Technical ESP/ASR Failure and loss of power, Fiat Ulysse Help please

[Debussy14]

Hi everyone,
Thank you for allowing me to join the forum. last week, I purchased a Fiat Ulysse Prestigio 2 litre Diesel 03 Model 54000 miles on the clock (private sale). I was really happy with the test drive, then drove it a couple of hundred miles home without fault. About 500 yards from my front door, a warning message popped up on the computer, with corresponding warning triangle on on the dash: 'ESP/ASR Failure'. I also noticed a considerable loss in power. When i turn the engine off, the warning disappears but within 5 mins of start up, it reappears, again with loss of power (the car will not exceed 74 mph and very sluggish). I read in the hand book that the system can be disengaged by pressing the ESP on/off button. I have done this; a message pops up saying 'ESP deactivated' but unfortunately i continue to get the original 'ESP/ASR' failure warning on computer within 5 mins and once again the car looses power until i restart. (even though the system is supposedly deactivated).
I would be extremely grateful if anyone could shed some light on this, I love the car, but am extremely worried that its gonna be expensive! Kind Regards, G

 

[The Bohemian]

Hello, and welcome to the forum, and to the joys of Fiat ownship! I have had this trouble, (amongst many others) for the past 3 months. I would firstly try the swirl valve actuator, (about £25 for a new one, Peugeot or Citroen dealers can supply them if you don`t have a Fiat dealer near) then if that didn`t cure it, the airflow meter, £35 off ebay. There are various posts on the forum telling you how to replace both if you do a search. Good luck, hope one of these will solve your problem, Brian.

 

[Debussy14]

Hi Brian, many thanks for your helpful reply. I'll certainly consider the parts you mentioned. Following some other related threads, I have also learnt that the ESP/ASR problem could also be related to: low voltage from the battery, worn break pads, loose cabe to ESP unit, faulty brake light switch, moisture in ESP unit, or 'just one of those things that happens from time to time'! I was rather hoping it would be the later, but unfortunately the loss of engine power once the fault message pops up (all of the time!) makes the car unusable on the motorway.
I'll keep you posted if i get to the bottom of it, Kind Regards,
G

 

[Debussy14]

Hello, and welcome to the forum, and to the joys of Fiat ownship! I have had this trouble, (amongst many others) for the past 3 months. I would firstly try the swirl valve actuator, (about £25 for a new one, Peugeot or Citroen dealers can supply them if you don`t have a Fiat dealer near) then if that didn`t cure it, the airflow meter, £35 off ebay. There are various posts on the forum telling you how to replace both if you do a search. Good luck, hope one of these will solve your problem, Brian.

Hi Brian,
I took my Ulysse to Fiat, who plugged it into to their computer which revealed no faults with the esp/asr system!, only past faults with faul injection system. They cleared all error messages from the system but alas, 2 miles up the road: same problem! I was wondering, you said you had the same problem, I presume you have an Uysse?, i read that similar esp/asr failures are found on other fiats,
Kind regards,
gary

 

[The Bohemian]

Hi Gary, yes I unfortunately have a 2003 Ulysse 2.2 prestigo diesel. I`ve had all the error codes cleared, ESP/ASR fault, and engine management light cleared, but car still very sluggish until it hits 2300 revs approximately, then it takes off! Diagnostics not showing any faults now, so mechanic is baffled. Pity, cause its a brilliant car only for this, I`m going to try another air flow meter from a friends Peugeot, just in case the new one I bought may be faulty, (clutching at straws time). I`m about £700 down at the minute with still no cure, don`t mind paying to get car fixed, but not to be told "we can`t find anything wrong!" I`ll keep you posted if I get any further results, best of luck, Brian.

 

[Debussy14]

Hi Brian,
I found these posts that me be of use to you, again related to esp/asr and loss of power:

'Finally, the garage has been able to sort out the problems with my 2.2HDI.

After more than 6 months and 17 visits to the garage - they discovered a loose/broken vacuum pipe at the intercooler which has caused all the ESD/ASR Failure and Anti Pollution Failure. The car is finally running perfect !'


'Now all sorted. I took the car to a diesel engine specialist and they cleaned two sensers (one was the turbo boost apparently) that were 'gummed up' and this has solved the problem.'


Hope this helps,
gary

 

[Debussy14]

Hi Brian,
I cannnot seem to find any guides on replacing the swirl valve actuator on the Ulysse, I wonder if you could forward me a link?
many thanks gary

 

[The Bohemian]

Sorry Gary, don`t know how to forward links, I`LL get my son to try it later. I seen your post on Eurovan forum, if you type in swirl valve in the search facility at the top there`s a post by Pug 807 that might lead you to some useful advice. Let me know how you`re getting on, I`m still waiting and hoping!! Cheers, Brian.

 

[Debussy14]

Problem Solved??!!! (I Hope!!!)
Hi Brian,
Thanks for your reply. So now my car seems to be behaving perfectly, i have covered at least a couple of hundred miles since the previous problems. So this is what I did:,,,,,,
Very little as it turned out! , I removed the battery and recharged it fully over night, i followed the instructions for fully resetting the car's software, i.e, after reconnecting the battery, just let the car idle for a full 5 mins without touching anything. I then fully turned the steering wheel from side to side (to reset ESP/ASR steering geometry sensors). That was it. Several journeys, and cold starts later, no further problems! who knows, was this the solution?, The fault may have been related to the swirl valve, I checked it after doing the above battery recharge, it was moving normally when reving (whether it had been sticking previously, , I cant say. As I mentioned, the fault did clear once the engine was warm, whether this had something to do with low voltage when cold, or the swirl valve (or something else) sticking and then freeing up when the engine was warm due to expansion, who knows?
But what ever, the car seems A1, no faults showing and full power. Fingers crossed! I'll keep you posted.
I hope you are making some progress with your car, i'll keep following the threads and forward anything useful to you,
Good luck, Gary

 

[The Bohemian]

Hi Gary, glad to hear your good news. I tried it myself, but at the moment no difference, but I`ll drive it for a while then try it again, at this stage I`d try anything if I thought it would help. Where did you get that tip? Best wishes, Brian.

 

[Debussy14]

Hi brian, I Googled esp/asr failure, which led me to a thread on this forum (somewhere!) where a few people had cited 'low voltage' as problem likely to cause this error message necessatating a full overnight charge and a 5 min idle afterwards (without touching any controls, so as to fully reset ecu unit) , Also someone in the forum mentioned recllibrating the steering geometry by turning the steering wheel fully one way then the other. I did both of these, and car stilll fine since (fingers very firmly crossed!!) I suppose you have the 'elearning manual'; there's a section on all fuel/ engine /air sensors and detectors, could be a process of eliminating them all unfortunately,
Keep me updated on any progress, Good Luck!
G

 

[Debussy14]

Hi Brian,
Problem back !
hope you've sorted yours!
Gary

 

[poggy]

Bohemian, if you car runs ok for the rest, poor performance under 2k revs is normally an issue on the EGR valves if the engine has them. I believe all euro 3 onwards engines have them.

Had same issue on my Land Rover Discovery 3 so I blanked them off at a vost of £3.

Well worth checking.

 

[Debussy14]

Hi all,
I am still having the same loss of power (limited to 3000 revs/esp/asr/polution warning error messages when my car is cold. I have noticed that the car only does this when I lift my foot off the accelerator when approaching junctions for example. Bizarly, I have now noticed that I can prevent the faults from happening if I keep the clutch engaged when my foot is off the accelerator??. I was thinking that maybe the problem was related to a sesor on the accelerator pedal but this doesnt explain why the problem then clears once the car is warm after about 25 mins? and only reoccurs once the engine is cold again?. I wonder if anyone has ever encountered this problem under similar conditions?
Kind Regards, Gary

 

[atique]

I have the same problem as well. Especially since october since the cold weather the antipollution fault and the ESP/ASR failure lights go up. There is a loss of power. When the car heats up after about 20 minutes the ESP fault no longer appears only the antipollution fault light, but there is power now. I took it to the mechanic (official Fiat) but they haven't been able to even diagnose the problem. They suspect it might be either the particle filter or the EGR valve. Somebody else on the forum wrote that it was some kind of vacuum hose that was broken and it was a simple as that. Anyway I will write an update when I find out.

 

[The Bohemian]

Hi folks, just a quick update on my Ulysse. After a lot of testing and code scanning, my mechanic diagnosed no. 1 injector as being faulty, especially when cold or idling, would stick. The solution? Injector siezed, only remedy have it drilled out, decided to do all 4 while the engine was out. 4 injectors drilled out and replaced, new heater plugs, timing belt kit, head gasket kit, water pump, oil, air and fuel filters, and turbo boost valve, new engine oil, transmission fluid and antifreeze, £2750 in total, which compared to what other members had been quoted wasn`t too bad. 3 days later, on motorway at 70mph, turbo blows!! Another £600 to have it removed and reconditioned!! Finally car driving as it should, pulling away fine and plenty of power, especially going uphill. However, still have ESP/ASR light, plus airbag lights on, but have give up worrying about them, as long as car drives okay, I can live with them on. Have told my wife and family that if I ever hint of buying another Fiat, they are to have me committed to an asylum, and throw away the key!!

 

[baldscutter]

I think I have similar problems. A local garage said there was no EGR fault. I have a cold running issue though where the car seems to have only maybe 50% power until 5 minutes or 2/3 miles of running. After this the heater starts to blow harder and full power is restored. Alternator is giving the battery 14.4V at all times. I've ordered a new MAF sensor. I don't know though about this swirl valve item or throttle position switch or the pipework to my turbo. Can anyone help please? My LCD screen is broken but the car is constantly beeping so I don't know what warnings it is trying to give me. The car otherwise starts and runs fine although it is very thirsty - 17 mpg last fill. Also, anyone with spares - I need the LCD panel in the dash beneath the speedo. (part 9653211180).
My wife says that this fault is also happening when the car is warm.