URGENT HELP PLEASE - Dash Won't Power Down

[R11ysf]

After thinking how trouble free my Tuscan 2 S has been for the summer it's thrown a wobbly on the way home. It was absolutely fine for 200 odd miles this weekend, I came home turned it off to open the garage and then when I re-started it and moved it inside it brought up a series of faults.

N.B. This is "Mk 3" so it has a WAVY dash the same as the convertibles.

First the lights on buzzer kept sounding even though the lights weren't on. I went in to the dash menu and cleared:

Fault 16 - Lights on Fault.
Fault 145 - F-RAM Failed
Fault 149 - Clock Failed

And now it has Fault 0 - NO Faults

WTF!! The Fault code is NO Faults!! I know we are to expect a few problems but a fault code for not having any!

Anyway the dash is all lit up and it sounds like something is running behind the dash. I have pulled all the relays and it has not turned it off. Now it is on an optimate but I can feel it getting very hot and I don't want to either have the battery get drained or worse still to burn something out or overheat or catch fire.

I have done some reading and it appears this may be the alternator causing the problem, but this is not my main concern. The problem I need help with is how to power it down. I've read about the "100 amp fuse" is this the main power fuses? Can this be pulled to kill all power coming from the battery? If so where is it as I had read it is in the passenger footwell but I couldn't find it at all.

So in a nutshell, the car is in a locked garage so I;m not waorried about the alarm but HOW DO I KILL ALL POWER COMING FROM THE BATTERY TO MAKE THE CAR SAFE OVERNIGHT?

Thanks everyone.

[Cats]

If you can get at the front near side wheel arch, remove the false liner that covers the battery and take the positive off the battery. If you can it's probably easier with the wheel off but I think it is doable if you can't.
Good luck

[jev]

I had something that sounds similar and it was the diode pack on the alternator (apparently). It just needs a trickle of load for the thing to realise it needs to power down otherwise it stays live. This can be done by depressing the brake pedal (the load from the brake lights is enough). Pot luck whether the thing will start again afterwards.

I would unplug the optimate - this may be confusing it (although I've never used one & this is our guesswork).

[leerdam23]

Had something like this on my car, can you pull the fuse for the dash/ignition?

Edited by leerdam23 on Sunday 11th October 20:26

[R11ysf]

I've tried pulling all the relays with no joy.
I've tried turning the lights on and off with no joy.
Anyone know which is the fuse to pull but I think it may be more than that. It sounds like there is something running in the background.

[R11ysf]

OK.
Thanks to all that helped.

I managed to get the battery cover off without jacking up the car and taking the wheel off, it's a bit of a pain and getting covered in muck. I unplugged the battery and then re-connected it and that seemed to cure the problem.

One thing - Should the 100 AMP fuse be in the battery compartment?? That's where mine was so no wonder I couldn't find it in the passenger footwell.

I'm guessing the alternator might bu on the way out then???

[Englishman]

There are two 'big' fuses, one in the passenger compartment, 80 amps from the factory and one in the engine bay, 100 amps from the factory. Looks like one has been moved.

[QBee]

Englishman said:

There are two 'big' fuses, one in the passenger compartment, 80 amps from the factory and one in the engine bay, 100 amps from the factory. Looks like one has been moved.

If this is the same arrangement as the Chimaera (no reason why it should be), then the 100 amp in the engine compartment will lie electrically between the alternator and the battery, so merely stops the battery charging if it blows (in the Chim it is underneath the car, straight down from the alternator), and the 80 amp in the passenger compartment stops virtually everything from working if it is pulled/blown.

Is the arrangement similar in the Tuscan?

[so called]

I had a similar problem on my Tuscan Convertible.
The dash would stay on every time I stopped, turned the engine of and withdrew the key.
The first time I didn't notice and had a flat battery the next day.

By accident I found that if I dabbed the brake peddle after switching off, the dash would then go off.

After I had a respray and re-trim this year the problem came back.

The cure was to fit a suppressor somewhere..... alternator ?
If its the same problem, give Ian at TorqueRVT a call, he fixed mine or I'm pretty sure Dom at TVR Power knows the fix as well.

[NCE 61]

The fuse in the battery compartment is for the power steering pump.

There was a topic on the T350/Tamora/Sagaris forum about the alternator rectifier causing the dash lights to stay on.

[so called]

NCE 61 said:

The fuse in the battery compartment is for the power steering pump.

There was a topic on the T350/Tamora/Sagaris forum about the alternator rectifier causing the dash lights to stay on.

Yes, and you have fit a suppressor but I don't know where.
See my post above and make a call.
Good luck.

[Englishman]

QBee said:

Englishman said:

There are two 'big' fuses, one in the passenger compartment, 80 amps from the factory and one in the engine bay, 100 amps from the factory. Looks like one has been moved.

If this is the same arrangement as the Chimaera (no reason why it should be), then the 100 amp in the engine compartment will lie electrically between the alternator and the battery, so merely stops the battery charging if it blows (in the Chim it is underneath the car, straight down from the alternator), and the 80 amp in the passenger compartment stops virtually everything from working if it is pulled/blown.

Is the arrangement similar in the Tuscan?

Yes, except in S6 cars the 100 amp fuse is underneath the airbox near the coil pack. Same purpose though. The 80 amp one in footwell is fixed to the other side of the panel behind the battery well hidden behind the carpet, sound deadening material, wires, glue and other crud.