hi, my stilo 1.6 dynamic 2002 has a strange issue. i went to start it the other day and it was flat, all manner of warnings flashed up as per low voltage. i got a jump and it started easy and still is. it sometimes comes up loose connection and engine fault amongst others but not allways. battery is quite new, charges well and alternator has been checked. ive checked all major connections and plugs,all seem tight,clean and dry. i walked by it last night on way to pub and noticed the display was on (i had no car key on me and doors were locked) watched it a while then carried on walking. display was off when i came back but have kept an eye on it and it seems to go on and off at its leisure. i assume this is draining the system but how and why? any ideas apprecaited. thanks

I had the exact same problem yesterday, went to start to move it down the drive so my brother could get his car in and it just cranked, then eventually ABS EBD ASR and such like faults came up the dash which you get when the voltage drops too low. I'm not sure if my dash lights remained on when I took the key out though but I did fit new sidelights the day before and I noticed they came 'on' but when the ignition was on and I turned the sidelights on at the stalk they went even brighter. I have interior LED's that glow a bit as well when they're not switched on but it's never enough to cause problems when It's parked up over night, same with the LED sidelights I'm not sure if they draw enough current when parked up over night to cause problems starting it the next day.
There are systems on all cars that receive a constant live feed from the battery when the engine is turned off such as clock and alarm but again I'm not sure of the exact systems on the Stilo that receive a constant live feed so hopefuly someone with more experience will come across this thread. My next guess would be a relay that is stuck open causing constant voltage to your dash, have you checked the relays in the fusebox behind the battery and inside the car in the pull down compartment to the bottom right of the steering wheel?
I used to get a loose connection fault up on my dash which was caused in my case by the red relay in the engine compartment fusebox (relay closest to the battery and to the right, best description I can give as I can't remember the number for it), this relay I believe receives signals from the numerous engine sensors and transmits the signals to the dashboard, so would be a good place to check

hi mark thanks for your reply. disconnected battery last night (didnt charge it) and started it 10 times today and was fine, did have a brake lamp fail warning up but they were ok and it went away. i expect its an annoying intermittent glitch. will see what happens this week, if it plays up wiil get a diagnostic test. thanks again

display on stilo staying on again after turning off and leaving car,multiple warning showing up but none seem to apply apart from maybe loose connection. car starts and runs fine but have to disconnect battery so the dash display dosent flatten it,a little inconvenient. havent changed anything just inspected everything i can find including d4. any ideas? could it be a relay? if so which one? thanks

jammyherbert said:

display on stilo staying on again after turning off and leaving car,multiple warning showing up but none seem to apply apart from maybe loose connection. car starts and runs fine but have to disconnect battery so the dash display dosent flatten it,a little inconvenient. havent changed anything just inspected everything i can find including d4. any ideas? could it be a relay? if so which one? thanks

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What exactly are the warning lights that are being flashed up on your dash? Do you get them when you start the car up or is it once you disconnect the battery and the dash stays on? When do you get these messages?
Do the dials (tacho, speedo, fuel, temp) work normaly? Are the needles moving in ways that they shouldn't or don't seem accurate?
I think there's a guide somewhere under the Stilo guides for removing the dial cluster, try that and get behind it and try tracing the wires back to the wiring plug. I'm not sure if the dash is plugged into the body computer of the Stilo I'm only assuming seeing as it's in that area, but definately try tracing back the wires and see where that leads you
It's a constant live feed being received that's for sure, just where from, thats the question

thanks for reply again mark. not had time to dig any further yet. the warnings come up as soon as i connect battery now and stay on until i disconnect it. iit comes up many things ,loose connection,engine fault,alternator,brake light,abs,asr,high temp,power steering etc etc,all with 3 beeps. when its settled down and running its just the airbag warning (which ive not sorted in over a year) and a warning triangle ( but not always) car starts and runs fine. when i turn it off it carrys on with all the above warnings again untill i disconnect. hopefully have a look this weekend,any ideas appreciated,thanks.