Electrical Problems

[CyberCynth]

Something very strange has happened to my car. It was the morning after the big storm we had here in Wiltshire on Thursday evening. Friday morning I found the only things working were the engine, gearbox, and brakes! (oh, and the ignition system, otherwise the car wouldn't have started) Nothing of an electrical nature works, and the warning lights flashing on the dashboard are a sight to behold. I called for the cavalry, but my recovery service was unable to establish the cause of the problem with the mobile diagnostic kit, so I have booked it into a garage to be looked at on Monday morning. Just wondered whether anyone can throw any light on what might have caused the electrical system to fail so comprehensively! There was an awful lot of thunder and lightening in the storm, and unfortunately the car was facing into the prevailing wind/rain. The rescue mechanic thought it might just be the system having got thoroughly soaked, and might right itself when everything dries out. No improvement so far, despite me leaving the bonnet and doors open all day yesterday. Any ideas anyone? I hope it can be put right by Thursday, or I'm going to miss the Woosiefest. :S hmy:

 

[DeliDave_]

can only imagine water has got into the ECU somehow,Galaxys etc were notorious as ECU was in a seatwell which filled with water.Hopefully it will be able to be dried out OK Good Luck

 

[Dustydog]

Sorry to hear that Cynth.
I had a similar problem on my last car whereby every single light internal and external stayed on.Water had got into a multi pin plug and socket. Once dried out and treated with an electrical contact spray no more problems.

Hope to see you Thursday.

 

[CyberCynth]

Thanks for that, guys. I'm really wondering whether it's worth taking the car into the garage; if the problem is down to water in the system, isn't it just a case of just waiting until it all dries out? The electrical contact spray you mention, DD, can only be applied once everything has dried out, I assume. As it's been bright and dry today I've left the car doors and bonnet open in the hope of drying out quicker. I feel as though I'm between a rock and a hard place at the moment, as, if I take the car to the garage and get a massive repair bill, I shan't be able to afford to come out caravanning for a while. (Have had lots of other bills to pay just lately, so funds are already somewhat depleted!) But if I leave the car standing in the hope of it drying out, the Skoda may still be static by them! Ummmmmm........

 

[DeliDave_]

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/308675-2011-fabia-electrical-failure/
Dont know how he 'rebooted' to me its a technical term for disconnecting the battery leaving it a few minutes and reconnecting.There is another post about resetting the ECU
http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/201016-how-to-reset-the-engine-ecu/
If you have a go make sure you have radio codes available

 

[colin-yorkshire]

Thanks for that, guys. I'm really wondering whether it's worth taking the car into the garage; if the problem is down to water in the system, isn't it just a case of just waiting until it all dries out? The electrical contact spray you mention, DD, can only be applied once everything has dried out, I assume. As it's been bright and dry today I've left the car doors and bonnet open in the hope of drying out quicker. I feel as though I'm between a rock and a hard place at the moment, as, if I take the car to the garage and get a massive repair bill, I shan't be able to afford to come out caravanning for a while. (Have had lots of other bills to pay just lately, so funds are already somewhat depleted!) But if I leave the car standing in the hope of it drying out, the Skoda may still be static by them! Ummmmmm........

hi, Oh dear sounds like water shorting out the contacts, before taking it to the garage, and giving someone a wad to dry it out, I would buy a tin of WD40, [stands for " water dispersant 40 days> "the time it is supposed to protect for"] and give all the electrical connections a good soak leave an hour then try again. might just work.
ps it is what boaters use to dry out theirs, as you could imagine boat electrics get very wet very often. and it not failed yet,
pps waterproof connectors arn't waterproof :woohoo: .

 

[Dustydog]

How's it going Cynth ?

 

[CyberCynth]

How's it going Cynth ?

Thanks for asking, Dustydog. I decided to take the car in to the garage rather than messing about myself, and potentially making the problem worse! Got a 'phone call last night to say that my car has some 'complex electrical problems', which is a bit worrying!

Basically, the car's computer has conked out, it's as though the memory has been wiped; it doesn't communicate with the VCDS scanner. Apparently I'm not the only one to suffer in this way, the proprietor said they have had a number of cars in with the same problem, directly after a thunderstorm. However it does mean the systems that are defunct now all have to be identified manually, presumably what used to happen before the advent of computerised electronics? (And it's not as simple as blown fuses, they were all ok) So, the car will be worked on again today, but it doesn't sound like a 5 minute job!

Re the thunderstorm issue: one of my neighbours said she'd lost her broadband signal during the storm, so I assume the 'hit' on my car's computer can be compared to that problem?

 

[Dustydog]

Cynth
If the garage can categorically demonstrate the failure was caused by the storm
or lightning it maybe worth having a chat with your car insurers.
If this is a well known Sunday issue maybe they should be paying?
Good luck and hope you still make it on thursday.

 

[CyberCynth]

Cynth
If the garage can categorically demonstrate the failure was caused by the storm
or lightning it maybe worth having a chat with your car insurers.
If this is a well known Sunday issue maybe they should be paying?
Good luck and hope you still make it on thursday.

Hi DD, the good news is, I now have my car back, with all systems go! The mechanics managed to reboot the car's computer somehow, and restored all the info required, so everything started working again, without them having to start messing about with wiring and stuff.

I did wonder whether it was worth asking my insurers about compensation, but even if it can be proved that the storm was responsible for the damage, won't they just refuse to pay on the grounds that it was an 'act of God'? I suppose it's worth asking the question. - If I've got time! I now have lots of things to do in a very short time if I am to get to Shropshire for the Woosiefest!

 

[Dustydog]

:kiss: B)
CyberCynth is coming to Wheatalot

 

[CyberCynth]

:kiss: B)
CyberCynth is coming to Wheatalot

Yay!!!

Well, with reservations.... I put my battery on charge last night and checked the charger this morning, quite expecting to see a green light, only to find even the orange light wasn't illuminated. Oh dear. Check on the battery found the red clamp had come off the battery terminal so no charging. B*m. All reconnected; did another check a bit earlier on, and green light still not illuminated. The battery is only about a year old. I charged it up after my last outing (July, I think) and would have expected it to charge up fairly quickly once both the terminals were getting some power! I'm trying hard not to panic now. Once the 'van is under tow obviously it will get a trickle charge from the towing lead, but this won't be enough to bring the battery up to full charge. Now, is this a really silly question, loaded with H & S implications, but once on site, with EHU plugged in, can I reconnect my battery charger and continue charging until the green light comes on? Maybe this won't be necessary anyway, as the charger will be left on overnight - hopefully I'll have a green light in the morning.