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Discuss Ems gone haywire in the Auto Electrician Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

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So my offside front coil snapped and I decided to replace both as well as the shocks. Got started noticed brake discs needed replacing.
Once I took the first strut out, ntoiced the strut bearings were foobarred so replaced them. On nearside.the anti-roll bar was damaged so replaced.
After 3 days on stands I finally had everything back together. Trued to start car - no joy.

First message was airbag fault,then brake fault, then "WORKSHOP!" then Engine fault. Turned off and back on again, this time the display started flashing fast. Fuel guage shows empty (it's not).
I've rechecked the disturbed electrical connections - all seem sound.
Tried disconnecting and reconnecting battery - no joy.
Immediately after trying the ignition I can't lock the car, if i wait 10 mins I can.

Not really sure what to try next?
 
I would check the ECU is still connected to ground.
Pick a variety of sensors, unplug and measure the voltage between the negative terminal on the battery and the positive lead to the sensor.
12V and your ECU has lost it’s ground, 5V and it’s something else.
 
It's a VW Golf Mk 6 Diesel

Hard reset -I saw a video late last night where a guy disconnected BOTH battery terminals and linked the leads for 30 mins - is this what you mean?

Going to give that a whirl now anyway and see if it clears the errors.

If no joy -I'll go round all the connectors and measure the voltages - do I want to do this with the ignition on or off?

Battery could be weak after 4 days without starting, although the electrics were only turned on for a couple of hours and no headlights - can I verify this by checking the voltage across the battery?

I joined GreenFlag last night lol, I'd been thinking I should have cover since my coil snapped as I was supposed to be in Southport this weekend and it could easily have gone on the 300 mile journey there. Can't ring them until monday though (first 24h not covered) and I'm thinking they won't be able to do much except tow me to a garage.
 
Also if your car has active suspension control and other control gizmo's you may have upset the balance,tracking and other weird and wonderful driving aids that is affecting the ecu control to the car management.
 
Doh should have started with the battery!

I checked a few sensors and earth continuity, got no voltage on the windscreen wash bottle, and only about 6V on the brake fluid sensor.
I only THEN thought to check the battery voltage - it's a mere 8V so clearly to blame.

I suspect my battery is on its last legs actually - STOP START hasn't worked for several months and although the car hasn't run for a few days, I've only had the electrics on for a couple of hours in that time which shouldn't be an issue.

So waiting for a neighbour to give me a jump and then hopefully things will be sorted. Given how this job has gone though, I suspect that I will merely be one step further along the trail!
 
A jump won't fix a flat battery, it will need charging properly.

Power to the battery terminals from another car will (if it is to blame) allow the EMS to work properly. If there IS another issue, then I'll have to deal with that first - if not then it should start the car and I can run the engine which will recharge the battery.
 
Well your first thought was spot on Strima. Should have been my first check last night when it wouldn't start, but I think after 3 days of struggling with shock absorbers, my brain wasn't fully engaged!

I remembered I had a new battery which I'd bought for my last car just before it was written off.
Plugged that in and my car started - just - the new battery has been sat in a shed for 6 years unused!

Had a few warning lights - to do with steering, but they went off as soon as I started driving.
Once I've done enough of a drive to recharge the old battery, I'll check the voltage on that to see if it needs replacing - probably does.
 
An alternator is not designed or intended to recharge a deeply discharged battery. Put it on a charger and leave it on overnight, ideally a good quality charger that will also carry out some tests and desulphate etc.
 
OK - I didn't know that - just googling around found "It's a common misconception among drivers that if their battery is flat (by which I mean dead), a good long drive will charge it up "

Yup - I thought that!

Going to see if the "new" battery I have which is showing 12V can temporarily replace my car battery - I'll run that through a charger if I can get hold of one - probably need to buy one and see if it can be rejuventated.

Looking at the MXS 5.0 - any thoughts?
 
if that new/old battery had enough in it to start the engine after 6 years gathering dust, a few miles driving should perk it up to full capacity. bit like me or pete running the mobility scooter downhill with the wind behind.
 
Because this post could be confusing I'll key as follows:
Existing battery - the one in the car.
Shed Battery - the one i've had 6 years unused.
New Battery - one I haven't bought yet!

OK - Found the spec on the shed battery - actually carparts4less list it as suitable for my reg. Spec-wise -it's 70Ah with 640CCA

Now my existing battery is AGM - I read somewhere that this is better for STOP/START technology?? It's also rated at 760CCA

So question - does replacing an AGM battery with a non-AGM matter? I could disable the Stop/Start if that could cause issues while I either try to rejuvenate the existing battery or buy a new one. Or if it just works, but is perhaps not likely to last as long, then I'll just swap in the shed battery.
 
does it work?? if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
 
OK - I didn't know that - just googling around found "It's a common misconception among drivers that if their battery is flat (by which I mean dead), a good long drive will charge it up "

Yup - I thought that!

Going to see if the "new" battery I have which is showing 12V can temporarily replace my car battery - I'll run that through a charger if I can get hold of one - probably need to buy one and see if it can be rejuventated.

Looking at the MXS 5.0 - any thoughts?
If you're looking for a charger, I have this one and can definitely recommend!:

 
does it work?? if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Well there are various degrees of "working" are there not?

I mean the existing battery "works" now,although I'm guessing it cannot hold anything like a full charge.

But I'm slightly concerned that if I use the shed battery without modifying any car settings, that I could damage something. My understanding, which may be wrong is that AGM's have different charging currents to standard batteries?

Or is it more of an issue going the other way, i.e. swapping an ordinary battery in a car for an AGM one?
 

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