FTO AUSTRALIA

Heya all,

When i bought my FTO, it came with the original illuminated FTO kick plates (least i think they are, look like the originals and lights up in green). They only work intermittently though...Sometimes they'll work fine, sometimes the door will have to be open for 30 seconds or more then they'll come on. Sometimes moving the door (but not closing it) affects the intensity of the light =/

Any ideas on where/what i should look at ? Cheers

(I tried several searches, no luck )

bad ground wire...?

bad power wire?

Sticky door switch?????

Thanks for the replys. I'll check it out tonight. I don't think it's the door switch or the wires though =/... soon as the door opens, the interior lights come on instantly without fail everytime. As for bad wiring...hrmm maybe...hopefully, at least then it's an easy fix. Just weird how sometimes the door can stay perfectly still opened half way then the panel illuminates. Cheers peeps.

either that or the wires are damaged depends how its wired my best bet is check the wires

Got to be a short (broken circuit). Follow the wires. Youll probably find they have been jammed under a bolt or something. Just be careful when you pull up the kick panel not to break off the plastic tabs.....

Yea mine does this too ...

Problem is , all the wires are fine until it gets to under the actual metal part ... im not sure if the metal part is meant to "pop" off or if its glued down ... so im worried about prying it off incase i break it ....

I have same side plates, and the same issue,
I have fixed it,
Nothing to do with wires, or door switch etc...

Go on and open the bottom side panel under the steering wheel on driver side, this is that plastic cover and have the fuses behind,
Follow the cable coming from the side panel and find the electric board that manages the side plates
Very small board, sticked to the car with some sort of plastic velcro type thing, which when you take it off you cant put it back in again,
Maybe you can but needs a lot of pressure which may break the board.
There is a small box type of thing on the board.
Keep the door open, and push down on that box with your finger
I like the middle one, but you can use any finger
Walla, you found the problem,
That box is not tight enough to the board.
Not sure what it does, but it is the problem.
I put couple of 5 cents coin on it for constant pressure and used cable tie to wrap around the board.
Use some Velcro to attach to the car
All finished

Mine never played up since

I have spent easy 2 weeks to find out to problem, taken off all the cables, door switches etc....
Hope this helps to you guys

Really ? .. sh*t ... here i am jiggling cables like an alzheimers patient on a crack binge .... I swear that moving my cables around made the light flick on and off though ...

Thanks heaps for that , ill check it out this weekend ...

And as to getting it off, its stuck on with double sided tape, and will come off - just a standard kick plate beneath

gazeek wrote:Really ? .. sh*t ... here i am jiggling cables like an alzheimers patient on a crack binge ....

HAHAHAHAHA! i like it!

Bump! For a solution that works! Just tried the suggested remedies below today, and it worked like a charm.

Can't say every illuminated kick panel that works intermittently would be fixed by the underneath steps but it worked for me

Few additions:
Once the board was removed, it cannot be reapplied to the factory supplied mounting. I believe what Mitsu have done is use something similar to velcro, but it is permanent in that the plastic is melted together. Just use some quality double sided tape and it should be fine.

The little black box on the board, i believe is actually a step down voltage converter for the the 12V the car supplies. I'm guessing it comes loose over time and thus an intermittent circuit appears on the board.

Thanks mxysxy!

mxysxy wrote:I have same side plates, and the same issue,
I have fixed it,
Nothing to do with wires, or door switch etc...

Go on and open the bottom side panel under the steering wheel on driver side, this is that plastic cover and have the fuses behind,
Follow the cable coming from the side panel and find the electric board that manages the side plates
Very small board, sticked to the car with some sort of plastic velcro type thing, which when you take it off you cant put it back in again,
Maybe you can but needs a lot of pressure which may break the board.
There is a small box type of thing on the board.
Keep the door open, and push down on that box with your finger
I like the middle one, but you can use any finger
Walla, you found the problem,
That box is not tight enough to the board.
Not sure what it does, but it is the problem.
I put couple of 5 cents coin on it for constant pressure and used cable tie to wrap around the board.
Use some Velcro to attach to the car
All finished

Mine never played up since

I have spent easy 2 weeks to find out to problem, taken off all the cables, door switches etc....
Hope this helps to you guys

good work!
told you so
Puzzeled me big time till I find out the problem

mxysxy wrote:I have same side plates, and the same issue,
I have fixed it,
Nothing to do with wires, or door switch etc...

Go on and open the bottom side panel under the steering wheel on driver side, this is that plastic cover and have the fuses behind,
Follow the cable coming from the side panel and find the electric board that manages the side plates
Very small board, sticked to the car with some sort of plastic velcro type thing, which when you take it off you cant put it back in again,
Maybe you can but needs a lot of pressure which may break the board.
There is a small box type of thing on the board.
Keep the door open, and push down on that box with your finger
I like the middle one, but you can use any finger
Walla, you found the problem,
That box is not tight enough to the board.
Not sure what it does, but it is the problem.
I put couple of 5 cents coin on it for constant pressure and used cable tie to wrap around the board.
Use some Velcro to attach to the car
All finished

Mine never played up since

I have spent easy 2 weeks to find out to problem, taken off all the cables, door switches etc....
Hope this helps to you guys

Does it turn off when you close the door? Obviously you can't tell once its closed, but if you press the button to check?

I don't have the same problem, have the same kickplates though, just wondering if by applying constant pressure on that thingo whether it causes it to always be on when the car is on.

turns off when the doors closed

Where can I get new ones of these?

Wow such a useful thread. My passenger side kick plate lights up but the driver's side doesn't. Will have to look into it on the weekend !

Arrrgh I just realized that my driver side map light also doesn't come on when i open the door along with the drivers side kick panel. Fuse? or something wrong with my door push switch? Anyone else have this problem? Seems the door ajar light in the dash doesn't come on in the dash. Seems to work for the passenger side door though

virtumonde wrote:Arrrgh I just realized that my driver side map light also doesn't come on when i open the door along with the drivers side kick panel. Fuse? or something wrong with my door push switch? Anyone else have this problem? Seems the door ajar light in the dash doesn't come on in the dash. Seems to work for the passenger side door though

push switch i assume

Update: I got the push switch fixed on the door whilst getting a alarm installed. The door ajar, map lights and ignition key light lights all work now. But sadly the kick plate is dead.. oh well