I have a 63 plate Panda.
It has a persistent problem of the battery going flat.
It's been through two lots of Fiat diagnostics and to identify a fault with Blue and Me system, repaired at £500 and now a fault identified as the ABS - and the cost to replace this will be over £1300.

The car is out of warranty so how do I get Fiat to pay for the work - the car has less than 5,000 miles on the clock.

What are they saying is wrong with the abs system?
Can't said I've heard of the abs system casuing a battery drain as it isn't really a system that uses much power
And shouldn't even be powered with the engine switched off

Hi.
Not sure if Fiat would help but a letter to Fiats head office in the UK certainly is worth a try. How long has the issue been happening and has all the diagnostics been done by a Fiat agent? Fiat may refuse especially if the work has been done by a third party garage.
If the ABS is drawing current all the time it may not be shutting down properly, so it could be the ABS unit or how its controlled, which may be the body computer or whatever ECU controls it.
Good Luck.

Hello and welcome to the forum - sorry it's in such sad circumstances.

chris3234 said:

What are they saying is wrong with the abs system?
Can't said I've heard of the abs system casuing a battery drain as it isn't really a system that uses much power
And shouldn't even be powered with the engine switched off

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That. Plus it would be unusual (and worrying) for a fault with the ABS unit not to trigger the ABS warning light.

StLen said:

It has a persistent problem of the battery going flat.

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Over what sort of timeframe? Modern cars have a higher residual current drain than those of old, but a battery in good condition should be able to cope with being stood down for at least a month.

If it's flattening overnight, then it's possible that whatever is causing the drain may be getting warm enough to feel for the culprit.

Certaily it's worth approaching Fiat directly and asking if they'll make a contribution to the cost of repairs; at this stage, you have little to lose. Others have reported mixed experience with this; fingers crossed that you receive a positive response.

Your chances of getting a goodwill gesture from Fiat will be greater if (1) you are the first recorded keeper of the car and (2) it has a full franchised dealer service history. But others have still managed to get goodwill payments without fulfilling these criteria, so whatever the previous history of the car, it's worth a try and I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Please let us know what response you get - it may help others in the future.

parasitic drain
blue and me means audio
abs is linked to audio to turn volume down up/down at high speed
i think there might be a relation in the com lines
can you get someone who actually knows what they are doing rather than possibly the dealer who only knows to pull codes
get your info 100% before contacting fiat ho

It's not unheard of for ABS pumps to stick on and run all the time.
First point to check is it's relay as that could be jammed on, but the pump it's self could be the issue, like a short on a solenoid.

You might be able to hear it run if you stick your head under the bonnet and your ear to the pump.

You could do a few tests yourself with a digital multimeter, though I would start with the ABS fuse and relay.

Turn everything off, close the doors so no interior lights etc.

Pull a lead off the battery and bridge the gap from the battery to the lead with the multimeter set to read (small) amps.
It shouldn't really read much more than 0.05 amps if all's good.

If not, start pulling (and refitting) one fuse at a time until it drops.
Look for the fuse that causes the biggest drop and look it up in the handbook.
That should point to the circuit the drain is on.

£1300 is a lot for any ABS fault.
Pumps can be reconditioned and refitted for a fraction of that.
Try places like BBA reman or ECUtesting.

If all else fails, try finding an auto electrician.

It is highly UN-likely that the ABS has anything more to do with this than the audio system did. You need to check for current drain with an appropriate meter. I suggest a Gunsons Test Tune if still available as a really useful tool but any ameter will do. Take each fuse out of the system and see if this effects anything. You should be able to see which circuit is causing the drain and close in from there, I would home in on the clutch and brake pedal switches as the most likely causes of battery drain. Daughters care did this recently and the brake lights were stickiong on. £13 switch did the trick once we found out the cause.

If the battery is not totally new I would suspect that first and foremost as well. I have had several batteries that caused this in spite of being checked out as OK. Internal starter motor and alternator faults have also done me in the past. I would eat my hair if the ABS is anything directly related to this. It is a reaction more I suspect not a cause.

The warnings emitted by the car are probably a red herring shoal.

Go back to first principles to find the source of the problem.

My sympathy and best wishes in your quest for a solution.

Hi.
Forget all the OBD tests and other things, get an ammeter or decent multimeter on that can resolve tens of milliamps to check the drain firstly. 50mA is acceptable but above 100mA no as something isn't shutting down. A pump running continuously would draw anything above 1 amp.
Just make sure your meter is suitably rated and connected correctly, remember that when disconnecting the battery, which you have to, to do the test its the minus or the chassis connection to the battery you need to disconnect not the positive for safety reasons.
One lead from the meter is grounded and the other to the battery post, remember that initial current could be high and don't do this on the "mA (milliamps) setting" or you may blow the meter, I suggest the 10 amp range, let the current settle for 10 minutes as systems shut down and see then the current that is drawn.

Thanks for the advice.
At first the diagnostics showed a fault with the Blue and Me unit. Subsequently shown that current still being drawn by the ABS Control unit. A new ABS control is v expensive so I'm keen to look at all alternatives.

Have persuaded the Fiat Agent repairer to call in a Car Electrics specialist to test all the systems.

Good points , hopefully the car electrics test will prove a better solution than the Fiat diagnostics.
I will certainly be contacting Fiat HQ

The Panda Nut said:

It is highly UN-likely that the ABS has anything more to do with this than the audio system did. You need to check for current drain with an appropriate meter. I suggest a Gunsons Test Tune if still available as a really useful tool but any ameter will do. Take each fuse out of the system and see if this effects anything. You should be able to see which circuit is causing the drain and close in from there, I would home in on the clutch and brake pedal switches as the most likely causes of battery drain. Daughters care did this recently and the brake lights were stickiong on. £13 switch did the trick once we found out the cause.

If the battery is not totally new I would suspect that first and foremost as well. I have had several batteries that caused this in spite of being checked out as OK. Internal starter motor and alternator faults have also done me in the past. I would eat my hair if the ABS is anything directly related to this. It is a reaction more I suspect not a cause.


The warnings emitted by the car are probably a red herring shoal.

Go back to first principles to find the source of the problem.

My sympathy and best wishes in your quest for a solution.

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Thanks. It's frustrating that the Fiat repairer doesn't have the imagination do do the basics - I'm the one suggesting the way forward. they only seem to be capable of responding to their own tests at my cost. Not good.

Goudrons said:

It's not unheard of for ABS pumps to stick on and run all the time.
First point to check is it's relay as that could be jammed on, but the pump it's self could be the issue, like a short on a solenoid.

You might be able to hear it run if you stick your head under the bonnet and your ear to the pump.

You could do a few tests yourself with a digital multimeter, though I would start with the ABS fuse and relay.

Turn everything off, close the doors so no interior lights etc.

Pull a lead off the battery and bridge the gap from the battery to the lead with the multimeter set to read (small) amps.
It shouldn't really read much more than 0.05 amps if all's good.

If not, start pulling (and refitting) one fuse at a time until it drops.
Look for the fuse that causes the biggest drop and look it up in the handbook.
That should point to the circuit the drain is on.

£1300 is a lot for any ABS fault.
Pumps can be reconditioned and refitted for a fraction of that.
Try places like BBA reman or ECUtesting.

If all else fails, try finding an auto electrician.

Click to expand...

We're bringing in an auto electrician as the Fiat Diags route is proving costly and not providing a solution.

s and b said:

parasitic drain
blue and me means audio
abs is linked to audio to turn volume down up/down at high speed
i think there might be a relation in the com lines
can you get someone who actually knows what they are doing rather than possibly the dealer who only knows to pull codes
get your info 100% before contacting fiat ho

Click to expand...

Thanks , we're working through all the advice offered on the Forum. Much appreciated.

Did you get a final result/answer to this fault ?