tdwindustries Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 So - a quick version if you are in a hurry:Car has intermittent electrical fault and dies completely and will not move anywhere. It clears itself and acts like nothing is wrong. Whats wrong?Long version:It may well all have started when I had my little accident in June. The ABS fault came up as I landed on the front offside wheel. When it was repaired the garage said the ABS was not showing any faults. Sure enough I went for some months with no problems.Two months ago I drove to work, about 20 miles, and parked. At lunch time I started the car up and the ABS warning sound and light came on with a flashing handbrake sign. This indicates the ABS isnt working and a short test on the road confirmed it didnt work. Next time I started the car the fault had cleared and all was well.This went on and off for a few months. Also occasionally the battery light would come on. Nothing serious I thought so took it to VW who told me it was a power supply fault to the ABS system (Snoop also saw this code on VAG COM). Anyway, 3 days ago I drove the car 30 miles, parked and the airbag light came on, then all the elctrics died and the car cut out. I called the AA who tested the alternator and found no current to the battery. I took it to the garage (local) they tested the alternator, and found nothing wrong, producing 13.8 volts and working fine. Drove home 10 miles or so and worked a treat. Yesterday was MOT day. I took the car down to my test station and as soon as I got there and turned it off it died, would not start again. No power at all in the battery. They charged the battery and tested the alternator. It was giving 11.01 volts reading. This is a bit low. So, I replaced the alternator.Last night I drove 150 miles to Wales and half way along the M4 the ABS light came on. I stopped and tried to clear it by restarting (sometimes works) but it didnt clear. I got within 2 miles of my parents house and put full beam on. The dash lights and stereo died. I turned off full beam and they came back on again. One headlight stopped working and dash went off, wipers stopped. I got home just. The whole electrics died when I arrived and then turned the key to turn it off and the car died. It would not start. Every fault light was flashing and beeping and it was dead..... This morning, it starts first time, with no fault.I am taking the alternator back and calling an auto electrician. But as its so intermittent I dont see what he can do!Any ideas?So far I have thought its the ECU, a bad earth, a shorting somewhere or the main wiring loom - maybe its got water in it?PLEASE HELP! and merry christmas one and all!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigz™ Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 Sounds like a split in the Loom somewhere mate.It wont be a loose connection as the garage {b]should have check all these when fitting the alternators.Other than splitting the Loom open and checking each wire its gonna be tricky to find.When not replace the cableing from the alternator to battory, battory earth and engine to earth.If it doesnt cut out again, you'll know its the loom you need to split open.Other than that I dont know mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigz™ Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 Happy chrismas Tim style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdwindustries Posted December 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 cheers andi - where would i find the loom. sorry to be dumb but electrics aint my thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigz™ Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 I wouldnt touch the loom mate.Just run an extra cable from each of those points I said, then if it cures it you can just replace the wireing harness, or get someone to split it down and repair it.But try the extra cables first as it may not be that.These type of faults are a pain in the ass buddy as theres no simple fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p88bel Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 sorry for probs ur having ill check it with mate at vw, as soon as.Id a simular prob with a orion it died when flung round corners, i worked it down to a bad earth on chassis, never worked out which though i took all off gave em a good scrubbing and new bolts etc then it was fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fyggy Posted December 28, 2004 Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad.gif" /> @ all this Timmy .. are you any nearer to sorting it out?I'm no electrician but Fyggy has kept me busy with electrical faults, at a guess I'd say it's something to do with the loom.. when you had the accident did they do any welding as they could have shinged the steath on the wires so they're shorting out (that's assuming the loom runs down that area..??)..But yeh it's difficult when it's intermittent as you'll take it into the auto leccy and behave, so they say they can't find any fault and then as soon as you're a mile up the road from there it'll be off dying again..Anyway, dunno if any of that helps any.. just hope you get it sorted soon style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /> Keep us posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slyclone Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Hi mate, just had a quick look at your problem, dont know if anyone else has said this but... When welding cars the battery should be DISCONNECTED completly, I saw you said that your car had a bit of an accident, basically if it was welded and the battery was still connected an electrical surge could mess up the ECU. It would be hard to prove that the battery was connected when any welding was carried out but if there is a problem with the ECU and `no-one` knows what has caused it I would say there is a 99% chance that is what it is. If you go back to the garage and tell them this and sound like you know what you are talking about they might come clean, unfortunatly there are still a few boneheads in this trade who give the rest of us a bad name. I hope this helps in some way and that your problem gets sorted ASAP. Any more help needed just `e-mail` me. Buzz_1658@Hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdwindustries Posted January 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2005 cheers for all the help . . . i have had him in bits (the lupo) and found moisture in lots of electrical places. Checked the charge direct from the old alternator and its fine. I have given up and got it in at the auto electricians tomorrow... so will keep you updated!no welding done just bent all the front steering and suspension.... cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdwindustries Posted January 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 its an ECU fault.The GTI alternator output current is controlled by the ECU.... so needs to go to VW for some debugging. any ideas how much a new ECU is ?!?!?*!*!>!>! style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":P" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" /> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigz™ Posted January 4, 2005 Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 :shock: good luck buddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty b-road Posted January 4, 2005 Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 any ideas how much a new ECU is ?!?!?*!*!>!>! style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":P" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />I'll start the bidding at £1000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdwindustries Posted January 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 535 plus vat! cheers lupogtiboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdwindustries Posted January 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 AHAit might be as simple as an alternator voltage controller (£50) .... so apparently there are two types of GTI alternator:SMART system which is controlled by ECU and `non-SMART` which uses this controller - any ideas what my car would have and how I would tell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdwindustries Posted January 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 anyone got a spare ECU? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
payna Posted January 4, 2005 Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 havent got a clue what it could be, sorry!the same sort of thing happened to my brothers old car, and i think that was down to bad earth if i remember rightly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabo Posted January 6, 2005 Report Share Posted January 6, 2005 May sound stupid but have you checked the belt which drives your alt?I wouldn't bet on ECU if it's intermittent- computers either work or not (unless thye have hard drives, active cooling and windoze installed that is )bad earthing and moisture around/inside ECU or alt sound likely...keep us updated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdwindustries Posted January 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 Its fixed!Was a loose connection under the batter holder in the engine bay!Well fingers crossed anyway.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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