Can anyone identify this please? (1 Viewer)

[Allanm]

whatever this is, there seems to be a relay in there constantly chattering away and flashing the glow plug light on the dash.
It's a Swift Royals built on a 1997 Fiat Ducato 2.5tdi
Don't think I have every had a Fiat without some electrical gremlins....
It's the grey box, top left above the battery with red and brown wires on the left and a group of wires coming out bottom right

 

[pappajohn]

Could be the glow plug relay timer module......maybe got moisture in it as the lids not on properly.

 

[Allanm]

That sounds right, I had pushed the lid up trying to see what's inside, its back on now. It started last week, driven 700 odd miles since with it flashing, bloody annoying!
We are in France now, heading back to the UK at the weekend, I'll have a good look at it then. Could be a bad earth somewhere

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[pappajohn]

You know its flashing so for now stick a bit of tape over to mask the light.
Not a cure obviously but it'll save your sanity.

 

[Allanm]

I took the bulb out...........

 

[tonyidle]

I took the bulb out...........

I'd take off the red wire & insulate it until it's fixed. If it's powering the glow plugs on each flash it is likely to shorten their lives considerably.

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[gus-lopez]

I'd take off the red wire & insulate it until it's fixed. If it's powering the glow plugs on each flash it is likely to shorten their lives considerably.

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What he said.
But you will have to reconnect every time you start from cold
& @pappajohn is correct that it is part of the glow plug system

 

[Allanm]

Well, I thought I had fixed it. I took out the battery, cleaned the terminals and checked the wiring in the corner. I found a loose earth wire, cleaned it up and reconnected it, reinstalled the glowplug light bulb then started the engine. No flickering glowplug light and the engine temp gauge showed a true reading ( it was too high before).
So, we set off towards Rouen and 75 miles later got to the long tunnel the other side of the river, turned the lights on and the damn glowplug light started flickering again together with the temp gauge going up
Bugger!
Anyway, it carried on flickering till we got to Wissant.
I am pretty sure it is an earthing issue, but don't have the right tools ( socket set) to take off the main earth strap and clean it up.
Our crossing is Sunday am, anybody passing through Wissant with a socket set?

 

[Jaws]

Well, I thought I had fixed it. I took out the battery, cleaned the terminals and checked the wiring in the corner. I found a loose earth wire, cleaned it up and reconnected it, reinstalled the glowplug light bulb then started the engine. No flickering glowplug light and the engine temp gauge showed a true reading ( it was too high before).
So, we set off towards Rouen and 75 miles later got to the long tunnel the other side of the river, turned the lights on and the damn glowplug light started flickering again together with the temp gauge going up
Bugger!
Anyway, it carried on flickering till we got to Wissant.
I am pretty sure it is an earthing issue, but don't have the right tools ( socket set) to take off the main earth strap and clean it up.
Our crossing is Sunday am, anybody passing through Wissant with a socket set?

If it came on when the dash lights came on it is more than likely an earth to the dash !

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[Hymie]

I've had the same thing for about 18 months Alan, only happens occasionally.

My Current solution is to stop, turn off engine for about a minute then turn ignition back on for about a minute then re-start the engine.

This works most times, although it kept flickering all the way from Zaragoza to close to twin lakes in May, even though I stopped a few times to try and clear it.

At least I know what that flippin box is for now, been wondering about that for the last 3 years.

Hymie

 

[Allanm]

Double post. Even the internets playing up now....

 

[pappajohn]

Double post. Even the internets playing up now....

You're not with BT by any chance.
My connection is dropping every few seconds at the moment.

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[Allanm]

When I turned the engine off today, the needle on the temp gauge was still in the middle. I turned off the sat nav and dash cam, plugged into the 12v socket on the dash, and the needle went down. The front lights are also very dim so I am assuming that the culprit is the earth strap on the chassis under the bonnet
I found my socket set under the bed this evening so will clean up the earth terminal tomorrow
I don't seem to be getting much of a charge to the leisure battery either, the battery is pretty new but it hasn't been charged much in the last couple of days, the battery gauge goes gown quickly but the cab battery is charging fine.
I also noticed at the toll, the temp gauge needle moved up a bit when I lowered the leccy windows
Something's amiss!
(We are in Wissant using 3G but I used to have BT broadband and it was rubbish)

 

[Allanm]

Well, I've run out of ideas now. Cleaned the earth lead from battery to chassis, it was already clean though. No improvement.
Remade the earth cable that I did a couple of days ago. Still the same.
Took Tony's advice and disconnected the red wire from below the unit, still the same.
Went to get some diesel and shopping, got to Auchen in Calais, turned the engine off....still running. Eventually located the disconnected wire from the solenoid on the diesel pump and was able to turn it off
Took the dash apart and checked as much wiring as I could but nothing seemed to fix the chattering.
We will be back in the U.K. Tomorrow so will probably have to get a garage to look at it.

 

[Jaws]

Just try running a new, separate, earth from the dash to chassis ,, After all, you aint got a lot to lose

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[Allanm]

I am sure you are right about the dash earth being the culprit, if only I can find the connection . Any idea where it might be.
Found another earth strap connected to the starter motor. It was a bit mucky so I gave it a good clean and reconnected. Still no good

 

[Jaws]

Sorry .. Cannot help with the location of the original one..Been a LOOOONG time since I had a pre 2006 fiat dash out..
Just jogged a memory though..
I seem to remember a bulk head plug.. Went through the fire wall connecting the engine bay to the cab ( though that might have been an 87 model )
Might be worth having a snoot for that ? If there is one, pull it off, a quick squirt of ACF-50 in all the holes and repeated plug out plug in might just be the cure.
It cannot be hard to find the earth on the dash loom though.. Just cut in to the bugger and run a new wire.. If it works, great.. If not.. well you can simply rejoin the old wire and put a sleeve over it..

 

[Allanm]

I've had the dash out a few times. There are 5 or 6 plug in connectors on the back and the speedo cable. I have had all these off and back on again, all the connections are clean and tight. I was wondering if there is an earth stud somewhere on the bulkhead behind the dash that any earth wires go to but can't see anything. The wires to all these connectors are wrapped in foam tape and all disappear into a larger loom.

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[Jaws]

Have a look at the actual bulk head for plugs Allan

 

[Allanm]

Thanks, just travelling back on the tunnel, will have a good rummage around when we get back to my Parents

 

[Allanm]

Well, I think I have done it. I took off every earth strap I could find and cleaned everything. I am pretty sure the culprit was the main strap from the battery to the chassis ( that I had already cleaned) I put clean washers between the now shiny cable ends and a new bolt. Cleaned out the threads in the chassis and bolted it up.
No more chattering, bright headlights and everything works quicker.

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[Jaws]

Brilliant news ! Well done Allan

 

[gus-lopez]

On all the earlier Fiats, mine included , there is an earthing point with about a dozen individual cables all on it that then has a connection to the battery .I lost the earth to the wipers a long while back & never managed to find it. Run a new one in , far quicker.

 

[Allanm]

I found 2 earth points, one on each inner wing and both had 4 or 5 individual earth wires connected and it appears it was the drivers side, under the battery that was at fault.
It caused all sorts of problems, temp gauge reading too high ( the needle even wound itself almost all the way round when I switched the engine off this morning) , glowplug light and relay chattering, slow wipers, slow windows, dim headlights, I even noticed the oil pressure light glowing when I pressed the brake pedal this morning while the ignition was off and the engine refused to turn off when I arrived at my parents this afternoon, till I had turned the fridge off!
After scouring the Internet, it seems to be a very common problem with the older Ducatos

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