Ducato Drivers air bag warning light

MykCamper

MykCamper

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Having just had my driver's airbag warning light extinguished at a total cost of over £1400, due to faulty Body and airbag ECU's repair costs.
There is a common fault with 2006 onwards Fiat Ducato, Citroën, Peugeot models with aircons.
Due to the aircon condensation drain being alongside the airbag ECU which is situated front right of the starter battery, overtime this causes a failure.
The fix is quite easy by removing the ECU and sending it for repair to one of several companies that advertise on ebay. ( There is a step by step guide on Utube, with a Citroën MH.)
Usual takes a few days and cost under £100.
I used a local mobile auto electrician and it cost me but I observed the procedure, so here's hoping this will save members the expense that I encured.
Main dealer cost would be in the region of £500 - £600 for fitting a new unit.
Word of caution,!
Be sure to remove the earth terminal from the battery and isolate before removing the wiring of the ECU to prevent any possibility of setting off the airbag!
I have now placed a thick plastic bag between the ECU and the aircon drain in the hope that it will give some protection.
Hope this will be useful!
 
I had my ECU repaired a few months ago (£880) and it had the Airbag light on when he refitted it, sparky traced it to an earth under the left hand side of the dash, wish was something to do with the body control module crash detection system.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
I had my ECU repaired a few months ago (£880) and it had the Airbag light on when he refitted it, sparky traced it to an earth under the left hand side of the dash, wish was something to do with the body control module crash detection system.
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Yep, that was the first problem, same cost for repair, plus labour, which took 12 weeks due to spares manufacturers in Ukraine!
Once refitted it showed up a fault with the airbag ECU.
Another 3week wait and a £350 charge.
MoT this afternoon, hope I can remember how to drive it !
 
this is my second 07 Sevil van, both had the same problem water off the screen getting under the bonnet because the scuttle drain is on the offside of the van so I drilled the nearside and put a drain in using the nozzle of a large mastic gun and a big hose, and belt and brace because my drive sloes to the front of the van I have stuck a sheet of plastic over the electrics to shed any water getting through, also the bonnet air vent allows water to pool in the body side of it and when you open the bonnet it showers the electrics, a really shitty badly design vehicle, lovely when it works but expensive because of the design flaws.
 
Mr and Mrs Tupcox said:
Our went last year sent up north by post back in 4 days about £2/300 pounds .if memoir is correct. Fault was caused by duff eng battery..
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Same as ours last November; unfortunately the duff engine battery was the new replacement battery changed 1 week earlier [old battery 2016] to prevent a problem occurring with the Airbags. The ECU Fault Code = Irrepairable so new ECU, new battery, reprogramming ECU and diagnostics to trace a parasitic drain that was backfeeding through to the Leisure Battery. The £300 cost you quote was exceeded in the first hour of diagnosis!

Steve
 
Yeah them there auto sparkys really know how to charge for their time.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
Yeah them there auto sparkys really know how to charge for their time.
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You'll be surprised, Kev, to hear that the Fiat Professional Garage were charging £90ph + VAT last year when the ECU failed, just under 3 weeks before our Winter Trip. The Garage said it would be 6 weeks before they could look at Brunhilde, 'but try this auto electrician that we use if we run into a problem we can't fix'. This was the auto electrician who obtained and fitted the ECU etc etc; he was charging £75ph + VAT ... He also fitted us in within 2 weeks, AND located a new ECU that must have been ordered in error [I was told that there are 3 types]. after Fiat Professional and a large M/Home Dealer both said that the ECUs had been on Back Order for 3 months+ and there was no word on when they might arrive

Steve
 
Pudsey Bear said:
I had my ECU repaired a few months ago (£880) and it had the Airbag light on when he refitted it, sparky traced it to an earth under the left hand side of the dash, wish was something to do with the body control module crash detection system.
Click to expand...
That's the same fault as I had, Kev and the people in Liverpool said it was non repairable. hence the purchase of a new ECU

Steve
 
Just to clear a nagging point in my tiny little mind, is this a self build? did you swap the dual seat for a single? I did that and the airbag light came on until I put a resistor where the van was expecting to find two seat belts, simple to sort if so but I have no idea what you have hence just checking it out, also wondering if the converters do a similar thing and still the problem.
 
MykCamper said:
MoT didn't happen!!
A mile down the road the Airbag warning light came back on!
Awaiting a reply from the Mobile lecky!
Not happy!!!!
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Whilst I was waiting for my new ECU last year, I read a Thread on a competitor M/Home Forum about replacement ECUs being available [and cheap] in Poland. After relatively few posts, there were comments about the ECU failing on installation, or within a very short time afterwards.

Do you switch the ignition on, without starting the engine, and wait for the warning lights, including the Instrument Panel Airbag and the dash mounted yellow seatbelt light [opposite the passenger's knee], to extinguish? This advice is in the new Ducato Manual, but I was told about it AFTER the ECU failure! If the Airbag or Seatbelt light remain lit, the vehicle battery voltage is too low, so charge the battery before starting and save the ECU from acting as a blown fuse!

Steve
 
Check eng battery condition that was definitely what caused our ecu problems.
Since fitted new one and a ecu repair
All good.
Or it could be then connections we did in Portugal. Lol
 
marchie said:
Whilst I was waiting for my new ECU last year, I read a Thread on a competitor M/Home Forum about replacement ECUs being available [and cheap] in Poland. After relatively few posts, there were comments about the ECU failing on installation, or within a very short time afterwards.

Do you switch the ignition on, without starting the engine, and wait for the warning lights, including the Instrument Panel Airbag and the dash mounted yellow seatbelt light [opposite the passenger's knee], to extinguish? This advice is in the new Ducato Manual, but I was told about it AFTER the ECU failure! If the Airbag or Seatbelt light remain lit, the vehicle battery voltage is too low, so charge the battery before starting and save the ECU from acting as a blown fuse!

Steve
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Yes, always wait for all warning lights to appear and then start.
All batteries fully charged as its on semi permanent hookup.
Think you might be right on a 'New ' replacement as this was mentioned to the Mobile Lecky when he phoned the repairers.
He wondered where they acquired them from!
Going to bite the bullet and order a new one from my local Fiat main dealer and fit it myself!(£275 + vat)
The Mobile Mechanic has disappeared!
Think the name on his van was Boggitt & Scarpper Ltd.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
Just to clear a nagging point in my tiny little mind, is this a self build? did you swap the dual seat for a single? I did that and the airbag light came on until I put a resistor where the van was expecting to find two seat belts, simple to sort if so but I have no idea what you have hence just checking it out, also wondering if the converters do a similar thing and still the problem.
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No it's a 2013 Globecar, had ot from new, been perfect until this problem!
 
I'm not sure how they do the mod on them but I'm fairly sure the chassis and cabling are made for a dual seat at the Sevel factory and any mods are done by the converter as needed, so it might be worth checking out anyway just to cover all the bases.
 
MykCamper said:
Yes, always wait for all warning lights to appear and then start.
All batteries fully charged as its on semi permanent hookup.
Think you might be right on a 'New ' replacement as this was mentioned to the Mobile Lecky when he phoned the repairers.
He wondered where they acquired them from!
Going to bite the bullet and order a new one from my local Fiat main dealer and fit it myself!(£275 + vat)
The Mobile Mechanic has disappeared!
Think the name on his van was Boggitt & Scarpper Ltd.
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Our diagnosis/repair was carried out in Glenrothes, Fife by Daryl's Auto Electrics [01592 774342] after the ECU failure with the 'Bodywork Control Fault' [17892 code IIRC, the same as Pudsey Bear had]. The backfeed was eventually traced, one circuit at a time, to the Dealer fitted Reversing Camera and the Multimedia Unit live wires being crossed via connection 25 [The electric step control] on the EBL99, dating back to 2016! The M/Home had covered only 8767 miles in nearly 5 years when we bought it, so there's a chance that the Winter saw it hitched up to an EHU Feed from the Owner's property or similar, otherwise the problem would have been highlighted earlier

The replacement vehicle battery for the original 2016 engine battery fitted 6th November 2021 was faulty; the replacement under warranty was also damaged by the backfeed, so we paid for a 3rd battery to be fitted [Yuasa] as part of the fault rectification. After paying for that little lot, we drew breath over Xmas and then visited David at Wildebus in early January and had an Ablemail AMT12 fitted [plus an Ablemail B2B Charger]. The AMT12 replaced the VanBitz Battery Relay that never generated any spare current for the Engine Battery, and the AMT12 has been set at permanent feed from the Leisure Battery to Engine Battery [for 9 seconds in every 10 seconds] to ensure that the Engine Battery will remain fully charged [usually around 13.4v]. The beauty is that we no longer have to take the M/Home out every week during Winter for a 25 mile drive to protect the Engine Battery, using damn near a gallon diesel each time. The AMT12 was probably the best £65 I have spent, and I know from a competitor Forum that several Members who have had parasitic drains have used the AMT12 to solve the issue

Steve
 
marchie said:
Whilst I was waiting for my new ECU last year, I read a Thread on a competitor M/Home Forum about replacement ECUs being available [and cheap] in Poland. After relatively few posts, there were comments about the ECU failing on installation, or within a very short time afterwards.
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I have not had this issue on my motorhome. But I will finish that sentence with a "yet" :( . Seems a poor bit of design that such a major issue can occur for what is potentially a "could happen to anyone at anytime" low battery problem :( :(

marchie said:
Do you switch the ignition on, without starting the engine, and wait for the warning lights, including the Instrument Panel Airbag and the dash mounted yellow seatbelt light [opposite the passenger's knee], to extinguish? This advice is in the new Ducato Manual, but I was told about it AFTER the ECU failure! If the Airbag or Seatbelt light remain lit, the vehicle battery voltage is too low, so charge the battery before starting and save the ECU from acting as a blown fuse!

Steve
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I was not aware of this starting procedure, but I am now! I hope I remember it!! I am inclined to print out some kind of label and stick it on the dash just to try and make sure.


marchie said:
After paying for that little lot, we drew breath over Xmas and then visited David at Wildebus in early January and had an Ablemail AMT12 fitted [plus an Ablemail B2B Charger]. The AMT12 replaced the VanBitz Battery Relay that never generated any spare current for the Engine Battery, and the AMT12 has been set at permanent feed from the Leisure Battery to Engine Battery [for 9 seconds in every 10 seconds] to ensure that the Engine Battery will remain fully charged [usually around 13.4v]. The beauty is that we no longer have to take the M/Home out every week during Winter for a 25 mile drive to protect the Engine Battery, using damn near a gallon diesel each time. The AMT12 was probably the best £65 I have spent, and I know from a competitor Forum that several Members who have had parasitic drains have used the AMT12 to solve the issue

Steve
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Just a comment on the AMT12. In normal programmed use, it will maintain the battery at either 12.8V or 12.4V (depending on setting) whilst there is charging happening. This time of year, especially for people 'up north' like me and Steve, solar tends to be in chocolate teapot mode and in that situation there is the option to ignore charging status & override the programme to go into a 90:10 on: off duty cycle.
I can fully understand why Steve is using the override given his rather expensive experience of having a low starter battery. I might discuss with Ablemail about having a selectable "Winter Mode" which will do a similar thing but maintain the Starter at a lower - but still good - voltage to decrease the load on the Leisure, which could be important for those laying up their vans over winter but not blessed with a large Leisure Btter
 
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