hi i'm new to this site. i bought my alfa 147 2001 model back in august 2007 and i've struggled on without your help so far but i really need it now.
the current problem with my car is multiple failure warnings - usually VDC system failure, fog light (something or other) failure, and left side light (or something) failure.
the first auto electrician had a diagnostic tool called "launch" which said the problem was C1522 Instrument panel - no communication. it was explained to me that the dashboard wasn't communicating with the ABS system.
then i had to go to a second auto electrician (for statutory warranty reasons) who had the same diagnostic tool "launch" as well he assured me but possibly more advanced software because the problem was identified more specifically to be a faulty steering wheel sensor. the part was requested from alfa romeo brisbane but the auto electrician found that the supplied part was way too big to fit in my car. so then i was told that the correct part was to come from italy. i waited the 7-10 working days i was told it would take and then several more weeks. nothing. apparently the requested part was not supposed to be a part of my car and i needed to have my sensor part photoed so that italy would send it. when i finally realised this (after i finally contacted alfa romeo brisbane directly) i did so. however the spare parts man there said no, what i actually need is a complete steering wheel column set which includes the windscreen wipers, lights, cruise control etc. i thought well maybe that is it because i'd had another intermittent fault in the meantime relating to the cruise control.
so i took my car to alfa romeo brisbane today and... nothing. they couldn't find any fault codes in the history. also the steering wheel column they had couldn't be fitted anyway because a plug was different. they advised me that i might need a combination switch to come from sydney. also there was something wrong with my fog light.
i don't know what to do. i can't explain how there could be no fault codes recorded / stored. it alarms at least once everytime i get in the car, sometimes several alarms per trip. it has happened at least 30-40 times since i got the car back from the second auto electrician. he told me then that he found several fault codes and then he deleted them. has he done something inadvertently so that any subsequent codes cannot be diagnosed now?
how can i fix this? i have very little faith in alfa romeo brisbane since i also had to go to them for selespeed failure. they replaced gear paddles and the main selector unit unnecessarily (and expensively) before they actually had a look under the bonnet and replaced the offending actuator set. and there is nothing wrong with my fog light!
only thing I can help ya with there is the "left side light failure"... faulty bulb.. or it has been on mine every time anyway...
other than that, it really sounds like you're having problems, I hope you get it sorted soon, you're in the right place now anyway, lots of combined experience on the site
since i got the car back from alfa i haven't had any more fog light or light side alarms. i'm guessing this is because i tested the fog light - i turned it on, and the car now realises it's not broken?
i still get the vdc system failure alarms 2 out of every 3 times i drive the car so i took it back to alfa after it alarmed again today and had them diagnose it while it was still activated. so... i have an intermittent fault with the steering wheel position sensor, either due to poor wiring or the sensor itself. so they recalibrated my steering wheel and hopefully that fixes it. if not i'm to return to alfa and they'll spend some time examining it.
as per the post i was directed to, i checked the voltages in the battery at rest and under load and it seemed to be fine.
another update. the steering position sensor (housed within the indicator, cruise control, windscreen wipers combination set) was replaced a few weeks ago at a cost of approx A$1300. since then the VDC system failure warning has alarmed just once and when i returned it to alfa they found the steering wheel position was out by 2 and a half degrees. it was subsequently recalibrated / centred. so far so good. could be our poorly maintained Brisbane roads shifting it out of alignment?
also i had a persistent right side light failure recently. it turned out to be a poor connection for a very tiny light in the front (right) headlight - i don't know what it's for (not regular, high beam or fog) - and it just needed a jiggle.
i'm still getting vdc alarms - 4 times this week. i took it back to alfa today. now they say it might be the wiring. they said that they have wiped the fault histories again and to bring it back to them when it alarms again. did they just fob me off today because they didn't want to look any further into it on a friday afternoon or would it have been necessary to wipe clean past fault histories to identify a wiring problem?
Listen mate, forget it!! Your wasting all your money. Alfa dealers must love us bringing in our cars and giving them money to so called recalibrate!! They really often do nothing and when they do its just an excuse to say they have done something then charge you £70 for the privilige. I spent nearly £200 for them to try and fix mine and after wasting this money I decided to follow someones advice from here and change the battery and 2 years later I have never had the same problem occur...nor any other problems for that matter (touch wood!).
Try a new battery...failing that just accept its annoyance (imo anyway).
Alfa JTD's are exempt from smoking in public places
Hi,
Just bought a 147 jtd (2003) and although it runs lovely when i start it up I get lots of failure alarms too. But only if I don't turn the ign switchover quick enough after the glowplugs light has gone out. Is this normal? Is it just a self-test?
Thanks
Sorry if this is hijacking the thread, didn't know wether to start a new thread or not??
i took the car back to alfa on friday (i was getting vdc alarms pretty much every time i was in the car, if not in leaving my driveway then at the end of my street). they set the examiner on it and the guy came back and said it was the sensor. i said which sensor? the steering wheel sensor that was just replaced? he didn't know. so they did another test and recalibrated the steering wheel again. i said that didn't fix it for long last time. how can it be out of alignment again? they said if it happens again then i need to book it in so they can spend more time on it. problem is i've already done that and they couldn't find any faults then because it doesn't store past faults apparently. i'm going around in circles... if the vdc alarm doesn't go off on my way to alfa for my prebooked appointment then they can't or won't do anything.
the vdc hasn't alarmed since they recalibrated the steering wheel angle this time but it's only a matter of time before it does.
(alfa haven't charged me for any diagnostics or recalibrations since the steering wheel sensor was replaced)
predictably, it didn't stay fixed. it alarmed again some more. alfa examined it again and this time they said it was a "generic fault" and they couldn't fix it. they don't have the expertise to fix their own cars apparently. they referred me back to the original auto electrician from over 6 months previous - the people who said my dashboard wasn't communicating with my abs unit. this time their diagnostic came up with faulty steering wheel angle sensor but because that was already replaced i agreed that they pull out the abs computer to check that. it had to be sent off to melbourne and it was found to be not faulty but there were some suspect circuit tracks or something and they fixed them at no extra charge (just the diagnostic). since then it has been returned to me with the warning that more work may be required but, and i say this with some trepidation, so far so good. it hasn't alarmed in the last 5 days and this time i'm really hoping that it's fixed for good. the auto electrician charged me $275 for the diagnostic, remove, repair and refit. it's like nothing considering the $7500 it has cost in repairs over the last 12 months (the caryard which sold it to me has so far paid for about $6000 and i should be able to get them to pay the rest eventually). but it's still only worth about $15000 (i hope i can get that much for it - i need to sell it before i can go travelling).
sadly my experience of alfa, and alfa brisbane in particular, has been very poor. i wouldn't wish it on anyone but i do hope somebody will learn from my experience.
system failure warnings
