Comfortmatic died Help! (3 Viewers)

[Gringo2]

Hi all, my comfortmatic has just died on site in Luxembourg. No systems before just got message “check transmission - see handbook” . Won’t select any gears in auto or manual and when I try for 1st gear in auto or manual I can hear a clicking sound like it is trying to select. Had all the fluids changed and recalibrated over 6 months/5 k miles ago. Anyone got any ideas before I attempt the breakdown insurance

 

[WESTY66]

dunnah01 any ideas?

 

[Kannon Fodda]

This guide may give you some suggestions

Comfortmatic (Get You Home)

There's a multitude of posts about the reliability of the Comfortmatic gear selector system and the horror stories of people getting stuck all over Europe. I've cobbled together a few pointers to hopefully reduce some anxiety and give some pointers how to get you home in an emergency. Happy to...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

When mine went, breakdown managed to reset something by disconnecting the starter battery for a few minutes. That proved to be a temporary fix for a couple of times only, before it was properly broke and I ended up with recovery to Portsmouth for major repairs.

 

[Minxy]

I suspect you've accidentally caused the issue by putting it in neutral and turning the engine off, it should always be left in gear (first ideally) when turning off. Then to aggravate the MH further you let it roll down to the service point which has likely made the 'brain' get in a right tizzy as it thinks there's something majorly wrong, hence the error messages.

I seriously doubt you've done any real damage but until you can re-set it you won't know for sure, unfortunately I can't help you with that but I'll keep everything crossed for you.

 

[bigtwin]

you've accidentally caused the issue by putting it in neutral and turning the engine off, it should always be left in gear (first ideally) when turning off.

That’s a new one on me; is there a rationale for this as it seems to go against what might be considered normal practice?

Ian

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[Badknee]

That’s a new one on me; is there a rationale for this as it seems to go against what might be considered normal practice?

Ian

Fiat want you to turn the engine off in gear, I get an alarm if I switch it off in neutral.

 

[dunnah01]

Not

Hi all, my comfortmatic has just died on site in Luxembourg. No systems before just got message “check transmission - see handbook” . Won’t select any gears in auto or manual and when I try for 1st gear in auto or manual I can hear a clicking sound like it is trying to select. Had all the fluids changed and recalibrated over 6 months/5 k miles ago. Anyone got any ideas before I attempt the breakdown insurance

Not sure of the full sequence of how you got the error message but if you have applied the handbrake whilst the moho was moving slightly and in gear you may have some residual load in the drive line that's preventing the gearbox from going into neutral when trying to start the engine. Try releasing the handbrake and footbrake and then try to select neutral. It's worth trying a few times just to rule it out as a problem before moving in to more complex searching

 

[stevewagner]

Did you touch the foot brake and accelerator at the same time?

 

[Just smiffy]

Fiat want you to turn the engine off in gear, I get an alarm if I switch it off in neutral.

It’s a pain, and when you start up again you get the warning to either push the brake down or put it in neutral to start it… I do have a habit of leaving it in neutral…

 

[WESTY66]

Brake light switch??

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[VXman]

I do have a habit of leaving it in neutral…

I don't have comformatic but as a side point to this discussion I always leave my cars/motorhome in gear when parked. Seems a sensible thing to do in case the handbrake should fail or not be on properly.

 

[Gringo2]

Not

Not sure of the full sequence of how you got the error message but if you have applied the handbrake whilst the moho was moving slightly and in gear you may have some residual load in the drive line that's preventing the gearbox from going into neutral when trying to start the engine. Try releasing the handbrake and footbrake and then try to select neutral. It's worth trying a few times just to rule it out as a problem before moving in to more complex searching

That could be part of problem as I let the MH roll back on a hill to line up with waste drop and problem occurred immediately after. Will give it a good and report back Thsnkd

 

[chaser]

I don't have comformatic but as a side point to this discussion I always leave my cars/motorhome in gear when parked. Seems a sensible thing to do in case the handbrake should fail or not be on properly.

 

[Gringo2]

It’s a pain, and when you start up again you get the warning to either push the brake down or put it in neutral to start it… I do have a habit of leaving it in neutral…

Just got check transmission

 

[Gringo2]

But I also have the habit of Neutral.

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[Gringo2]

That could be part of problem as I let the MH roll back on a hill to line up with waste drop and problem occurred immediately after. Will give it a good and report back Thsnkd

Tried it. Will give me gears when engine not running but drops back to Neutral on starting engine

 

[Nyvern]

switching off the engine when in gear might be more to do with security as there is no parking mode on this automatic box

 

[Nyvern]

Tried it. Will give me gears when engine not running but drops back to Neutral on starting engine

had that problem with mine after rolling back in neutral using the hand brake. Strangely enough it went back into gear after clipping my seat belt. Didn't see the connection but that's when it decided to work!

 

[MichaelT]

That’s a new one on me; is there a rationale for this as it seems to go against what might be considered normal practice?

Ian

Its in the handbook, if you don't you get an annoying beep when you turn off the engine.

 

[MichaelT]

Tried it. Will give me gears when engine not running but drops back to Neutral on starting engine

Thats what its supposed to do, you then select A or R to drive it?

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[Gringo2]

Brake light switch??

All seems ok

 

[Pausim]

Most automatics make you leave the gearbox in Park when you turn off the engine. The Comfortmatic encourages you to leave it in gear by sounding a warning alarm if it is in neutral. When you turn the ignition back on the Comfortmatic puts itself in neutral and forces you to put your foot on the foot brake to move the gear lever to neutral and then select A/M. This seems like a good safety precaution. All automatics force you to put your foot on the brake to select drive or reverse. A torque converter automatic will not allow you to roll back unless you shift to neutral, perhaps the Comfortmatic has a weakness in that respect and protects itself in a different way by shutting down.

 

[Gringo2]

Thats what it’s supposed to do, you then select A or R to drive it?

Still drops the gear as selected after about 2 secs

 

[Gringo2]

Most automatics make you leave the gearbox in Park when you turn off the engine. The Comfortmatic encourages you to leave it in gear by sounding a warning alarm if it is in neutral. When you turn the ignition back on the Comfortmatic puts itself in neutral and forces you to put your foot on the foot brake to move the gear lever to neutral and then select A/M. This seems like a good safety precaution. All automatics force you to put your foot on the brake to select drive or reverse. A torque converter automatic will not allow you to roll back unless you shift to neutral, perhaps the Comfortmatic has a weakness in that respect and protects itself in a different way by shutting down.

Seems to make sense to me. I think it is a protection system. Waiting for tech with OBD reader to arrive. Hopefully he can clear the fault code and get us moving. Thanks for your info

 

[MichaelT]

Still drops the gear as selected after about 2 secs

OK looks like you need to clear the code. You could try the tips Kannon Fodda posted above or as a start disconnect the battery for 30 minutes and retry.

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[Gringo2]

had that problem with mine after rolling back in neutral using the hand brake. Strangely enough it went back into gear after clipping my seat belt. Didn't see the connection but that's when it decided to work!

Just tried this one. Not worked for me I’m afraid. Thanks anyway

 

[Gringo2]

OK looks like you need to clear the code. You could try the tips Kannon Fodda posted above or as a start disconnect the battery for 30 minutes and retry.

Thanks Michael T. Battery been disconnected so it feels like a code clear.

 

[dunnah01]

Seems to make sense to me. I think it is a protection system. Waiting for tech with OBD reader to arrive. Hopefully he can clear the fault code and get us moving. Thanks for your info

Hopefully this will get you going again. Try to make sure any engine codes that may be present are cleared before clearing the Comfortmatic codes. They can be a bit Italian in the respect..

 

[IRHP]

That’s a new one on me; is there a rationale for this as it seems to go against what might be considered normal practice?

Ian

It's normal practice with the Comfortmatic and it's in the handbook. It's the same as leaving a manual in gear, otherwise you are relying on the handbrake, there is no "park"

 

[scotzsue]

This is really interesting, we didn't get a handbook containing information for the automatic, and can't find that information in the online manual, anyone got the page number Minxy anyone.

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