The car will still start quite happily with battery at 11 volts.
Technical ESC and Flashing Hazards
- Thread starter mikegml
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Technical ESC and Flashing Hazards
Update …………. After a week standing the battery showed 12.29V this morning. Started up ok as usual. I confirmed that SS was not working. On a 40 min drive the engine never switched off even when stationary, out of gear, foot off the clutch and throttle with handbrake on. Battery showed 12.48 afterwards.
Later I had the battery tested at Halfords which said the battery had a surface charge only (In simple terms, surface charge is the situation where your battery reads more voltage than its actual voltage. As a result of the elevated voltage, your battery reads a false voltage. Battery surface charge happens mainly on lead-acid batteries) I googled that. Went for a long drive and battery read 12.48 afterwards.
So I bit the bullet and got a new battery £140! Installed it and went for a long drive. The SS immediately worked correctly but I’ve still got the “ESC hill holder not available” warning. Battery showed 13.17V after the drive.
So it looks like the battery was indeed dodgy. I’ve got an OBD reader at my mate’s house which I’ll try to use to erase the fault code tomorrow. If that doesn’t work ?
Later I had the battery tested at Halfords which said the battery had a surface charge only (In simple terms, surface charge is the situation where your battery reads more voltage than its actual voltage. As a result of the elevated voltage, your battery reads a false voltage. Battery surface charge happens mainly on lead-acid batteries) I googled that. Went for a long drive and battery read 12.48 afterwards.
So I bit the bullet and got a new battery £140! Installed it and went for a long drive. The SS immediately worked correctly but I’ve still got the “ESC hill holder not available” warning. Battery showed 13.17V after the drive.
So it looks like the battery was indeed dodgy. I’ve got an OBD reader at my mate’s house which I’ll try to use to erase the fault code tomorrow. If that doesn’t work ?
Good to see we were ‘partly right’.
The ESC warning may go out of its own accord. Like the general ‘engine light’, it remains on for three starts of the engine as a precaution after the trigger is gone. But, so long as the fault condition isn’t there after the third start it will then go off. I still maintain the ‘fault’ was low voltage - now fixed. If I’m right (and happy to admit I may not be), start the car, drive a short way. Stop the engine and take the key out and open the door - these show the computer a ‘journey’ has been made. Shut the door, start engine, drive a few yards and repeat. After the third ‘journey’, hopefully the light will go off.
A code reader will show a fault code, but not it’s cause. That’s the problem - they don’t tell you what is actually wrong, just give a hint as to where to look. If low voltage was the cause (or a dirty connection, loose wire etc) they can lead a mechanic who doesn’t know better off on an expensive route of random replacement parts. Don’t get me wrong - they have a place - but generally have led to the creation of a generation of ‘technicians’ in garages that can’t see beyond a code and have lost the skill of methodically working through the symptoms to find what’s wrong - which so often is something simply not sending quite the right signal owing to a loose wire or dropped voltage. As an example of this, on another car of mine, the codes would have meant a full diesel particulate filter replacement. But the small, independent garage found a wire had partly broken on the plug to a pressure sensor for the filter (the part the created the fault code) , which was up beside the battery. They fixed the wire (nicely soldered in a new bit, with heat shrink sleeve and all) and charged £40. A main dealer likely would have replaced the particulate trap at huge fee, but the faulty wire would still have been there and still causing random codes until it finally broke right through)
As to cost of battery - yup, Halfords aren’t the cheapest - but are handy.
Let’s see…
(Humble pie recipe to hand… because, yes, I may be wrong)
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Funny you say the 3 starts thing, just pulled up after my 3rd drive. Out with a mate now, be back later and will go home which will be the 4th start, I think.
Don't mind buying the battery, it was obviously needed before it started causing other problems.
If it does stay on, you've already addressed the second-most common reason for ESC error -- the brake light switch (or the pedal not fully coming up to operate the switch at the 'not braking' end of its travel [the single plastic body contains two switches]). The other place to cause that error is a faulty ABS sensor (or connections to it) - and here, a code reader *will* help as it can tell you which wheel to look at. I think though that will only show using the Fiat reader (or MultiECU scan, with the yellow additional convertor cable. Others here will be able to confirm that...)
Here you go… panel above drivers knee. Pull hard at the bottom, towards you. Feels like it might break but doesn’t - the clips are metal and designed to be opened. (Oops - photos loaded in reverse order)
Attachments
Yeah, don’t pull the middle one as it’s screwed on
You can see the two screws in my photo above. The rest of that panel is clips, but only once the screws are out.Absolutely looks to me like a 100% removable panel? Good job I didn't get peed off and ripped it off.
UPDATE.......... (I'm busy during the week which is why I'm always real slow to update) anyway I've checked the codes with my (pretty good) OBD unit and all is well. Didn't have my phone to take a screen shot but it was a screen full of green ticks, all good.
I'll need to investigate elsewhere?
I'll need to investigate elsewhere?
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its been a while - how did you get on? What fixed the Hill Holder warning in the end?
Still the same. I changed the brake switch as per the video above which seems to be the main cause and that didn't fix it. Another supposed cause are faulty lights such as brake lights, but my lights are just fine. Had a quick look at fuses can't see anything amiss there either.
So tbh I'm living with it but it does irritate each time I get in and see the fault. Need to get some enthisiasm to look further. Car is fine othersise so don't know where else to look. Think I mentioned I fitted a new battery so that's good.
So tbh I'm living with it but it does irritate each time I get in and see the fault. Need to get some enthisiasm to look further. Car is fine othersise so don't know where else to look. Think I mentioned I fitted a new battery so that's good.
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That's a shame! So odd that it's an easy quick fix for some people and mysteriously persistent for others. I hope ours falls in the first category. Thanks for the update and good luck with further investigations.
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Battery is new and "good" but is it being charged properly by the alternator? Can you check the volts across the battery with the engine running? I'd expect it be in the order of 14V.
alamar
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I have the same problem with ESC light being constantly on. I have already been to three different garages and spent over €500 for testing, battery change, brake light switch and steering column switch, all new parts. It has been OK for the first 50 km drive from the garage but today after car has been standing for five days the ESC light is back on. It is driving me crazy and it looks to be never-ending story. What else can I do about it?
Edit - Alternator was also changed last year (brand new).
Edit - Alternator was also changed last year (brand new).
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Standing for 5 days; does your car have Blue & Me (that has stopped working?) B&M fails "on" so leaves a drain on the battery even when car is locked. ESC and other warnings are sometimes associated with low battery volts. So, if B&M unit down then battery discharges with no use, warning lights go away when battery is recovered (charged). B&M unit must be disconnected under the passenger seat (on Right Hand Drive cars - maybe drivers on LHD???) to prevent this drain. Mileage indicator (odometer) flashes when car turned on is an indicator of failure.
There is also a voltage regulator on the negative terminal of the battery but I don't think this affects things significantly other than the stop-start.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Two batteries failed without warning on ours. I also suspect battery is getting long in the tooth.
