Indicator intermittent fault

[TomE]

The front left indicator on my 2011 Evora S is on the blink ... in the wrong way.

I noticed yesterday it didn't flash when I unlocked the car, so tested it with the ignition on and it was unresponsive - for turn signal, hazards and lock/unlock.  An hour later it was working fine.  Then again today it has stopped working. 

A search on here has yielded a couple of threads about the headlights and sidelights, which suggest the whole front light unit may need to be replaced - over £1000 and on back order: accessing the inside of the headlight assembly and failed headlights/sidelights

It looks like a cheaper fix has been devised for the side light.  But I can't find much about the indicators.  Has anyone had any experience of this problem and things to try before taking the whole assembly out?  Has anyone managed to fix the assembly rather than replace?  The replacement units don't have the Lotus logo, so if possible I'd rather fix than replace.  I would consider attempting a DIY solution but am time-poor at the moment.

My MOT is due by 25th and I'm supposed to be taking the car to Goodwood for the Members Meeting on 29th.  So ideally I'd like to somehow get it through the MOT rather than having it off the road while awaiting a replacement.

[agentdr8]

If it's the turn signal PCB itself, then you'll have to remove the headlight assembly and open it up to determine if there's an issue.

On the spare assembly I had purchased off ebay, I found the PCB power connector had come partially undone from its solder pads. It could be a similar failure in yours. If you plan on fixing it yourself, you'll probably want to drill out the rivets holding the heatsink to the PCB, and remove it. Then heat up the backside of the PCB (aluminum-backed) on a hot-plate or with a heat gun/hair drier, then try and repair the connector. 

[TomE]

An update on this.  Despite working OK when I left the car at the garage for it’s annual MOT test, it decided to fail during the test and stay stubbornly dead.

Booked to be looked at by my local Lotus specialist, just as the whole of the UK went into Coronavirus lockdown and my booking was cancelled.

i tracked down a local auto electrician who was prepared to try opening the light assembly and fixing the fault.  Headlight removed and after a couple of hours he’d sorted it.  As suggested above, the solder joints on the power connector had broken and just needed re-soldering and the unit re-sealing.  Cost of £110 for the indicator plus labour to remove and refit the headlight assembly.  A replacement unit would have been £1200 + VAT.  Silverstone  have experience of fixing the sidelight LEDs and quoted me £500 if I could get the assembly to them.

One puzzling aspect to this is the indicator appeared to have been repaired before.  The casing had previously been broken, I assume while trying to open it, and the indicator PCB replaced.  So when my repairer came to open it he only had to unseal the front tip of the casing where it had previously been broken. You can see the line of the break in the attached picture.

I've had the car for 9 years and before that it was a dealer demo. This must have been done back then - odd not to have replaced the whole unit under warranty.

If you’re interesting in fixing one yourself, the Silverstone sidelight replacement pictures are helpful: https://shop.lotussilverstone.co.uk/products/evora-sidelight-led-disc

My repairer was http://www.jmorganandson.co.uk in Dorking, Surrey.

[steamdriven]

On 02/04/2020 at 14:17, TomE said:

One puzzling aspect to this is the indicator appeared to have been repaired before.  The casing had previously been broken, I assume while trying to open it, and the indicator PCB replaced.  So when my repairer came to open it he only had to unseal the front tip of the casing where it had previously been broken. You can see the line of the break in the attached picture.

 

Gosh- someone made a real hash of that casing.  I've opened up a few of these units and find that either baking the unit in a home made cardboard box oven, or directly heat-gunning the rim seal, soon enables the lens to separate from the housing and gives plenty of access for internal repairs. re-assembly is the reverse process, heating the sealant to press the lens back in place and get a decent water tight seal.