Good news.. 
Do keep that jumper cable nearby though
Do keep that jumper cable nearby though
Technical Urgent help needed! Weird problem with my '05 x244 van.
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Technical Urgent help needed! Weird problem with my '05 x244 van.
Well, it was too good to be true! Drove 400km to home on Tuesday without a glitch.
Everything worked flawlessly; pit stops and all.
Then last night I went to fix something on the car stereo (it's an Android 2-din jobbie) and kept the ignition on (without the engine running) for about 30-40 minutes max. All the lights were turned off; only the stereo was running.
Guess what? This morning the battery was again dead. I hooked up a booster and it started immediately. I drove to the shop where I got the battery from and they hooked it up to their testers.
Resting Voltage: 13,13v
Measured Amps: 748A
Voltage Drop on Start: 10,82v
Generator Voltage: 14,3v
Everything was OK. I left the shop with mixed feelings and went to run an errand.
Came back an hour later, again "Batt" on the dashboard, battery icon dimly illuminated and car would not start! Out came the booster again, car started up immediately.
Now that I'm home, I tested for parasitic draws.
Unless I measured it completely wrong, the meter was barely registering ANY current. I think it was reading something like 10 milliamps, but no more.
I am beginning to suspect the aftermarket alarm (Cobra) but even after engaging it, the current barely budged.
This is starting to drive me nuts! What could it be? I checked the ignition switch, I checked the fuses, I checked the battery... I'm running out of ideas.
Do you think I should add another ground from the battery to the ground? If so, what kind of cable should I use, and where to hook it up?
Another thing I'm thinking to do is to get rid of the alarm system completely. Should I do that? Would it help?
Everything worked flawlessly; pit stops and all.
Then last night I went to fix something on the car stereo (it's an Android 2-din jobbie) and kept the ignition on (without the engine running) for about 30-40 minutes max. All the lights were turned off; only the stereo was running.
Guess what? This morning the battery was again dead. I hooked up a booster and it started immediately. I drove to the shop where I got the battery from and they hooked it up to their testers.
Resting Voltage: 13,13v
Measured Amps: 748A
Voltage Drop on Start: 10,82v
Generator Voltage: 14,3v
Everything was OK. I left the shop with mixed feelings and went to run an errand.
Came back an hour later, again "Batt" on the dashboard, battery icon dimly illuminated and car would not start! Out came the booster again, car started up immediately.
Now that I'm home, I tested for parasitic draws.
Unless I measured it completely wrong, the meter was barely registering ANY current. I think it was reading something like 10 milliamps, but no more.
I am beginning to suspect the aftermarket alarm (Cobra) but even after engaging it, the current barely budged.
This is starting to drive me nuts! What could it be? I checked the ignition switch, I checked the fuses, I checked the battery... I'm running out of ideas.
Do you think I should add another ground from the battery to the ground? If so, what kind of cable should I use, and where to hook it up?
Another thing I'm thinking to do is to get rid of the alarm system completely. Should I do that? Would it help?
Parasitic drain GUIDE in mk2 punto section
Communicator
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Hi Nick,
I am sorry to read of your renewed problems. I have measured the drain on my x244 which has an aftermarket alarm. Average reading was about 200mA, but my DC clip on ammeter is not accurate enough at low current flows.
Your complete loss of power seems very fundamental.
Starting at the battery negative terminal, my vehicle has a quick release clamp with 3 x M6 studs for cables. On the basic vehicle only one stud is used for a 35 sq mm cable.
Some Sevel vehicles are fitted with an optional battery isolator. This is a latching relay clamped directly to the battery negative post, and will have some additional smaller gauge wires to operate it. Operation is via a red button at the bottom of the ignition switch.
Does your vehicle have such an isolator? If yes, could it be faulty?
From battery negative the cable drops to the main chassis earth just in front of the vehicle RHS engine mounting. Connection is via a flag terminal. A faulty connection here should not affect the starter motor, but it will affect the supply to most of the remaining electrical items.
The same earth cable continues under the radiator/intercooler to terminate on a starter motor fixing stud.
It has been suggested that the battery negative cable could be corroded internally. I think that this is less probable than corrosion on an x250 earth strap. Examine what you can see. There are a few mentions or hints of poor main chassis earth connections.
From the battery positive terminal the starter connection follows a similar route to that of the negative cable.
Again at the battery positive terminal, the battery fusebox clamps directly to the positive. I remember reading on the Italian forum "camperonline" a reference to a broken positive clamp. Obviously not common, but.......
Again please take care when checking the battery positive connections.
I am sorry to read of your renewed problems. I have measured the drain on my x244 which has an aftermarket alarm. Average reading was about 200mA, but my DC clip on ammeter is not accurate enough at low current flows.
Your complete loss of power seems very fundamental.
Starting at the battery negative terminal, my vehicle has a quick release clamp with 3 x M6 studs for cables. On the basic vehicle only one stud is used for a 35 sq mm cable.
Some Sevel vehicles are fitted with an optional battery isolator. This is a latching relay clamped directly to the battery negative post, and will have some additional smaller gauge wires to operate it. Operation is via a red button at the bottom of the ignition switch.
Does your vehicle have such an isolator? If yes, could it be faulty?
From battery negative the cable drops to the main chassis earth just in front of the vehicle RHS engine mounting. Connection is via a flag terminal. A faulty connection here should not affect the starter motor, but it will affect the supply to most of the remaining electrical items.
The same earth cable continues under the radiator/intercooler to terminate on a starter motor fixing stud.
It has been suggested that the battery negative cable could be corroded internally. I think that this is less probable than corrosion on an x250 earth strap. Examine what you can see. There are a few mentions or hints of poor main chassis earth connections.
From the battery positive terminal the starter connection follows a similar route to that of the negative cable.
Again at the battery positive terminal, the battery fusebox clamps directly to the positive. I remember reading on the Italian forum "camperonline" a reference to a broken positive clamp. Obviously not common, but.......
Again please take care when checking the battery positive connections.
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Hi User77
Just to highlight part of Communicator's post above - From battery negative the cable drops to the main chassis earth just in front of the vehicle RHS engine mounting. Connection is via a flag terminal. A faulty connection here should not affect the starter motor, but it will affect the supply to most of the remaining electrical items.
The flag terminal is crimped around the battery negative cable running to the starter motor.It's quite possible for the cable itself to conduct properly through this terminal from Battery to Starter, but the "side branch" to the body to have internal corrosion and thus a high and/or intermittent resistance. A bit like the M1 motorway having 3 clear lanes but the slip road blocked off ! This side branch is the earth return for all electrical items which have an earth return to the body/chassis, i.e. quite a large proportion of the electrical items on the vehicle.
If you measure the voltage with your red meter probe somewhere on the vehicle body/chassis and the black probe on the negative terminal post of the battery, it should be no more than a fraction of a volt even with headlights, blower fan etc running. You might want to get someone to tap/wriggle the body/chassis connection described above whilst doing this test. Any more than a fraction of a volt points to a problem with the connection.
Just to highlight part of Communicator's post above - From battery negative the cable drops to the main chassis earth just in front of the vehicle RHS engine mounting. Connection is via a flag terminal. A faulty connection here should not affect the starter motor, but it will affect the supply to most of the remaining electrical items.
The flag terminal is crimped around the battery negative cable running to the starter motor.It's quite possible for the cable itself to conduct properly through this terminal from Battery to Starter, but the "side branch" to the body to have internal corrosion and thus a high and/or intermittent resistance. A bit like the M1 motorway having 3 clear lanes but the slip road blocked off ! This side branch is the earth return for all electrical items which have an earth return to the body/chassis, i.e. quite a large proportion of the electrical items on the vehicle.
If you measure the voltage with your red meter probe somewhere on the vehicle body/chassis and the black probe on the negative terminal post of the battery, it should be no more than a fraction of a volt even with headlights, blower fan etc running. You might want to get someone to tap/wriggle the body/chassis connection described above whilst doing this test. Any more than a fraction of a volt points to a problem with the connection.
Hey guys, again let me say a huge thanks for taking the time to help out.
Regarding the power issue, I want to make clear that it isn't a complete power outage. Yesterday when I last had the issue, the issue went as follows:
- Turned ignition key to ON.
- Dashboard illuminated ok, odometer showed info etc.
- Fuel pump primed.
- Turned key to start engine.
- Engine turned over once and dashboard dimmed out. Odometer showed Batt and the battery icon illuminated dimly.
After that, connecting the booster let the engine fire up and I was on my merry way.
Regarding the power issue, I want to make clear that it isn't a complete power outage. Yesterday when I last had the issue, the issue went as follows:
- Turned ignition key to ON.
- Dashboard illuminated ok, odometer showed info etc.
- Fuel pump primed.
- Turned key to start engine.
- Engine turned over once and dashboard dimmed out. Odometer showed Batt and the battery icon illuminated dimly.
After that, connecting the booster let the engine fire up and I was on my merry way.
However, I am now facing a different problem, one that I am ashamed to admit that I brought onto myself.
This morning I decided to remove the old COBRA alarm from the car. It was working but only one key fob was ok and I thought that it would be better to remove that old thing from the equation.
So, after carefully checking the wiring and where it was hooked up, I managed to remove the siren unit and all relevant cables.
However under the glove box there was a black nondescript box, about the size of a matchbox, with 6 wires running to it. It definitely didn't look factory installed; the only marking on it is a QC PASS Prod. Date 2004.
It was hooked up to some of the wires of the alarm siren. My feeling is that it's the immobilizer unit of the alarm.
After removing it though I discovered two things:
1. I no longer have a central locking system and 2. The car will not start. More specifically, all power turns on BUT the fuel pump is not priming. The engine turned over fine and started, but then promptly died, which is natural if the pump is not running.
I think that some wire which should connect to the fuel pump is cut.
Here is the unit.
As you can see, inside it has two relays and not much else. I think I have managed to ID some of the wires as:
- RED = 12v ?
- BLACK = GND ?
- BLUE = Central locking
- GREEN = Central locking
I am pretty certain about the blue and green wires, as I see them going into the doors.
However, I don't know what the brown and white wires are supposed to be. There is a long lead behind the console running from the driver's side all the way to the passenger's side with blue, green (wires for the driver's door I guess) and also brown, black and white.
It's these latter wires that have me stumped. From what I can tell, there are no cut cables from the main harness where these should connect.
I can connect them back to the immobilizer unit but I'd like to get rid of it and it would be good to know what these wires are.
Any takers?
This morning I decided to remove the old COBRA alarm from the car. It was working but only one key fob was ok and I thought that it would be better to remove that old thing from the equation.
So, after carefully checking the wiring and where it was hooked up, I managed to remove the siren unit and all relevant cables.
However under the glove box there was a black nondescript box, about the size of a matchbox, with 6 wires running to it. It definitely didn't look factory installed; the only marking on it is a QC PASS Prod. Date 2004.
It was hooked up to some of the wires of the alarm siren. My feeling is that it's the immobilizer unit of the alarm.
After removing it though I discovered two things:
1. I no longer have a central locking system and 2. The car will not start. More specifically, all power turns on BUT the fuel pump is not priming. The engine turned over fine and started, but then promptly died, which is natural if the pump is not running.
I think that some wire which should connect to the fuel pump is cut.
Here is the unit.
As you can see, inside it has two relays and not much else. I think I have managed to ID some of the wires as:
- RED = 12v ?
- BLACK = GND ?
- BLUE = Central locking
- GREEN = Central locking
I am pretty certain about the blue and green wires, as I see them going into the doors.
However, I don't know what the brown and white wires are supposed to be. There is a long lead behind the console running from the driver's side all the way to the passenger's side with blue, green (wires for the driver's door I guess) and also brown, black and white.
It's these latter wires that have me stumped. From what I can tell, there are no cut cables from the main harness where these should connect.
I can connect them back to the immobilizer unit but I'd like to get rid of it and it would be good to know what these wires are.
Any takers?
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Hi user77
I don't know your level of electrical expertise, so if what follows sounds patronising I apologise in advance ! The figures I give are just for illustration of what your problem might be.
I think we can assume from the story so far that your battery is healthy and its voltage hardly changes when a big current is drawn. Let's say that somewhere else in the feed or return from the battery there is an unwanted resistance of 0.02 ohms. Doesn't sound much, does it ?
When you first turn the key, the engine management and various other things will draw current through this resistance. Let's say the drain is 10 Amps. The voltage dropped across the resistance will be 10 x 0.02 = 0.2 Volt. So anything downstream of the resistance will get battery voltage (12.5 V) less the 0.2 V drop which will be 12.3 Volts. Things like the dashboard and Engine management will be quite tolerant of this slightly reduced voltage and will appear normal.
Now turn the key further, to the start position. The starter solenoid plus starter motor will draw a very high current, say 300 Amps. The voltage drop across the 0.02 Ohm resistance will now rise to 6.0 Volts, so anything downstream will only get 12.0 - 6.0 = 6.0 Volts (I've allowed for the battery volts to dip a little to 12.0 with this big current). Now, 6.0 Volts isn't enough for the dashboard, engine management etc and they will go dim/go out/make funny noises etc. The starter motor will seem sluggish, and will only crank the engine slowly.
It seems to me that your battery is OK. The large capacity of a Ducato battery should be enough to withstand the small parasitic drain from things like alarms and cameras for many days, not just hours or minutes. It's just not possible to quickly drain a battery of this capacity in a short space of time unless you have a substantial current flowing. If the battery is OK, you need to look elsewhere.
I think the only way to pin this one down is to scrutinise every joint in the starter current path, from the positive battery post all the way to the starter and all the way back back again to the negative post. This might involve dismantling and cleaning. Bear in mind that bad joints can be sensitive to vibration, and can seem to mend themselves for a while.
If you wan't to be more scientific about it, the sort of unwanted resistance (0.02 ohms) needed in the starter current path to give your fault symptoms is pretty small, and way below the measurement capability of normal ohmmeters and continuity checkers. However, one way you can roughly measure this sort of low resistance is to put a sensitive voltmeter across one of the joints/cables/fuses in question and then turn on an electrical item so as to get reasonably big current to flow through it. Headlamps will draw about 10 Amps, the Cabin Blower up to 25 Amps on full speed. This doesn't apply to the parts that only serves the starter motor, but is applicable to the common parts of the positive supply and earth return. Divide the Voltage Drop by the current in Amps and you will get the resistance, e.g. 0.1 Volts drop with 25 Amps is 0.004 ohms. Although 0.004 seems like a tiny figure, it is still probably still more than it should be for a substantial bolted joint.
I am curious that putting a battery booster on gives an instant start. Are both the booster's cables being connected directly across the vehicle battery, or to somewhere else ? If the latter, it's possible that the troublesome joint is not in circuit as far as the booster is concerned.
I don't know your level of electrical expertise, so if what follows sounds patronising I apologise in advance ! The figures I give are just for illustration of what your problem might be.
I think we can assume from the story so far that your battery is healthy and its voltage hardly changes when a big current is drawn. Let's say that somewhere else in the feed or return from the battery there is an unwanted resistance of 0.02 ohms. Doesn't sound much, does it ?
When you first turn the key, the engine management and various other things will draw current through this resistance. Let's say the drain is 10 Amps. The voltage dropped across the resistance will be 10 x 0.02 = 0.2 Volt. So anything downstream of the resistance will get battery voltage (12.5 V) less the 0.2 V drop which will be 12.3 Volts. Things like the dashboard and Engine management will be quite tolerant of this slightly reduced voltage and will appear normal.
Now turn the key further, to the start position. The starter solenoid plus starter motor will draw a very high current, say 300 Amps. The voltage drop across the 0.02 Ohm resistance will now rise to 6.0 Volts, so anything downstream will only get 12.0 - 6.0 = 6.0 Volts (I've allowed for the battery volts to dip a little to 12.0 with this big current). Now, 6.0 Volts isn't enough for the dashboard, engine management etc and they will go dim/go out/make funny noises etc. The starter motor will seem sluggish, and will only crank the engine slowly.
It seems to me that your battery is OK. The large capacity of a Ducato battery should be enough to withstand the small parasitic drain from things like alarms and cameras for many days, not just hours or minutes. It's just not possible to quickly drain a battery of this capacity in a short space of time unless you have a substantial current flowing. If the battery is OK, you need to look elsewhere.
I think the only way to pin this one down is to scrutinise every joint in the starter current path, from the positive battery post all the way to the starter and all the way back back again to the negative post. This might involve dismantling and cleaning. Bear in mind that bad joints can be sensitive to vibration, and can seem to mend themselves for a while.
If you wan't to be more scientific about it, the sort of unwanted resistance (0.02 ohms) needed in the starter current path to give your fault symptoms is pretty small, and way below the measurement capability of normal ohmmeters and continuity checkers. However, one way you can roughly measure this sort of low resistance is to put a sensitive voltmeter across one of the joints/cables/fuses in question and then turn on an electrical item so as to get reasonably big current to flow through it. Headlamps will draw about 10 Amps, the Cabin Blower up to 25 Amps on full speed. This doesn't apply to the parts that only serves the starter motor, but is applicable to the common parts of the positive supply and earth return. Divide the Voltage Drop by the current in Amps and you will get the resistance, e.g. 0.1 Volts drop with 25 Amps is 0.004 ohms. Although 0.004 seems like a tiny figure, it is still probably still more than it should be for a substantial bolted joint.
I am curious that putting a battery booster on gives an instant start. Are both the booster's cables being connected directly across the vehicle battery, or to somewhere else ? If the latter, it's possible that the troublesome joint is not in circuit as far as the booster is concerned.
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Separate reply re Alarm.
Yes, the box looks like an aftermarket item.
It's likely that the two relays are wired so that two separate circuits (one is likely to be the fuel pump) are interrupted if the alarm goes off. The rest of the time the relay contacts will be closed and the two circuits will work normally.
If you cut the wires off, these two circuits will be broken. So you need to bridge them to retore normality.
See if you can probe the relay box with a continuity checker, to see which two pairs of wires are linked by the relays. They will not have any resistance reading to any other circuit. This should give you the colours you need to join together outside the box to retore operation.
Yes, the box looks like an aftermarket item.
It's likely that the two relays are wired so that two separate circuits (one is likely to be the fuel pump) are interrupted if the alarm goes off. The rest of the time the relay contacts will be closed and the two circuits will work normally.
If you cut the wires off, these two circuits will be broken. So you need to bridge them to retore normality.
See if you can probe the relay box with a continuity checker, to see which two pairs of wires are linked by the relays. They will not have any resistance reading to any other circuit. This should give you the colours you need to join together outside the box to retore operation.
Communicator
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I agree with the above, but I have been wondering as to whether or not the battery is being charged consistently? Obviously it must be getting some charge, or it would not have lasted for a 400km drive home.
Anthony, you are not condescending at all! I appreciate your taking the time to reply in such great detail.
The big problem with troubleshooting the starter motor etc is that it's location makes it next to impossible for me to check it. I don't have access to a ramp and there is no way I'm going to try and squeeze under a huge van fishing for lines and wires. Also, bearing in mind the high amperage of this particular line, I am not comfortable messing with it, not to mention that my multimeter is nowhere sensitive enough and I am not versed enough to start dividing voltage drops by Amps etc.
I understood the theory but I'm not sure I can pull this one off.
About the battery booster, I am always hooking it up directly to the battery; I leave it running for a few minutes and then the car starts fine.
Re: the continuity test, I just did it and here are the results:
- Blue and Green = no resistance
- Blue and Black = no resistance
- Green and Black = no resistance
So does that mean I should connect blue and green together? If yes, I should mention that I did reconnect these particular wires to the box and it didn't bring back the central locking.
I'm not quite sure what the continuity with black means. Is it the earth?
Unfortunately no cont in the brown and white cables, so I'm still at loss about what they do.:bang:
The big problem with troubleshooting the starter motor etc is that it's location makes it next to impossible for me to check it. I don't have access to a ramp and there is no way I'm going to try and squeeze under a huge van fishing for lines and wires. Also, bearing in mind the high amperage of this particular line, I am not comfortable messing with it, not to mention that my multimeter is nowhere sensitive enough and I am not versed enough to start dividing voltage drops by Amps etc.
I understood the theory but I'm not sure I can pull this one off.
About the battery booster, I am always hooking it up directly to the battery; I leave it running for a few minutes and then the car starts fine.
Re: the continuity test, I just did it and here are the results:
- Blue and Green = no resistance
- Blue and Black = no resistance
- Green and Black = no resistance
So does that mean I should connect blue and green together? If yes, I should mention that I did reconnect these particular wires to the box and it didn't bring back the central locking.
I'm not quite sure what the continuity with black means. Is it the earth?
Unfortunately no cont in the brown and white cables, so I'm still at loss about what they do.:bang:
Last edited:
Communicator
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Again I agree as to it being an aftermarket item. Two transistor driven relays, so an alarm interface seems the most likely use. However based on the wire count, I was thinking more about the central locking. +ve & -ve supply, 2 x control input (lock & unlock), plus lock and unlock outputs. If my hypothesis is correct then there is still the question of the fuel lift pump.
From eLearn the pump and fuel gauge harness seems to connect into the main harness below the ECU. The pump supply is controlled by the ECU via a relay in the engine bay fusebox, and the return is via the inertia cut off switch near the battery - more accessible for extra wires. For reference the fuel pump supply wire is brown on pin 4 of connector D145, and the negative pump wire at the inertia switch is white/black on pin 3. (According to eLearn, which has many errors.)
:idea: Hooooppp!!!! :idea: I think we may have something here! You mentioned the inertia cut off switch and I remembered something that I failed to report:
One of the things that the alarm was wired to was a small capped device which rattled and on the plug there was the print "First inertia switch" or something to that effect, with two wires running into it.
The alarm was spliced in between a purple/black (if I remember correctly) wire, so when I removed the alarm I soldered back together that wire. The other wire which was not cut was indeed a white/black wire.
Wasn't that the correct thing to do? Could that switch be keeping the pump from running? Also the wires that I currently have disconnected are brown and white. No idea how to connect them though...
Do you think I should reconnect the relay box? I am unsure about the red and black wires. They should be 12v and ground, but I don't want to blow up anything.
Communicator
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Nick,
Re - INERTIA SWITCH
If your have moved the inertia switch, and it rattles, it will need resetting, by pressing the button on top of the switch. Fuel cut off switch on page 72 of my user manual applies. Also attached link to 4cardata. scroll down to "Safety inertia switch"
http://4cardata.info/elearn/244/2/244000001/244000003/244000001/244000363
AlARM INTERFACE BOX
If resetting inertia switch gets your fuel pump running, box is probably for remote central locking.
My remote central locking is only via after market alarm fob on a sequential push basis, or from physical door key. No buttons on Fiat fob.
If your central locking works from key (your report not specific) then all is probably OK, or was your central locking from Fiat fob?
Re - INERTIA SWITCH
If your have moved the inertia switch, and it rattles, it will need resetting, by pressing the button on top of the switch. Fuel cut off switch on page 72 of my user manual applies. Also attached link to 4cardata. scroll down to "Safety inertia switch"
http://4cardata.info/elearn/244/2/244000001/244000003/244000001/244000363
AlARM INTERFACE BOX
If resetting inertia switch gets your fuel pump running, box is probably for remote central locking.
My remote central locking is only via after market alarm fob on a sequential push basis, or from physical door key. No buttons on Fiat fob.
If your central locking works from key (your report not specific) then all is probably OK, or was your central locking from Fiat fob?
Communicator
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Nick,
Another thought regarding power supply, while probably not applicable I will mention it. Page 73 of my Owner Handbook mentions a Battery Cut Out. This is not fitted on my vehicle, but it seems to occupy the location for a starter motor fuse in the battery terminal fusebox. With fusebox cover removed, another yellow button to press. (This is another inertia operated device.)
Another thought regarding power supply, while probably not applicable I will mention it. Page 73 of my Owner Handbook mentions a Battery Cut Out. This is not fitted on my vehicle, but it seems to occupy the location for a starter motor fuse in the battery terminal fusebox. With fusebox cover removed, another yellow button to press. (This is another inertia operated device.)
Communicator,
I did move the inertia switch around. As a matter of fact, it was dangling down freely from its wires, so I picked it up to see what it was and then I noticed the rattling noise inside.
I removed the rubber cap on the switch and I saw a white plastic cage with a metallic ball inside. I decided to just wire it back up after removing the alarm wires and leave it be.
Will this bring the fuel pump back online? It remains to be seen.
Exactly the same here. No buttons on the fob and central locking only via the alarm fob OR the door key. I just thought that an alarm system wouldn't be including a full-on central locking system to replace manual locking on a car. If the central locking is indeed an aftermarket add-on it would explain why the wires running to the doors don't look factory jobbies.
Any thoughts on the wiring connections of the interface box?
EDIT: If we accept that this box controls the central locking, it would explain why the white and brown wires were spliced with the alarm.
It may be that RED brings 12v, BLACK is the ground and then WHITE and BROWN are there to activate the relays, which in turn route power to the GREEN and BLUE wires to lock/unlock the doors.
Regarding power supply, there is no yellow button to press in the fusebox. I'll try to take a pic also JIC.
I did move the inertia switch around. As a matter of fact, it was dangling down freely from its wires, so I picked it up to see what it was and then I noticed the rattling noise inside.
I removed the rubber cap on the switch and I saw a white plastic cage with a metallic ball inside. I decided to just wire it back up after removing the alarm wires and leave it be.
Will this bring the fuel pump back online? It remains to be seen.
Exactly the same here. No buttons on the fob and central locking only via the alarm fob OR the door key. I just thought that an alarm system wouldn't be including a full-on central locking system to replace manual locking on a car. If the central locking is indeed an aftermarket add-on it would explain why the wires running to the doors don't look factory jobbies.
Any thoughts on the wiring connections of the interface box?
EDIT: If we accept that this box controls the central locking, it would explain why the white and brown wires were spliced with the alarm.
It may be that RED brings 12v, BLACK is the ground and then WHITE and BROWN are there to activate the relays, which in turn route power to the GREEN and BLUE wires to lock/unlock the doors.
Regarding power supply, there is no yellow button to press in the fusebox. I'll try to take a pic also JIC.
Last edited:
Communicator
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Communicator,
I did move the inertia switch around. As a matter of fact, it was dangling down freely from its wires, so I picked it up to see what it was and then I noticed the rattling noise inside.
I removed the rubber cap on the switch and I saw a white plastic cage with a metallic ball inside. I decided to just wire it back up after removing the alarm wires and leave it be.
Will this bring the fuel pump back online? It remains to be seen.
The correct position for the inertia switch is, firmly mounted vertically on the bulkhead near the battery, with the cap upermost.
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Exactly the same here. No buttons on the fob and central locking only via the alarm fob OR the door key. I just thought that an alarm system wouldn't be including a full-on central locking system to replace manual locking on a car. If the central locking is indeed an aftermarket add-on it would explain why the wires running to the doors don't look factory jobbies.
You have misunderstood this. The central locking is the facility whereby all doors lock when for instance the driver's door is locked. The remote facility augments this. I suspect that your box is an interface between the remote control via the alarm system and the vehicle circuitry. If all doors lock as above your central locking is OK, but you will have lost the remote facility via the alarm. May I suggest that while perhaps inconvenient, this is secondary to keeping the vehicle moving.
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Any thoughts on the wiring connections of the interface box?
EDIT: If we accept that this box controls the central locking, it would explain why the white and brown wires were spliced with the alarm.
It may be that RED brings 12v, BLACK is the ground and then WHITE and BROWN are there to activate the relays, which in turn route power to the GREEN and BLUE wires to lock/unlock the doors.
This is similar to what I would expect. I have never had cause to delve into the central locking, and in my opinion the aftermarket alarm system connections on my vehicle are a mess. What is required is to take the lock and unlock commands from the alarm system receiver, and interface them to the lock and unlock command wires from the door key locks. There should be no need to supply power directly to the door locking motors, or to run wires into the doors.
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Regarding power supply, there is no yellow button to press in the fusebox. I'll try to take a pic also JIC.
As I expected, from the description it only seemed to interrupt the starter motor feed, but it is another source of possible problems eliminated.
Communicator
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Nick,
The above is suggesting that the battery is not being fully charged by the alternator.
I suggest that when you get the engine running again, you measure the voltage across the battery terminals. This should be about 14.4V. A lower voltage could be due to either a faulty alternator, or a faulty connection in the charging circuit, which includes the alternator mountings, and the connection to the engine block at the starter motor stud.
So, finally some good news.
The fuel pump not priming was indeed due to the inertia switch being activated. Below is how I found it initially, just dangling downwards at the back.
Also, notice the broken mount on the switch.
I mounted it securely at an upright position, clicked the button back to place and... lo and behold, the fuel pump was back to work happily.
But it gets even better: I managed to fix the central locking system! After wiring back the unit and supplying 12v and earth, it all came back to life.
Now, I think I will just get a remote fob to control the locks and call it a day.
Comm, I did check the alternator on several occasions and it is showing around 14.3 to 14.4v on tick over.
The fuel pump not priming was indeed due to the inertia switch being activated. Below is how I found it initially, just dangling downwards at the back.
Also, notice the broken mount on the switch.
I mounted it securely at an upright position, clicked the button back to place and... lo and behold, the fuel pump was back to work happily.
But it gets even better: I managed to fix the central locking system! After wiring back the unit and supplying 12v and earth, it all came back to life.
Now, I think I will just get a remote fob to control the locks and call it a day.
Comm, I did check the alternator on several occasions and it is showing around 14.3 to 14.4v on tick over.
