Airbag ecu again

martinflowers

martinflowers

Joined
Nov 8, 2012
Posts
14
Likes collected
6
Location
Stockport
Funster No
23,614
MH
Carthago 138
Exp
caravanning 15years, motor homes since 2012
We have a 2014 Carthage on a Ducato base and have suffered the common air bag ecu issue.
The vehicle battery was replaced 6 months ago and I have just replaced the engine earth strap and added an additional earth strap from the top of the engine to the body, both using tinned copper braid.
The air bag ecu has been to Crash Data who have worked their magic and I am about to refit the ecu, but the report from Crash Data says the air bag ecu tripped at 10volts.
The vehicle had been on hook up at home prior to the airbag ecu failing (we were on our way to Brecon) so I am surprised that the vehicle battery got down to 10volts.
However I have charged up the battery and have checked it with a multimeter on engine start and sure enough the battery voltage drops by 2-2.5volts.
I have taken some advice from an auto electrician who has suggested that the battery may have a dodgy cell, there's an engine resistance issue or I have a lazy starter motor.

Before I go back to the battery supplier, does anyone know what kind of voltage drop across the battery terminals I should expect on starting the engine
 
bethanflowers said:
We have a 2014 Carthage on a Ducato base and have suffered the common air bag ecu issue.
The vehicle battery was replaced 6 months ago and I have just replaced the engine earth strap and added an additional earth strap from the top of the engine to the body, both using tinned copper braid.
The air bag ecu has been to Crash Data who have worked their magic and I am about to refit the ecu, but the report from Crash Data says the air bag ecu tripped at 10volts.
The vehicle had been on hook up at home prior to the airbag ecu failing (we were on our way to Brecon) so I am surprised that the vehicle battery got down to 10volts.
However I have charged up the battery and have checked it with a multimeter on engine start and sure enough the battery voltage drops by 2-2.5volts.
I have taken some advice from an auto electrician who has suggested that the battery may have a dodgy cell, there's an engine resistance issue or I have a lazy starter motor.

Before I go back to the battery supplier, does anyone know what kind of voltage drop across the battery terminals I should expect on starting the engine
Click to expand...
My car battery drops to 9 odd volts during cranking, I think that's pretty normal as it starts perfectly 👍
 
This site contains affiliate links for which MHF may be compensated.
I had the air bag warning light come on the other day. It stayed on for only a short period of time, might this be a similar issue with the battery? It is on a 2016 Ducato auto.
 
the1andonly said:
For anyone paranoid about starter battery voltage, i use this


www.ebay.co.uk

12V Car Battery Monitor via Bluetooth 4.0 Voltage Meter Tester LowVolt Alarm BM2 | eBay

QUICKLYNKS Battery Monitor BM2 Bluetooth 4.0 Device. Battery Monitor BM2 Main Features Battery Monitor BM2 Principle Check battery state on phone APP via Bluetooth 4.0 when device is installed. Use for: All 12V Vehicle Battery.
www.ebay.co.uk

all on the reccomendation of Richard n Ann , one of the few thing s hes got right (sorry i meant many :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...

Now I have had to buy one!!

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This site contains affiliate links for which MHF may be compensated.
DumfriesDik said:
I had the air bag warning light come on the other day. It stayed on for only a short period of time, might this be a similar issue with the battery? It is on a 2016 Ducato auto.
Click to expand...
Familiarise yourself with the battery removal procedure. Including wait times etc
Check earth straps
Check/ clean battery terminals
Remove srs ecu and check for terminal corrosion and or evidence of water.
Charge battery fit new monitor refit as per correct procedure.
 
We have the exact same issue with ours at this moment in time too!
Ours flashed up the warning light issues and a flashing Odometer reading. Spoke to Jean from Crash data and sent it away . Jean made contact with us and stated that the module was in fact perfect and no faults found? Brilliant service! Cannot fault Crash Data.
I was pleased to hear that of course but....can i find the problem? Can I bugger! I have cleaned terminals and refitted battery as per specs . I have had the seat switch gubbins off and on and still cannot get it to show up any obvious fault! I have currently removed earth leads and made up new and fitted them..still no good? The earth cable from the harness to the plug in the module (One at the front of the truck in my case) is so fine i thought it may be faulty or not making a good earth? Added an extra earth cable of a slightly different size and tested again...At my witts end now! Still...Not got a clue?
Funnily enough .....its just passed its mot ( only covered 18k miles on a 2016 chassis with a 3ltr engine ) then the light comes on!
Any one able to enlighten us on what to do next please? Really appreciate anything to be honest. :rolleyes:

Carolyn and Kev
 
I recently had air bag light show on dash,
Luckily for me it was a easy fix. As I recently had work done to up grade my solar power controller , shortly after about week whilst spinning chair on my passenger captain seat.
trapped wires from under seat wire loom and broke wire, just reconnected wire and light went out .
This may help someone ,
as loom wasn’t put back properly after work was completed .
On Fait Ducato .
 
Kev and Carolyn said:
We have the exact same issue with ours at this moment in time too!
Ours flashed up the warning light issues and a flashing Odometer reading. Spoke to Jean from Crash data and sent it away . Jean made contact with us and stated that the module was in fact perfect and no faults found? Brilliant service! Cannot fault Crash Data.
I was pleased to hear that of course but....can i find the problem? Can I bugger! I have cleaned terminals and refitted battery as per specs . I have had the seat switch gubbins off and on and still cannot get it to show up any obvious fault! I have currently removed earth leads and made up new and fitted them..still no good? The earth cable from the harness to the plug in the module (One at the front of the truck in my case) is so fine i thought it may be faulty or not making a good earth? Added an extra earth cable of a slightly different size and tested again...At my witts end now! Still...Not got a clue?
Funnily enough .....its just passed its mot ( only covered 18k miles on a 2016 chassis with a 3ltr engine ) then the light comes on!
Any one able to enlighten us on what to do next please? Really appreciate anything to be honest. :rolleyes:

Carolyn and Kev
Click to expand...
Almost certainly requires a proxy realignment. We had the same issue which was fixed by the dealer although I believe you can purchase an OBD reader which will do it.
 
Just sorted mine a week ago had the warning lights and flashing odometer.
I did an OBD scan and if came up with internal ECU fault gave Crash Data the error code to make sure it was fixable.

The report back from Crash Data didn't show any high or low voltage problems & I know the battery has never been low.

The Airbag ECU is not fit for purpose.

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He we go then...Just put mine back on after it had been off all night because i could not be bothered to fit it again! It had the lights off?
Whuppeee thought I !
Wrong! Five mins of 'to ing and fro ing' and whoosh! Its on again! I Give up! Might need to throw it at a dealership in its entirety! Bugs me that bit! It has to be a connection fault but where God only knows?

Kev
 
Kev and Carolyn said:
He we go then...Just put mine back on after it had been off all night because i could not be bothered to fit it again! It had the lights off?
Whuppeee thought I !
Wrong! Five mins of 'to ing and fro ing' and whoosh! Its on again! I Give up! Might need to throw it at a dealership in its entirety! Bugs me that bit! It has to be a connection fault but where God only knows?

Kev
Click to expand...
Flipping annoying but at least yours failed after the MOT mine failed just before its MOT. Got it fixed quick enough but couldn't get an MOT for a fortnight so it has delayed our next trip, should have been in France now.
 
Similar to buzz1 . The airbag light on our Hymer came on a few days before our MOT was due😒.
A mobile auto electrician diagnosed and repaired for us on the drive.
Seatbelt wires under both captain's seats were damaged.
He replaced all the wires under both seats and routed new ones away from the swivel mechanisms.
£90 well-spent and MOT passed🙂!
 
Ours failed at the dealers before we had even collected our motorhome. Had to wait 4 weeks for a replacement to be fitted under warranty by Fiat.

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My ecu failed on low voltage as I wrongly assumed that the mains charged the engine battery. I have since fitted a battery master and no more problems.
 
Failed at dealership. C’mon Fiat, accept the problem.
I had 2 years of failure. Sent off to Crash Data. I was advised it may be unstable and could fail. I made sure battery was fully charged overnight and stopped short of MOT centre before refitting. That was in March. It passed.
To date the light is not on. However I do something which may help, I never turn key until all lights out. I did 9 weeks without EHU. Sometimes not starting for 2/3 weeks. I do have solar.
I will unplug unit during winter and ensure battery is fully charged before reconnecting unit.
Never had this sort of problem with my Cortina !
 
Larby said:
Failed at dealership. C’mon Fiat, accept the problem.
I had 2 years of failure. Sent off to Crash Data. I was advised it may be unstable and could fail. I made sure battery was fully charged overnight and stopped short of MOT centre before refitting. That was in March. It passed.
To date the light is not on. However I do something which may help, I never turn key until all lights out. I did 9 weeks without EHU. Sometimes not starting for 2/3 weeks. I do have solar.
I will unplug unit during winter and ensure battery is fully charged before reconnecting unit.
Never had this sort of problem with my Cortina !
Click to expand...
The optional extra list on the cortina included a dustpan and brush to sweep up the rust constantly falling off it. It may have been electrically very simple but doubt very many exist any more, having long since crumbled to rust. Yes I enjoyed my cortinas as a youngster, they were cheap enough to be disposable. Buy one run it a year or two till it won't pass the MOT. Scrap and replace it for very little cost. Funny enough, my neighbour still does the same. Buys a car off ebay for £500 uses for 2 or 3 years and gets £200 back in scrap. Very cheap motoring
 
Larby said:
However I do something which may help, I never turn key until all lights out.
Click to expand...
Should be the norm as most handbooks categorically state not to start whilst ecu is doing its checks as it corrupts them.I always wait even on the odd occasion when stalled.
TheBig1 said:
Buys a car off ebay for £500 uses for 2 or 3 years and gets £200 back in scrap. Very cheap motoring
Click to expand...
yes , best way to do it

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Hi all, looks like we have cured our airbag ecu issue.
Seems the quality, battery dealers, own brand of starter battery was the issue. Dropping to a ridiculously low voltage on start up.
We returned the battery and after some discussion swapped it for an Exide AMG.
Not had a problem since
 
bethanflowers said:
Hi all, looks like we have cured our airbag ecu issue.
Seems the quality, battery dealers, own brand of starter battery was the issue. Dropping to a ridiculously low voltage on start up.
We returned the battery and after some discussion swapped it for an Exide AMG.
Not had a problem since
Click to expand...
I hope you have no further problems, but the ecu are not that stable .
 
the1andonly said:
For anyone paranoid about starter battery voltage, i use this


www.ebay.co.uk

12V Car Battery Monitor via Bluetooth 4.0 Voltage Meter Tester LowVolt Alarm BM2 | eBay

QUICKLYNKS Battery Monitor BM2 Bluetooth 4.0 Device. Battery Monitor BM2 Main Features Battery Monitor BM2 Principle Check battery state on phone APP via Bluetooth 4.0 when device is installed. Use for: All 12V Vehicle Battery.
www.ebay.co.uk

all on the reccomendation of Richard n Ann , one of the few thing s hes got right (sorry i meant many :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
this one the same?
 
This site contains affiliate links for which MHF may be compensated.
Sorry to resurrect this thread!

Just want to confirm it's ok to reconnect the battery after removing the SRS ECU to allow re-arming the alarm etc?
 
AdrianSmith said:
Sorry to resurrect this thread!

Just want to confirm it's ok to reconnect the battery after removing the SRS ECU to allow re-arming the alarm etc?
Click to expand...
Yes that’s no problem. I avoided turning the ignition on until mine was refitted but that is not absolutely necessary neither.
 
We are still hoping for a repair to ours yet again!
Given up again now though ! Might have to use LennyHB's idea and have a new one fitted with a warranty. Biggest bug bear (Bare?) who cares?............It does not show up a fault on the test Computer? All the wires have been checked and pulled and tugged but still no idea? Not a clue to be honest?

Kev:rolleyes:
 
Actually it's Bugbear.
Not even hyphenated!

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