Technical Electric Problem - 2016 Fiat 500x

[maxMKE]

A night after a heavy rain w/ my Fiat parked outside, my daughter was driving to school when warning lights starting blinking, the power steering went out and eventually the car completely shut down. It was towed to a Fiat dealer who noted numerous faults, including airbags, and others. I was told that all of these sensors are interlinked with the Radio Hub and that a fault in one causes a fault in all. By the time the dealer got the car, the error had corrected itself, so they said there is no way to pinpoint the problem as it could be a bad wire or loose soldering point on any sensor attached to the Hub. The car would be totaled if I tried replacing them all and a scattershot appoach makes no sense. Unless it's actually faulty when they are testing, there is nothing they can do to narrow down the problem. I read somewhere that there is a problem with water that can get into the trunk hatch where the hub is located and that it just needs to be properly sealed. My mechanic said there was no sign of water intrusion or a leaking seal and that the fact that it rained before could have been a coincidence. I trust the mechanic, but this coincidence is hard for me to accept. Any recommendations?

 

[s130]

All the sensors being interlinked with the Radio Hub is a rather strange statement to make. It is true in one sense in that the radio hub is on the CAN Bus (as are most other vehicle control units) but to my knowledge there are no other types of connections other than power and ground. Also why did they say / pick on the radio hub?

 

[DGPunto]

Sounds like a bad wire or given you said it was raining lots that you have water getting in somewhere. If it was me I would:
1. check the fusebox and connections to the ECU to make sure they're dry. If I remember right the latter is in the engine compartment at the back on the bulkhead
2. check the wires to the battery - make sure they're clean and not loose

 

[maxMKE]

All the sensors being interlinked with the Radio Hub is a rather strange statement to make. It is true in one sense in that the radio hub is on the CAN Bus (as are most other vehicle control units) but to my knowledge there are no other types of connections other than power and ground. Also why did they say / pick on the radio hub?

Thank you. It was the CAN bus that they mentioned. My mistake. The Radio hub must have been one of the many sensors that showed a fault. They couldn't identify the specific culprit because their diagnostic showed faults all along the CAM Bus, but because the actual problem self-corrected when they had the car, there was no way to determine which sensor was causing the problem. Any way for them to narrow sown the problem so I don't have to wait for the car to break down again and "hope" it's still broken when it gets to the mechanic?

 

[Petermcoulton]

Thank you. It was the CAN bus that they mentioned. My mistake. The Radio hub must have been one of the many sensors that showed a fault. They couldn't identify the specific culprit because their diagnostic showed faults all along the CAM Bus, but because the actual problem self-corrected when they had the car, there was no way to determine which sensor was causing the problem. Any way for them to narrow sown the problem so I don't have to wait for the car to break down again and "hope" it's still broken when it gets to the mechanic?

I'm having a similar problem. What I have done is bought a Foxtell scanner code tool. We Keep it in the car. whenever the car decides to cr@p its pants. We pull over scan it, clear the codes and go down the road.
It was worth a hundred and forty seven dollars investment.
Can't seem to narrow down the problem as it pulls codes, does weird stuff and then resets itself.

 

[varesecrazy]

Do these models still need the
"Duck bill" drains attending to?

Along with the internal corrosion of the main
Earth cable (battery to Chassis to Motor)

These account for plenty of "random electrical" issues

 

[s130]

What I have done is bought a Foxtell scanner code tool. We Keep it in the car. whenever the car decides to cr@p its pants. We pull over scan it, clear the codes and go down the road.

I always have my Foxwell NT301 in my car. On my 500X I have not had to use it in anger but on my Croma 2005 it got used several times in Italy. When on long journeys (abroad or UK) I also take my laptop/tablet and MES however when doing emergency roadside stuff it is quicker and safer to us the Foxwell NT301 to read and clear the errors (I note the codes and snapshot data).

On one occasion the Croma went into limp mode in a 8+ km tunnel whilst towing! Not funny.

 

[Franklux]

Do these models still need the
"Duck bill" drains attending to?

Along with the internal corrosion of the main
Earth cable (battery to Chassis to Motor)

These account for plenty of "random electrical" issues

Its the earth cable - i had exactly this problem. Fiat replaced the battery first, and then the cable. Replacing the cable fixed it.