Summer season is here
With the weather getting warmer we are starting to see more cars with A/C issues. Here is a Peugeot RCZ […]
READ MORE -Another week, another vehicle with water ingress causing havoc with electrical systems.
We are seeing more and more cars with water ingress into the cabin and no manufacturer is immune. It seems that manufacturers are finding it hard to build cars suitable for our environment.
Here we see a car with the passenger seat removed and the carpet lifted to reveal the loom and connectors submerged in water causing various systems to stay live when the car was locked up
A busy week in our workshop with amongst other vehicles this jaguar that had various communication issues with ABS, TRACTION AND STABILITY CONTROL, ELECTRIC PARKING BRAKE. Other garages had tried to get to the bottom of the issues but had given up.
First we plugged in our new dealer level diagnostic equipment AUTOLOGIC and got various fault codes all attributed to the ABS MODULE . The ABS MODULE is situated behind the o/s headlight, a visual inspection of the area showed signs of damage leading us to suspect it had been in a crash and so could have possible wiring damage around the front of the vehicle. 
The bumper was removed and the loom inspected and various broken wires repaired. This fixed the ABS problems.
The electric handbrake was then investigated. A common problem with this can be the module at the rear of the car above the dif. Luckily with close inspection of the loom leading to this we found a previous repair job had failed so a new stronger repair was carried out.
A factory reset was then performed and everything worked a treat!
We are seeing more and more cars with water ingress into wiring looms and control modules especially Fords and Renault.
Here we see a GEM unit with water ingress causing all sorts of sporadic faults with wipers, warning lights and intermittent starting. The water here was from condensation off the heater matrix 
Here at WIDNES AUTO ELECTRICAL we are experienced at the removal and repair of these and other similar control units.
This came into our workshop this week with no sidelights and the customer having already had it into his usual garage which couldn’t locate the fault. . All the obvious checks were made first like bulbs,fuses and switch.  Through diagnostic live data we could see the switch sending command for sidelights so that eliminated the switch and the wiring to control module.
We then unplugged the module to start checking continuity between it and the sidelights only to see this! 
 The plug onto the module was just as bad, but unavailable as a spare part. Luckily second hand parts were sourced locally and fitted. The customer was extremely happy at the savings against new parts and a quick and proper diagnosis.
Volkswagen T4 – Solving the mystery misfire problem
This T4came in with a misfire. 2 previous garages had taken a look but the fault remained. This vehicle also had a gas conversion to add to the complications, but it ran fine on gas no misfire.
Once we figured out which cylinder the misfire was on we checked for a pulse at this injector with a node light and found no pulse, so the chances were the injector was ok, not worth taking out for testing at this point.
With the correct wiring diagram we did continuity test between injector and ecu and found none. But the odd thing was we had no continuity between any of the injectors and the ecu. There was nothing on the original wiring diagrams about any component in between so we assumed the gas conversion had something installed that cut the pulse to the injectors whilst on gas. 
So the loom was stripped back and traced to see where it lead
Eventually we found a module in the circuit, seen here on the left of the picture. We then checked for continuity from this module to the injector and to the ecu all was ok.
As the make of this module could not be identified we linked out the module on this cylinder and disabled the gas system which the customer said he didn’t use anyway. Van was now running perfect.
To find out more about how we can help go to our dedicated page for Engine Misfires
 
2003 Audi A4 – Solving the mystery power modude issues
Into our busy workshop this week from another garage was this Audi with no wipers and indicators. The other garage had tried another convenience module but the fault remained.
Being experienced at VAG systems and with both faults being on the steering column we could trace the fault from there
Using accurate wiring diagrams, the signals from the steering column go from the steering column control module to the power distribution module then that module tells the devices to work.
The signals were getting to the power module but it wasn’t sending them out.
A new module was sourced from the agent and plugged in no coding is necessary with this part
Pico scope is the most reliable way to test wiring and can signals.
The new power distribution module
Into our workshop today was this Focus RS with an ABS light illuminated.
A quick serial scan showed front sensor faults. We performed a live data check by going for a run in the vehicle and found no communication with the front sensors.
2012 355hp
Once exposed the wiring was excessively taught
once the car was lifted and the sensors examined the trouble was obvious. The common issue with the RS model is that because the car is alot wider than the regular car and they haven’t extended the wiring looms to the sensors, the wiring is stretched excessively and can become open circuit. Repair looms were sourced from the dealer and repaired successfully. 
Into our workshop this week was this Honda with a parasitic drain which was switching between 200 ma and 400 ma at regular intervals. The first thing we had to do is to find which circuit the discharge was on. Once this was found by checking which fuse when removed made the discharge dissappear, we had to trace all the components on thus circuit.
Due to the nature of the discharge we didn’t suspect wiring as these type of discharges tend to be more erratic. So we started the process of disconnecting the various components. When all the components were disconnected the discharge was still present. But through experience we knew that one of the systems on the circuit which was the Stereo/satnav system would also have Bluetooth capabilities and the module for this was buried behind the dashboard. When we eventually got access to it, it was warm to the touch even though the car had been off for a while. The component was disconnected as the customer had no use for it, the car reassembled and a happy customer picked up the car knowing his problems had been sorted.
The Bluetooth module was buried deep behind the centre console.
Into our workshop this week was this BMW X5. The customer complained of the airbag light on since he had the car valeted. A simple code read on the vehicle identified the passenger occupancy sensor fault. Which is the device that tells the car if somebody is sat in the front passenger seat.
The first thing we checked is the connections under the seat in case they had been disturbed during the valet. All was Ok.
Next we mimicked the resistance that the sensor would have by unplugging the sensor and replacing it with a resistor of equal value. The airbag light went out and acted as it should.
So a new sensor was sourced from the dealer, the seat removed and stripped (not an easy job).
The sensor seen here can be damaged easily by kneeling in the centre of the seat cracking the delicate circuit
We know that a lot of people need consistent maintenance to their vehicles, and that doesn’t fall short in terms of Alternators. That’s why we at Widnes Auto Electrical are here to provide you with all of your needs in regards to Alternators.
The Alternators primary function is to keep your battery charged. As well as that, it also provides your car with all of the means to be able to run things related to electricity. A tip to look out for, is if your startermotor is cranking or turning slowly when you’re starting your vehicle it may be because the voltage in the battery is low and you may need to get the Alternator either repaired or replaced. If you think your car is suffering from this give us a call to discuss it further or pop in and we can quickly perform some tests to find the cause of all your problems.