General Issues with electrics

[Lauralouball]

Hi!
I was hoping someone could help me. I've got a fiat 500 sport 08. I have several warning lights what keep coming on.
One what is always on all the time is the drivers side airbag.
Ones what come on every other time i start the car are; Seat belts driver and passenger. Passenger airbag. Day light running lights. Flashing millage and i get a message what says fuel cut off unavailable.

Ive taken it to an electrical garage who have gave me two codes B0100 and B0101.
He told me that the Air bag module needs replacing and that will fix the other warning lights (he didn't know why the millage was flashing) So i phoned a fiat dearer because they can only fix these and its gonna cost at least £500 and thats if thats the problem

I was just wondering/hoping someone else has had this happen before to them and they know what the problem is.

I've seen a few threads with airbag warning lights but i have other warning lights on. Hence why i'm posting

 

[UFI]

The usual advice is to start by charging the battery, or if you don't know it's history, replace it, as it can cause all sorts of issues like you describe. The battery in my car only lasted about 12 months from new.

 

[Lauralouball]

Ah ok thanks for the quick reply!
Would the battery be drained because i plug my phone/ipod into the media player?

 

[Super Uwe]

Hi Lauralouball,

I would agree about getting the battery checked out or maybe replaced.

This thread may be of use to you, I guess you haven't got stop/start on your car as it is an 08 plate, but maybe the picture and description will help you disconnect and reconnect the battery; that is often the first point to tackle:

https://www.fiatforum.com/500/424192-fiat-500-usb-horrors-frustration.html

 

[ahmett]

Yes do have the battery tested for function!

Regarding the airbags, could it be that the airbags need replacing? I think after 8 years the light comes on regardless. Can any expert help with this?

 

[zanes]

From memory of my non stop-start 500 one of the battery clamps has a "quick release" lever (much like a bicycle does). Definitely worth trying a 30 minute disconnection.

On an 08 plate I'd definitely replace the battery before doing anything else; I've used both advanced battery supplies (for the 500) and tayna batteries (for a go kart). Both offer a good next day courier service and are likely to be far cheaper than a dealer.

Advanced battery supplies offer a registration checker for getting the right battery too.

Non stop and start batteries are cheap enough (and your battery is old enough to be getting dodgy) that I'd replace it as a matter of course rather than paying a garage to do diagnostics.

Easy job to replace the battery too.

 

[Lauralouball]

Thanks guys! I'm gonna disconnect the battery tomorrow and hope for the best!

 

[Lauralouball]

Hi guys,
Thought I'd be super cheeky and give you an update/ask for more advice!

I had the battery out over night, before i did i put it on charge but it wouldn't charge it because it said it was 'full' so i had the battery disconnected all night. Plugged it back in and it hasn't changed anything.

I didn't need to put a code in my radio tho... do you not have to on modern cars?

I'm half wondering to take it into fiat and see what they say first before buying a new battery or am i being a bit daft?

 

[MarginWalker]

On an 08 plate I'd definitely replace the battery before doing anything else; I've used both advanced battery supplies (for the 500) and tayna batteries (for a go kart). Both offer a good next day courier service and are likely to be far cheaper than a dealer.

Advanced battery supplies offer a registration checker for getting the right battery too.

Non stop and start batteries are cheap enough (and your battery is old enough to be getting dodgy) that I'd replace it as a matter of course rather than paying a garage to do diagnostics.

Easy job to replace the battery too.

:yeahthat:

Your current battery's ability to hold it's charge is likely to be very poor if it's the original 7-year-old battery. I would follow the excellent advice from zanes and order and fit a new battery before doing anything else.

 

[zanes]

Hi guys,
Thought I'd be super cheeky and give you an update/ask for more advice!

I had the battery out over night, before i did i put it on charge but it wouldn't charge it because it said it was 'full' so i had the battery disconnected all night. Plugged it back in and it hasn't changed anything.

I didn't need to put a code in my radio tho... do you not have to on modern cars?

I'm half wondering to take it into fiat and see what they say first before buying a new battery or am i being a bit daft?

I'm fairly sure that the radio talks to the main body computer to get its "code" each time it starts up, so usually taking the battery out doesn't need a code input- the security is from needing to be connected to the right car, rather than needing a continuous power supply to maintain a code (which would be removed if a thief pulled it out of the car). That said, who nicks stereos these days....

As to the battery, two things:

1) Modern batteries have a nasty habit of failing all of a sudden (one cell goes short so there isn't enough voltage to do anything) leaving you stranded, often at the most inconvenient time. This risk gets higher as your battery ages. A new decent brand (Varta) battery for your car (assuming it isn't a diesel) is 46 quid all in delivered:
https://www.advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk/carbatteryvartablueb18

You've had your money's worth out of the old battery and I'd pay 46 quid any day to avoid the risk of being stranded. You'd probably get that battery a bit cheaper on Tayna

2) The battery charger is effectively "testing" the battery under the easiest possible conditions for it. When the battery is starting the engine it's under very heavy load and the voltage the battery can provide will drop. Again, as the battery gets older this drop gets bigger.

This is what causes a lot (the vast majority of, in reality) of the power steering warnings we see every year when the weather gets colder. This voltage drop during starting can be enough for internal circuits to get twitchy and flag a failure warning. My hunch is that this is what's happening here as you're getting multiple warnings that are only loosely related at best.

I'm not guaranteeing that it'll fix your issues, but IMHO it's worth taking the punt as it'll be cheaper than getting a diagnostic done at the dealer and worst case you've got a known good battery.

You might also need the fault codes clearing once you've changed the battery- the garage that read the codes should be able to do that. I always advise this before jumping into any in depth (i.e. expensive work) as it's not unknown for something stupid like a momentarily duff connection to flag a warning.

Depending on how technical you are, I'd also check the battery's earth strap condition (visual and resistance). If you can't do that, it shouldn't be very expensive at all for your garage to do it for you (it's about two minutes work).

You don't get the extra warnings more often when you start the car in a morning, do you?

 

[Lauralouball]

I've just ordered a battery so thank you!
I'm not very technical when it comes to cars but i'll show my dad your post and see if he knows where this earth strap is while he's putting the battery in.

In the mornings i start the car at about 6ish (just to give you a time scale) and i don't always get all the warning lights I've mentioned on. Its mostly the air bag and daylight running lights what come on.

Thanks again

 

[ahmett]

Oh my battery died again. 4th battery in 5 years ? We shall see !

 

[typecastboy]

Flashing mileage needs a proxy alignment. If you're anywhere near Kent/M25 I can do it for you for free. Fiat charge £25 +VAT

 

[Lauralouball]

Flashing mileage needs a proxy alignment. If you're anywhere near Kent/M25 I can do it for you for free. Fiat charge £25 +VAT

Aww thanks! Sadly i live in sheffield (South Yorkshire) so it would be a bit of a trek!
Can any garage able to read my car able to do a proxy alignment? I just have a funny feeling that the garage i went to wasn't overly clued up on my car

 

[typecastboy]

Aww thanks! Sadly i live in sheffield (South Yorkshire) so it would be a bit of a trek!
Can any garage able to read my car able to do a proxy alignment? I just have a funny feeling that the garage i went to wasn't overly clued up on my car

I think it can only be done at a Fiat main dealers, but someone may correct me!

 

[Lauralouball]

So we've fixed the new battery. The airbag light is still coming on ?
Does this mean I now need to go to fiat?

 

[zanes]

Have you had the airbag fault codes cleared?

 

[306maxi]

How do you mean the airbag light is on? What exactly does it say? It should flash when the ignition goes on.

 

[g8rpi]

To answer an earlier question, you need either a Fiat dealer or an independent garage that specialises in Fiats or Alfa Romeos to do a proxi alignment. They will also be able to check the airbag codes properly. You can do it yourself but it needs a laptop, an interface lead and software (lead and software costs about £50-60) but it is a bit odf a learning curve if you don't know much about cars.

Robert G8RPI.

 

[Diesel500]

Aww thanks! Sadly i live in sheffield (South Yorkshire) so it would be a bit of a trek!
Can any garage able to read my car able to do a proxy alignment? I just have a funny feeling that the garage i went to wasn't overly clued up on my car

Before you go to the bother of doing this, have you checked whether you've inadvertently turned off the passenger airbag using the menu buttons to the right hand side of the instrument binnacle? If you've done this (which would ordinarily be done when placing a baby seat in the front of the car), the light will shine as a reminder that the passenger airbag has been turned off.