Category: Uncategorized

2015 Citroen Battery going flat even after journey. Tested at another garage and told it has a discharge, so brought to us.

We performed our tests and found the fault to actually be a non charging fault. The Alternator and wiring were both tested and proved to be good.

As with all PSA group cars this fault can be related to a software issue. With our PSA dealer tool and battery support unit on the vehicle we can scan the car and see if any software updates were available, which there were.

With the download complete the car started charging fine. The customer also stated that the running of the car was much smoother since update.

Another happy customer.

Starter Motors Widnes

Here at Widnes Auto Electrical, we can either repair or replace Starter Motors . We will diagnose the problem and then find a suitable result to fix it, or if the Starer Motors cannot be fixed, we will replace it. Below is a short summary on how we test Starter Motors :

First of all the starter motor would be tested to see if it functions properly; there are a number of common symptoms of a bad starter…

1. When you turn the key to crank the engine, nothing happens. The engine will not turn over.
2. When you turn the key to crank the engine and all you hear is one loud click. The engine will not turn over.
3. Or you turn the key to crank the engine and the engine turns over but very slowly and then stops.
4. The battery might be good and you will know this if; you bought a new one thinking that was the solution to the problem, or you got someone to help you jump start the vehicle to no avail.

Summary of the On Car Starting Test:

This is a brief summary of the tests that we’ll be carrying out to get to the bottom of what’s causing a no crank condition on your vehicle. With the tests that we’ll be carrying out you’ll be able to say with absolute certainty it is a bad Starter Motors or completely eliminate it as the cause of your vehicles problem. Although the tests are fairly simple, if you do them on your own and you find the root of the problem, then all we need to do is fix your problem and everything will be solved much, much quicker.

When you bring the car or vehicle to Widnes Auto electrical, these are some of the checks we run:

1. Firstly we test the battery before anything else. As this is a simple multi-meter test.
2. Our trained mechanics will test that the Starter Motors is receiving 12 volts on the battery circuit.
3. We will test that the Starter Motors is receiving the start signal from the ignition switch.
4. A voltage drop test for the starter battery and the ground circuits.
5. We will use a jumper-wire or an appropriate tool, apply 12 volts to the start signal wire.
6. Checks will be done to eliminate a locked-up engine or a locked-up A/C compressor.

If you think you’re having problems with your Starter Motors, or you feel that you need it replacing then please contact us, also if you want to know more about the other electrical services we provide with vehicle electronics then again please don’t hesitate to contact us and a member of our friendly team will be in contact with you shortly.

This fairly new Peugeot 2008 came in to our workshop with a charging problem.

Voltage across the battery was measured at 12.3volts when it should be more like 14.5volts. The wiring was checked, the positive lead was load tested and found to be ok, as was the earth. This is a smart Alternator and is controlled via a Lin signal from the engine ecu, this was tested and found to be good.

At this point most garages would have fitted a new Alternator, not cheap on theses cars, only to find the problem persists. We go further to prove a fault.

We have equipment that we can plug into the Alternator to simulate the control signals from engine ecu to the Alternator.

When we did this, the Alternator worked perfectly.

So, if the wiring is good and the Alternator is good what could the fault be?

Through experience we knew that some cars especially Peugeot can need a update on the software in the engine ecu.

Using the official dealer tool we can safely update control units without doing costly damage.

With the update completed the car was checked again. The charging checked and showed 14.4volts, perfect!

The customer was happy to avoid unwanted expense in the fitment of unneeded parts and went away happy!

We are pleased to say we have invested in new equipment. This is the genuine dealer tool as used by Peugeot and Citroen dealers and now since PSA bought Vauxhall, Vauxhall aswell.

This 3 series came to us after the dealer said there was nothing wrong with it.

The alarm was going off intermittantly.

A quick code read showed several faults

Testing the car seemed to show no faults .

But looking at the BMW site it showed a TSB (technical service bulletin) for this fault. The switches in the door become worn with age and set the alarm off.

The solution is to reprogram the frm module and this gives the switches larger tolerances so alarm doesn’t go off.

This Ford came to us with a cluster fault which the previous garage couldn’t solve because they didnt have correct tooling.

With the replacement cluster fitted car failed to start due to cluster being part of the PATS system (ant-itheft system).

But with the correct equipment the job is straight forward

With coding complete the car starts and runs.

Another happy customer

A older Renault came to our workshop with a running issue.

Various tests were performed and the ECU condemned. Due to high cost of new replacement part a 2nd hand unit was sourced. But due to immobiliser coding 2nd hand part wouldn’t allow car to start.

But with our equipment we have at our disposal we are able to Virginise 2nd hand part then code it to vehicle.

AUDI A4 with display fault on the instruement cluster.

We removed the cluster and replaced the faulty display.

2009 mini was in our workshop with airbag light illuminated.

A quick code read revealed internal fault in module.

But here at Widnes Auto Electrical we offer a repair service. We can remove your original unit and with specialist equipment repair your unit saving you 100’s pounds

With the chip resoldered onto the pcb and refitted to the vehicle, the airbag faults are cleared and the light extinguishes.

Another happy customer