Fiat ducato air bag warning light is on…..AGAIN.

[Camper634]

For the 3rd time in less than 12 months the air bag warning light is back on the dash.The last time was 6 weeks ago when it cost me £88 with crashdata to have the module reprogrammed.I did ask the question then why has it gone again.One of the replies it could be high voltage when starting the engine.So every time since the last replacement i have turned the ignition to on and waited until the various lights went off before cranking the engine.This morning i only tuned the ignition on to check mu LPG levels and almost immediately the air bag light came on.
I am at a loss what to do next.I cant keep paying £88 God knows how many times.Has anyone please got/had this problem and found out a reliable fix?Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[Phill D]

Thanks Ben, many of us have been thinking for some time if there was a way of understanding what is happening with these fiat airbag ecu’s.
While I am no electronics or data expert I have an electro mechanical background so find your post both informative and helpful.
I do have multiecuscan and have both reset the airbag ecu and proxi a replacement in the past few years.
Thank you again

Ps: in case you did not realise as a new member to the forum you only get 5 posts before you need to subscribe.

 

[Stealaway]

Received ECU back from Autotech today.Charged me £95 including postage.Report enclosed with it said it had lost comms and had corrosion?When it packed in it was because of low battery volts.Colour me sceptical.Anyway after refitting the air bag light had gone off but the odometer was flashing.A note stapled to the report said if this happened it would need proxy alignment.None of the previous repairs needed this so i was a little miffed.However an hour later I took it out and the odometer had stopped flashing and all appears ok Not exactly filled with confidence but with the MOT due in 2 weeks hopefully it will last until then.In fact I wont use it until I take it for the MOT.I will now lay down in a dark room until my head clears

As above.
Definitely take it for an MOT immediately.

Good luck

 

[Camper634]

Strange things happening since refitting the ECU.Air bag light gone out so thats a plus.However as i said earlier the odeometer was flashing when i first reconnected the battery but when i tried it again later it was ok.Came for a ride out yesterday and and got a message on the panel check RH indicator lights.To cut to the chase,nither of the 2 rear indicator lights ,both LED,are working.To add to the confusion i got a low vehicle battery voltage warning on my sargeants control panel with a reading of 7 volts.Testing the voltage at the battery,12.7 V.I can see the display fluctuating between low volts and normal volts .Is it reasonable to think this is something to do with the proxy alignment or just a massive coincidence?The indicators did start to work when the panel voltage was steady at 12.6 ish volts but as the voltage dropped off they stopped working again.I have a V5 controller fitted which was required to fit a tow bar socket,and i think this all links in.Any sensible suggestions greatly appreciated.PS it is a brand new vehicle battery.

 

[Phill D]

My go to check would be the tow bar electrics controller.

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[Camper634]

My go to check would be the tow bar electrics controller.

That does seem the obvious thing Phil,its just the other bits have scrambled my thinking

 

[Phill D]

That does seem the obvious thing Phil,its just the other bits have scrambled my thinking

It does seem to be too much of a coincidence but when you said that if the panel voltage went up all was well with the lights that tipped the balance for me.

 

[TheBig1]

As a sparky with some experience, this sounds like an earthing problem. When you did the airbag ECU, did you disconnect the battery? If you did, I suggest redo it and clean the terminals as a first step

 

[SpeedyDux]

Canbus works in mysterious ways. It doesn't take much to confuse it and the random outcomes will send you looking in the wrong direction. That's my theory anyway.

 

[Camper634]

As a sparky with some experience, this sounds like an earthing problem. When you did the airbag ECU, did you disconnect the battery? If you did, I suggest redo it and clean the terminals as a first step

Yes i tried that and all looked ok.I have been on the phone to sargeants and they suggust running an earh all the way back to the battery neg terminal from the tow unit PCB .They have offered me a sale or return on a replacement tow unit which i think is very fair of them too.Unfortunately i am stuck in York and they close at 12 on a Friday.

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[Camper634]

Well,after all that it had nothing to do with the sargeants PCB or the proxy alignment caper.I sat down cleared my head and started from scratch.Just began gaining access to the vehicle battery to use as a starting point when i heard a slight buzzing sound whichi traced out to a small 8 way fuse unit behind the drivers seat.Gaining access did mean removing a couple of trims,removing 4 tiny screws and this allowed me to pull it up from the floor and access the connections on the back.And there it was!The incoming supply from the vehicle battery had come loose and was arcing..The retaining clip had either come off in the last 5 years or had never been on properly in the first place.
What a relief when i clipped it back on and all the faults were gone.I will replace both the fusebox and the incoming connections after the bank holiday in case there is damage which i cant see.So if your vehicle voltmeter is behaving strangely you might want to look at the vehicle to motorhome interface first.

 

[Millsy's]

For the 3rd time in less than 12 months the air bag warning light is back on the dash.The last time was 6 weeks ago when it cost me £88 with crashdata to have the module reprogrammed.I did ask the question then why has it gone again.One of the replies it could be high voltage when starting the engine.So every time since the last replacement i have turned the ignition to on and waited until the various lights went off before cranking the engine.This morning i only tuned the ignition on to check mu LPG levels and almost immediately the air bag light came on.
I am at a loss what to do next.I cant keep paying £88 God knows how many times.Has anyone please got/had this problem and found out a reliable fix?Any help greatly appreciated.

Just rang Crashdata and they said that they have stopped doing the repairs ?

 

[FrankNicklin]

I don't think I would trust an airbag controller to be repaired. What does the repair actually entail, do you know it will work in the event it is required.

I had to have an airbag controller replaced on a car about 5/6 years ago. It was £600 then and that was at dealer price, full price was over £800.00. Took 30 minutes to replace. They tested one off another car first to make sure it was the controller at fault before committing which I thought was good.

Interesting though you say they are not repairing any more. Still shows they are on their website.

Ducato Archives - Crash Data Airbag Module Reset

Fiat Ducato Airbag Reset and Repair Service Has your vehicle been involved in an accident? Has your airbag light come on? Have your airbags been deployed? Need an Airbag Module Reset? - You've come to the right place! Here at Crash Data we reset and repair your airbag module at a competitive...

www.crashdata.co.uk

 

[Colino]

Just rang Crashdata and they said that they have stopped doing the repairs ?

Plenty on ebay do it and cheaper. Can't guarantee it will work but that's the same with crashdata. At least its cheaper on ebay £55. I had mine done on ebay but cant find the seller now. When I had mine done I also charged the battery up ,changed the earth lead to the engine and run an earth lead from the ecu to the body of the van. So far all good ,been about 6 months.

 

[TheBig1]

There is a big difference between a reset and a repair. Resets are simply plug it in to a computer and refresh the software, deleting the faults. Much like resetting a computer when the software corrupts. Repairing entails opening up the box and soldering components on the board. Having forensically examined a failed unit, the fault (in that case) was most likely the microcontroller, as nothing was evident on the board as failed. I am continuing to put time into testing it though. Not too certain I would be happy guaranteeing a board level repair, as there is an inherent risk of a fault recurring, due to the original design. I have discussed the board with a few friends in the electronics trade and they are not surprised that they occasionally fail. The design appears to be a board that can be used on multiple different vehicle types with alternative components. There are unused component places on the board. The quality issue seems to be linked to the price of components used. Much the same as the dashboard issue where the LEDs light up randomly and can be repaired using better quality resistors etc. The idea of saving money on safety critical systems is very worrying. You are only talking a matter of a few pounds at the manufacturing stage. However multiply that by millions of pounds a year and set that against the few failures within warranty and manufacturers deem it acceptable for the cost saving

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[Alan Atkin]

For the 3rd time in less than 12 months the air bag warning light is back on the dash.The last time was 6 weeks ago when it cost me £88 with crashdata to have the module reprogrammed.I did ask the question then why has it gone again.One of the replies it could be high voltage when starting the engine.So every time since the last replacement i have turned the ignition to on and waited until the various lights went off before cranking the engine.This morning i only tuned the ignition on to check mu LPG levels and almost immediately the air bag light came on.
I am at a loss what to do next.I cant keep paying £88 God knows how many times.Has anyone please got/had this problem and found out a reliable fix?Any help greatly appreciated.

For the 3rd time in less than 12 months the air bag warning light is back on the dash.The last time was 6 weeks ago when it cost me £88 with crashdata to have the module reprogrammed.I did ask the question then why has it gone again.One of the replies it could be high voltage when starting the engine.So every time since the last replacement i have turned the ignition to on and waited until the various lights went off before cranking the engine.This morning i only tuned the ignition on to check mu LPG levels and almost immediately the air bag light came on.
I am at a loss what to do next.I cant keep paying £88 God knows how many times.Has anyone please got/had this problem and found out a reliable fix?Any help greatly appreciated.

I had this fault you can buy a ome ecu on the internet for approx £75 the mech who was a neighbour told that the latest ( manufactures info )is to fit an extra thick earth cable you can remove and replace your self only 3 screws and two cables not interchangable then send it for reprogramme. I asked the garage for my old one back and it was all packaged ready to be shipped off for repair. I wasnt on this site then think i would have saved some money . My van is a peugot but has the same ecu.

mine has now been going with no trouble

 

[Colino]

Just rang Crashdata and they said that they have stopped doing the repairs ?

This was on Facebook yesterday.