Technical Self Levelling Suspension Warning Light ?

[Monty205]

Just to keep all my readers up to speed, .......................... yes, you guessed it, the damn thing has failed again !


Another 5,000 miles on the clock (Costa Brava/South of France and back, twice last year) and the dimly glowing lights are back again glowing dimly.


Different warning lights this time, and a few more of them.


It's all very well for the local Fiat dealer to say that there is nothing wrong, and that I should live with it, or fork out £850 for a replacement, but surely that is not a reasonable response ?


I believed that all the so-called 'faulty' batch of Instrument clusters had been withdrawn at the back-end of 20015, and therefore the new unit, which they fitted 5,000 miles ago, would be fault free.


Well it isn't, and so once more I am treading the well-worn path to Customer Services, just to see what they might offer.


If I have this unit replaced again, it will be the 5th cluster fitted to a vehicle that is only 4 years old.


This must surely constitute some sort of record for poor quality control or design failure.


I will update this post when/if I receive any response from Fiat.

 

[Monty205]

I must admit that I thought I had finalised this thread, but my memory ain't what it used to be.

Sorted again,.............. I wonder how long this one wil last ?

All work carried out as a goodwill gesture from Fiat.

They did manage to get a small fortune out of me though as shortly after the repair was carried out, and just before the dreaded MoT falling due, the Air bag warning light appeared as if by magic.

They cobbled sommat up for the MoT and it was OK for a few weeks, then the warning light appeared again.

I had imagined that the airbag warning would be operated by some sort of inertia switch, but it seems that it is activated by the weight thrown against the seat belt during rapid deceleration. It is operated by a mechanical spring loaded mechanism linked to the seat belt. Not only had that failed but the airbag ECU was also knackered,............... no change from £700.

The failures were possibly/probably/definitely (delete as required) exacerbated by poorly installed cable looms that run under the seats, which, in a motorhome, not only move fore and aft, and up and down, but also rotate.

So, after the last major service, MoT, plus two new tyres, the new timing/cam belt, and the airbag gizmos, I am in a considerably fragile financial position, .......... I may not be able to afford to get away 'sur le continent' this year,..................

Once upon a time I used to do all my own servicing, but as I am now knocking on a bit, and of course not forgetting the complexity of modern vehicles, I am now at the mercy of the mercenary motor mechanic, ............ most of whom seem to rely upon a computer to diagnose faults,............. now when I were a lad,.............

 

[Monty205]

I must admit that I thought I had finalised this thread, but my memory ain't what it used to be.

Sorted again,.............. I wonder how long this one will last ?

All work carried out as a goodwill gesture from Fiat.

They did manage to get a small fortune out of me though as shortly after the repair was carried out, and just before the dreaded MoT falling due, the Air bag warning light appeared as if by magic.

They cobbled sommat up for the MoT and it was OK for a few weeks, then the warning light appeared again.

I had imagined that the airbag warning would be operated by some sort of inertia switch, but it seems that it is activated by the weight thrown against the seat belt during rapid deceleration. It is operated by a mechanical spring loaded mechanism linked to the seat belt. Not only had that failed but the airbag ECU was also knackered,............... no change from £700.

The failures were possibly/probably/definitely (delete as required) exacerbated by poorly installed cable looms that run under the seats, which, in a motorhome, not only move fore and aft, and up and down, but also rotate.

So, after the last major service, MoT, plus two new tyres, the new timing/cam belt, and the airbag gizmos, I am in a considerably fragile financial position, .......... I may not be able to afford to get away 'sur le continent' this year,..................

Once upon a time I used to do all my own servicing, but as I am now knocking on a bit, and of course not forgetting the complexity of modern vehicles, I am now at the mercy of the mercenary motor mechanic, ............ most of whom seem to rely upon a computer to diagnose faults,............. now when I were a lad,.............

 

[corcai]

The failures were possibly/probably/definitely (delete as required) exacerbated by poorly installed cable looms that run under the seats, which, in a motorhome, not only move fore and aft, and up and down, but also rotate.

I would add completely caused by to that list, sounds like they threw your money at it until something stuck. I would bet was nothing wrong with the airbag ecu unless it had water ingress or something like that.

So, after the last major service, MoT, plus two new tyres, the new timing/cam belt, and the airbag gizmos, I am in a considerably fragile financial position, .......... I may not be able to afford to get away 'sur le continent' this year,..................

Sorry to hear that, hopefully you'll have some nice weather at home anyway.

most of whom seem to rely upon a computer to diagnose faults

Too many blindly follow the computer too, replace parts then discover it was a corroded connector / broken wire in the first place. Unless you're physically unable then you should seriously consider at least ruling out the basics before falling on the mercy of the dealer.

 

[John Dough]

Bloody hell what a shambles from Fiat ,quality control my Axxe there was none in your case you should have opted for a replcement FORD or such like , surely Fiat knew about the problem but kept dishing out old stock clusters regardless I don't know how you stuck with it for so long funny how the older pre electronic/pollution Fiats had so little problems.

 

[Monty205]

As you chaps can see, I was so peeved at the whole scenario, that in my aggravated state, I entered the post twice.

There will be no prizes for spotting the subtle differences between the two posts, which somehow occurred as I corrected some grammatical errors.

Regardless, to be honest, I do not know where the air bag ECU os located, but if it is anywhere under the bonnet, then water ingress is a dead cert,

I must admit to having expected all the scuttle leaks to be sorted, having owned a previous motorhome based on the identical Boxer. That one leaked like a sieve, and had several mods carried out to move water away from specific areas.

This one is an absolute nightmare, and leaks all along the lower edge of the Scuttle to structure interface. All the requisite clips are in place and all three drains are clear, but the water gets in somewhere. Fiat were never interested, and I gave up pestering them in the end, as whatever they tried did not work, and just kept the vehicle off the road.

I have resorted to a custom made waterproof cover which fits over the entire engine compartment, so that any water leaks onto the cover and drains away safely. I just lift the bonnet and install it when parking up for any length of time. Pain in the backside but, as I think I may have mentioned, any new motorhome that I may purchase down the road, will NOT be based on a SEVEL vehicle.

The main leak point is the centre joint where the two halves of the plastic moulding are meant to overlap and be sealed. On this vehicle there is no overlap, the two ends just about butt against each other, and there is absolutely no room for adjustment as the various holes for Wiper drive and screhole locations are pretty much fixed. I have tried various sealants to no avail.

Just crap design and a sad tale all round.


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