Electrical Gremlins
Discussion
My Tam seems to be suffering from a myriad of electrical gremlins at the moment including but not limited to the following...
- Electrical Boot release not working
- Passengers door not opening or closing
- Interior lights flickering
- EFI Fault code randomly appearing and disappearing on the dash
- Water Sensor fault code randomly appearing and disappearing on the dash
- The car can be difficult to start once it is hot - it sounds like it is struggling to turn over then catches as if the battery is almost flat. It has never failed to start but doesnt sound right. It starts fine every time of asking when cold.
Before I bought it the dash ECU had to be rebuilt. Paul Smith warned to check that all the earths were good as the damage to the dash could have been from a faulty earth. I dont have his exact text from the invoice to hand but that was the basic gist as far as I can remember. I ASSUME that the reputable dealer I purchased this vehicle from did this and didnt just throw the dash ECU back in and hope for the best!
Could that list of faults point towards one or several inadequate earth bonds or is this a collection of faults?
Where are the earth bonds on the car?
I know diagnosis from afar is very hard but any experience from others is always useful!
Thanks for any help in advance.
- Electrical Boot release not working
- Passengers door not opening or closing
- Interior lights flickering
- EFI Fault code randomly appearing and disappearing on the dash
- Water Sensor fault code randomly appearing and disappearing on the dash
- The car can be difficult to start once it is hot - it sounds like it is struggling to turn over then catches as if the battery is almost flat. It has never failed to start but doesnt sound right. It starts fine every time of asking when cold.
Before I bought it the dash ECU had to be rebuilt. Paul Smith warned to check that all the earths were good as the damage to the dash could have been from a faulty earth. I dont have his exact text from the invoice to hand but that was the basic gist as far as I can remember. I ASSUME that the reputable dealer I purchased this vehicle from did this and didnt just throw the dash ECU back in and hope for the best!
Could that list of faults point towards one or several inadequate earth bonds or is this a collection of faults?
Where are the earth bonds on the car?
I know diagnosis from afar is very hard but any experience from others is always useful!
Thanks for any help in advance.
Probably something to do with the rain you mentioned on the other thread dripping around dash and onto the fuse board.
These are symptoms similar to what I had in mine when it rained, except the water was taking a much less direct route than direct from source
Via bonnet release cable to grommet in passenger foot well then along the bottom dash to fuse board... I knew water reached there because there was green copper oxidation drip marks on a relay connection on the fuse board. Unplug relays to check yours.
It did always return to normal once dry... and hasn't happened since no matter how wild the rain is because I got busy with silicone sealant on and around any bulk head rubber grommet I could find. I also have those dehumidifying bags stuffed into every recess.
These are symptoms similar to what I had in mine when it rained, except the water was taking a much less direct route than direct from source
Via bonnet release cable to grommet in passenger foot well then along the bottom dash to fuse board... I knew water reached there because there was green copper oxidation drip marks on a relay connection on the fuse board. Unplug relays to check yours.It did always return to normal once dry... and hasn't happened since no matter how wild the rain is because I got busy with silicone sealant on and around any bulk head rubber grommet I could find. I also have those dehumidifying bags stuffed into every recess.
Bot release & PS door share the same ECU in the footwell. When it rains if you have a leak the water collects in the corner of the footwell where the ECu is.
Earths are battery connection itself, behind the battery & the earth off the alternator accessible with the wheel off on the drivers side. There will be more but I can't think where they are
Thanks for the replies chaps.
Some of these gremlins were showing their ugly heads before the rain shenanigans last night.
The hot starting has been an issue since I have owned the car and the random dash warnings too.
The car runs beautifully and pulls like a train so I cannot see there being many serious problems hence my suspicion of electrical gremlins!
Some of these gremlins were showing their ugly heads before the rain shenanigans last night.
The hot starting has been an issue since I have owned the car and the random dash warnings too.
The car runs beautifully and pulls like a train so I cannot see there being many serious problems hence my suspicion of electrical gremlins!
NJP said:
Thanks for the replies chaps.
Some of these gremlins were showing their ugly heads before the rain shenanigans last night.
The hot starting has been an issue since I have owned the car and the random dash warnings too.
The car runs beautifully and pulls like a train so I cannot see there being many serious problems hence my suspicion of electrical gremlins!
I fixed my random dash warnings by tightening the earth connection in the passenger footwell half a turn. It's my favourite fix, half a turn of one bolt fixed so many things! Some of these gremlins were showing their ugly heads before the rain shenanigans last night.
The hot starting has been an issue since I have owned the car and the random dash warnings too.
The car runs beautifully and pulls like a train so I cannot see there being many serious problems hence my suspicion of electrical gremlins!
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