General HELP! Something major? ECU or just battery?

[FiatStiloJTD]

Hey guys,

Went to start the car today and i encountered these problems in this order....

1) Opened car with remote and got four beeps about 2 seconds after pressing the button...hmmm i was getting puzzled what this meant, and its not the battery in the remote(s) as tried both.

I tried locking with key in door and opening with key and didnt get the beeps (alarm problem???.....read on)

2) Next i got into the car and Attempted to start her, but nothing....When i turn the key all that comes up is "Checking..." and the only light which lights up is the AirBag Light (red one).

NONE of the other lights light up.

I tried starting the ignition again and it did exactly the same... this time i let it continue the "Checking..." sequence on the LCD screen and it came back with these errors looping in a sequence:
- "Airbag Failure"
- "Loose Connection"
- "Oil Level Pressure"
- and a bulb failure on the rear...cant remember precise wording

I then tried to lock the car and the central locking didn't work. If you pressed the remote button you can hear the car make a slight noise but the locks don't shut (the alarm lights up and activates...the alarm siren still works too). So had to lock manually.

Question: Is it as simple as the battery being completely flat??? If so why does the siren, radio still work and why does it beep four times at me when presssing the remote to unlock, but not when you unlock when using the key.

The car is a 1.9 JTD 2002 and has the afterfit FIAT alarm on it (the one with the LED on front windscreen).

Look forward to hearing from your response.

Matt

 

[Argonought]

Have you checked the battery voltage?

 

[minimad99]

Was everything OK yesterday?
Had any previous electrical gremlins?

 

[FiatStiloJTD]

Everything was fine two days ago when it was last driven, a hour before i drove it i replaced the back bulb. But didnt disconnnect battery so shouldnt be a problem.

 

[minimad99]

mmmmm, i'd agree with Argo and check the battery voltage, have you got a multimeter or a spare battery.
Did you have the snow, perhaps the sudden cold killed off your battery.

 

[FiatStiloJTD]

Will check it now. One moment. What should it be? 12v?

 

[minimad99]

yeah 12 ish with engine off, obviously higher when running showing your alternator is working OK.

 

[FiatStiloJTD]

6v so i guess its the battery. Now i need to find out why its gone....

Are those fault messages normal when the battery is dead?

Also do i need to do anything specific when changing battery or is it fine to disconnect for a while without loosing memory of keys etc.

 

[minimad99]

6v so i guess its the battery. Now i need to find out why its gone....

what was it with engine running? if no higher i'd suggest alternator is knackered.

Are those fault messages normal when the battery is dead?

I'm surprised you didn't get ABS/ASR failure as that's a popular one, LOL

Also do i need to do anything specific when changing battery or is it fine to disconnect for a while without loosing memory of keys etc.

You can disconnect it overnight and try charging your old one, you'll only loose radio codes, clock , etc immob/alarm will be fine.

I'd imagine it's the original battery so at 6 years it's done well, if you end up buying a new one, make sure you spend the money and buy the best and highest capacity the Stilo will take as you'll reep the benefits in the long run.

 

[FiatStiloJTD]

I dont know about the engine as the car won't fire up.

It just dies with all the electrics. If you hold the key turning as if you were turning the engine on the LCD fades and then nothing.

Will just replace battery and see what happens.

THanks very much for the help dude

 

[FiatStiloJTD]

Just an update. Replaced the battery and now it comes up with these errors.

These appear if you turn the ignition or start the engine (which now fires up).

"Preheat Failure"
"AirBag Failure"

Is it the glow plugs that need changing now...would this trigger the battery to go?

 

[Argonought]

"Preheat Failure"
"AirBag Failure"

Driving a 3 door you'll know about the last one

Does the preheat message come up every time? If it does then one is most likely open circuit. Oddly enough, I suspect the nice new battery killed one of the plugs rather than the other way around.

There's a few threads on glow plugs, and how to test them, if you search for them.

 

[FiatStiloJTD]

Ah thanks very much for the information. I will give it a try tomorrow.

You might be right as befor the "Preheat" message didnt appear,

Hopefully the airbag light will go away soon too when i get the plugs fixed.

Strange how the errors work, i think it just picks random faults as if to say your screwed.

 

[NeO_CooL]

Just an update. Replaced the battery and now it comes up with these errors.

These appear if you turn the ignition or start the engine (which now fires up).

"Preheat Failure"
"AirBag Failure"

Is it the glow plugs that need changing now...would this trigger the battery to go?

same happened to my stilo and it was the battery. replaced it and everything is fine.

Those errors will go way specially the preheat failure. 1 minute or so and it will go away. as for the airbag failure if you didn´t disconect anything while searching for the disconected airbag wire that wasn´t disconected everything will go to normal as it was before.

 

[wotnowarninglight]

Had a new Battery on Saturday too... fairly regular alternator failure warning lead me to test battery cells with a hydrometer to find 2 good cells and 4 poor ones. Plugging digital voltmeter into lighter helped understand what was happening with the old battery, made me realise that the Alternator was in fact OK and the difference the new battery made.

Fully charged battery should be 12.6 - 12.8 Volts. My JTD with ignition 'checking' & heating the glow plugs draws 0.8 - 1.0 Volts. Old battery (Original 5 years old+) only reading 12.2-12.3 Volts in the morning before switching ignition on. Cranking it dropped Voltage down to 11.2 Volts, now 11.8 V with new Battery. Usually 14.0-14.3 Volts with engine at idle no electrics, 13.4 - 13.6 Volts at idle with everything switched on.

Think on the icey mornings with the old battery & voltage dropping below 11 volts on cranking, car decided to keep telling me that the alternator was faulty...

 

[FiatStiloJTD]

The faults wouldnt go but an auto electrician cleared them for me, and now its all running fine...touch wood.

Had another error today...bulb failure left rear.

Sometimes i think the car likes the attention hehe

 

[minimad99]

Glad to hear everything's returned to normal, or as normal as it can be with a stilo, LOL.