Just got a 2013 Panda 4x4 Diesel as we previously had a mk2 4x4 and loved it.
I tried the car on a steep, wet incline in a field just to “test” that the 4x4 system was operating.?...Its my daughter’s car and I just had to check it was ‘safe’.
All seemed ok as I could see the offside rear slipping and I’m fairly sure the ESP light illuminated......BUT.....I tried pressing the ETC button to check its operation and no illumination appeared on the button itself and nothing appeared on the instrument cluster.
There’s no warning to say that there’s any issue with the 4x4 system but I’d like to know if there’s a proper check for the ETC or if it’s a case of heading to a dealer.
One other problem is the lack of any “spring loading” on the gear lever to place it in the position between 3rd and 4th.
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Thanks!

MultiECUScan

Well worth plugging in to see what it tells you.

JudgeJ said:

Just got a 2013 Panda 4x4 Diesel as we previously had a mk2 4x4 and loved it.
I tried the car on a steep, wet incline in a field just to “test” that the 4x4 system was operating.��...Its my daughter’s car and I just had to check it was ‘safe’.
All seemed ok as I could see the offside rear slipping and I’m fairly sure the ESP light illuminated......BUT.....I tried pressing the ETC button to check its operation and no illumination appeared on the button itself and nothing appeared on the instrument cluster.
There’s no warning to say that there’s any issue with the 4x4 system but I’d like to know if there’s a proper check for the ETC or if it’s a case of heading to a dealer.
One other problem is the lack of any “spring loading” on the gear lever to place it in the position between 3rd and 4th.
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Thanks!

Click to expand...

On a slippery surface, if a rear wheel spins, that shows the the 4x4 has kicked in, within a split second of the wheel spinning. You get no indication on the dash that this has happened. (Note ESC is different - this detects front wheel spin when powering too much for the conditions and will only show if wheel a looses grip, but not to the extent where the 4x4 will take effect - so on a wet roundabout or pulling out of a junction, but shouldn't show when off road, unless you are really 'gunning it' - which you shouldn't do off the tarmac.)


Pressing the ELD (electronic locking differential) button should illuminate a green light in the button itself, and the words 'ELD Connected' should appear in the digital display on the dash. That forces permanent 4x4 drive (but you get no indication of this). It also turns off the ESC system.


If ELD actually does need to 'lock' a wheel to allow the other wheel on same axle to grip (only likely if the wheel is off the ground or on something very slippery, then a yellow ELD light will show for the period of time the wheel is locked (so a second or two).


ELD automatically disconnects when going over 30mph (but the light stays on). When you turn it off, the green light in the button goes out and the words 'ELD disconnected' show on the digital display.

Thanks very much that’s really helpful and informative.
All of what you say makes perfect sense to me however it’s the fact that by depressing the ELD button (when slithering up a muddy bank at about 5mph) I get no illumination on the button at all. If it was just a button led failure then I’d have thought that I’d at least still see an indication on the instrument cluster.
It’s kind of like there’s no power going to the button.
Thanks again for your help though- I genuinely appreciate it.

The fact you get no message and don’t see a green light on the button shows ELD is not working. I *think* there’s a separate fuse for that. If the ELD system detects it has a fault, this indicated by the ESC (yes, ESC not ELD) light being on, and a message in the display saying something about ELD failure. (page 47 of the manual I have)

Edit: no specific fuse - the list just shows several marked +15, which simply means they are circuits that are powered when the ignition is on (fuses 49,50 and 51). If everything else on the car is working, then not likely to be one of these.

Thanks again. I’ll pull the fuses just to check.
If that doesn’t turn anything up I’ll get it plugged into a diagnostic device - as suggested in a previous reply.
It’s a shame that the handbook contains no definitive wiring diagram then at least I’d have a starting point.
Thanks!

JudgeJ said:

...It’s a shame that the handbook contains no definitive wiring diagram then at least I’d have a starting point.
Thanks!

Click to expand...

Trouble is, pretty well everything is controlled by the ‘body computer’ so the ‘diagram’ would just show switches connected to a ‘black box’ and other wires coming from that to the things being operated. And there are so many ‘if this then that’ bits of logic in there too that decide when what may or may not operate.