kurt

[ramusr]

Thanks everyone, this is good information. Since I was standing in front of the car, on my driveway, with the doors already unlocked, I didn't even think of this; but it does make sense. So as not to kill the new battery, I left it at home with the cable off. I'll give it a try later.

 

Thanks again. I'll post back and let you know that this definitely worked.

 

Regards,

BR

[JT95]

Had this same thing happen with my 95 LSi. I didn't think of my keychain remote, as I stashed it somewhere because it was too bulky to carry around in my pocket. Anyway, here's the easy fix I discovered, if you still need help:

 

 

Disconnect the battery. Put your key in the ignition and turn to the ON position. Then, hook up the battery cables again. Problem fixed.

 

 

I figured out that messing with the power supply without a key in the ignition "told" the security system that someone other than the owner was tinkering with the car. The key seemed to "tell" the security system everything was cool and no need to flash warnings.

[mountaintopdrum]

Thanks so much. my battery died on my remote, so the only way to reset was to put the key in the ignition and turn to on, then reconnect the cables. did the trick.