ianGT156
Member
Hi All,
It occurred to me recently that I should test my ABS properly. I have occasionally braked a little bit heavily at high speeds and was a little bit worried that the car "wobbled" a tiny bit in the process.
So today I tried it at 20mph and then 30mph, just around the corner from where I live. I was seriously impressed at just how quickly the car stopped, even on a wet road. The car behaved impeccably. Then I noticed that the centre display had gone off. I stopped the car and switched the engine off and on and there was the engine fault icon on with "Engine Fault: Repair Needed". The car though was running as perfectly as usual.
After slightly cacking myself, I thought, "Oh God, this is gonna be a £55 cost just to read the fault". With the centre display being completely black I couldn't even try to read any diagnostic fault. So I came here to the forum and did a search.
What leapt out at me immediately was somebody's post with the word "AA" on it. I got an RAC warranty with the car including membership. So off I drove 4 miles from home where I had just come through on my way back from work. I parked the car in a layby and fabricated my story for the RAC....
After an incredibly long wait of almost two hours from 09:00 on an ordinary damp Monday morning, those reassuring flashing amber lights pulled up behind me. A really pleasant chap called "Stewart" got his wireless OBD kit out (who would ever of thought to look for the socket there?!?!?)
Up it came with something like COMMS link lost from ABS and Multifunction screen similarly affected. I'm not sure if the resolution was on his kit or it was his own experience but he suggested that the battery be disconnected and it might reset itself. OK, I'm not a car techie at all but I was impressed just how easy it is to disconnect the battery. I thought he'd be getting a socket set out at the very least.
So five minutes later he starts the engine and bingo! The centre display had come back to life and the engine warning icon had gone and no fault messages displayed.
I told him he was my hero, shook his hand and told him I love him. I'm a bit of a softie twat like that. He did say if it happened again then it could be due to a wiring fault, and if so, they can be extremely hard to find. I haven't used a breakdown service for about fifteen years (apart from murdering a Skoda Diesel engine with water flooding). He took my email address and sent me a "Customer Assistance Report" with an attachment.
It was such a relief and an added bonus to get it sorted for free. I learned a bit too. He also remarked that the engine bay looked really good, as in clean, and I haven't really done much to it yet.
Here's the gist of the report...
"Comments Suspected Diagnosis – Verify all diagnosis with your preferred repairer prior to any work being completed or ordering any parts
Lost communications with abs and also the multi function display control unit. Carry out a battery
disconnect procedure for 5 minutes and retest. All operting ok now. Clear fault codes and test ok.
Diagnostic Codes
RAC DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM
System Type: ENGINE SYSTEM TEST/VALUES
Name: 5FU - MEVD17.4.2 - 1.6L - 147 (200)
5FV - MEVD17.4 EURO5 - 1.6L - 115 (156)
DTC: U1213,CAN: No communication with ABS or ESP ECU
DTC: U0140,No communication with BSI
System Type: CENTRAL ELECTRONIC UNIT
Name: BODY COMPUTER - DIAGNOSE
DTC: 40A,Oil level gauge
DTC: 5FF,BSI internal fault
DTC: 023,Multifunctional screen control unit, communication faulty
Well done RAC :beer: :clap: :dance:
It occurred to me recently that I should test my ABS properly. I have occasionally braked a little bit heavily at high speeds and was a little bit worried that the car "wobbled" a tiny bit in the process.
So today I tried it at 20mph and then 30mph, just around the corner from where I live. I was seriously impressed at just how quickly the car stopped, even on a wet road. The car behaved impeccably. Then I noticed that the centre display had gone off. I stopped the car and switched the engine off and on and there was the engine fault icon on with "Engine Fault: Repair Needed". The car though was running as perfectly as usual.
After slightly cacking myself, I thought, "Oh God, this is gonna be a £55 cost just to read the fault". With the centre display being completely black I couldn't even try to read any diagnostic fault. So I came here to the forum and did a search.
What leapt out at me immediately was somebody's post with the word "AA" on it. I got an RAC warranty with the car including membership. So off I drove 4 miles from home where I had just come through on my way back from work. I parked the car in a layby and fabricated my story for the RAC....
After an incredibly long wait of almost two hours from 09:00 on an ordinary damp Monday morning, those reassuring flashing amber lights pulled up behind me. A really pleasant chap called "Stewart" got his wireless OBD kit out (who would ever of thought to look for the socket there?!?!?)
Up it came with something like COMMS link lost from ABS and Multifunction screen similarly affected. I'm not sure if the resolution was on his kit or it was his own experience but he suggested that the battery be disconnected and it might reset itself. OK, I'm not a car techie at all but I was impressed just how easy it is to disconnect the battery. I thought he'd be getting a socket set out at the very least.
So five minutes later he starts the engine and bingo! The centre display had come back to life and the engine warning icon had gone and no fault messages displayed.
I told him he was my hero, shook his hand and told him I love him. I'm a bit of a softie twat like that. He did say if it happened again then it could be due to a wiring fault, and if so, they can be extremely hard to find. I haven't used a breakdown service for about fifteen years (apart from murdering a Skoda Diesel engine with water flooding). He took my email address and sent me a "Customer Assistance Report" with an attachment.
It was such a relief and an added bonus to get it sorted for free. I learned a bit too. He also remarked that the engine bay looked really good, as in clean, and I haven't really done much to it yet.
Here's the gist of the report...
"Comments Suspected Diagnosis – Verify all diagnosis with your preferred repairer prior to any work being completed or ordering any parts
Lost communications with abs and also the multi function display control unit. Carry out a battery
disconnect procedure for 5 minutes and retest. All operting ok now. Clear fault codes and test ok.
Diagnostic Codes
RAC DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM
System Type: ENGINE SYSTEM TEST/VALUES
Name: 5FU - MEVD17.4.2 - 1.6L - 147 (200)
5FV - MEVD17.4 EURO5 - 1.6L - 115 (156)
DTC: U1213,CAN: No communication with ABS or ESP ECU
DTC: U0140,No communication with BSI
System Type: CENTRAL ELECTRONIC UNIT
Name: BODY COMPUTER - DIAGNOSE
DTC: 40A,Oil level gauge
DTC: 5FF,BSI internal fault
DTC: 023,Multifunctional screen control unit, communication faulty
Well done RAC :beer: :clap: :dance:
