Electrical Issues

Chenti · Post by **Chenti** » Tue Nov 13, 2018 2:55 pm

Hello All

Weird stuff happing with my 3.0si electrics.

Heated seats. Was on then off this morning, Just tried now and the button lit up for a few seconds, before turning off fully. I’ll check the fuse/box later.

Airbag. Light on. Last week was randomly on. I’ve moved the seat positions so maybe that’s caused it.

Stereo. Working now. Today started turning off, though if I pressed the on button it would turn on.

Engine Light (Not the EML lamp) came on last Friday night though Saturday onwards not lit up.

Interior Courtesy lamp flickered on/off on the way into work. Not seemingly a problem right now.

So all in all some weird random stuff going on.
I’ll check for loose cables/connectors later, though does anyone have suggestions of where to look at historic issues ?

My road to work is now a little bumpy. I’m wondering if it’s shook itself into this random nature of issues

Thanks for any thoughts
Vince

markplant · Post by **markplant** » Tue Nov 13, 2018 3:43 pm

Dying battery can cause all sorts of electrical issues

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Tue Nov 13, 2018 3:48 pm

First thing I would do is check how old your battery is and if it's more than 5 years or has been accidentally discharged below 11V I would replace it. The E85 is really sensitive to a duff battery.

Once that is eliminated, you will find that most of the ancilliary items are controlled via the CANBUS so if you have corruption on the data lines it can cause all sorts of weird issues.

Has the car been left out in a shower with the roof down recently? If so, prime candidate for CANBUS corruption is the air bag control module. Lots of info on that here... viewtopic.php?f=3&t=108370&hilit=airbag

Chenti · Post by **Chenti** » Tue Nov 13, 2018 9:53 pm

Thanks for the heads up on Battery issues and link on CANBUS, I'll check the date on the Battery (if there is one, I have no record from previous owners) and most likely just swap it out for a new one to eliminate it anyway.
Anyone got recommendations / links to the best battery to get?

TIA Chaps

Mr Tidy · Post by **Mr Tidy** » Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:16 pm

Sorry to hear that OP, but failing batteries do seem to cause all sorts of random issues on these cars:- viewtopic.php?f=3&t=109798

And yours may well be the original - mine lasted 10 years!

But it died while the car was in the garage for diagnostics (probably related) and my BMW Indy fitted an Exide - he said that is what the OEM ones were. I was surprised, but then it dawned on me that as E85s/86s were built in Spartanburg it's not really surprising at all!

Bosch seem popular with forum members - just make sure what you choose fits in the box and has the terminals and vent the right way round!

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Wed Nov 14, 2018 1:13 am

Varta E44 silver for the win... https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3343574911

Chenti · Post by **Chenti** » Fri Nov 16, 2018 10:39 pm

ph001 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 14, 2018 1:13 am Varta E44 silver for the win... https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3343574911

Thanks for the link. Have now purchased !

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Sat Nov 17, 2018 7:41 pm

Good choice!

Chenti · Post by **Chenti** » Sun Nov 18, 2018 1:45 am

ph001 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 17, 2018 7:41 pmGood choice!

Will fit in the week. Fingers crossed elec gremlins disappear!

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