Hello my friends,
at first I want to note that I'm from Poland and my English skills are quite poor so dont be so rude for me
I've got a strange problem with my 147 '01 JTD. I started engine, turned on lights and began tu run car. While I was driving I turned on fog lights and... everything turned off. My speedo freezed with my current speed, fuel state, etc. After that I switched ignition off and tried to start engine again with no luck, starter did not work.
I disconnected battery for couple minutes, then I connected it again - no electricity inside, I was not able even to close my windows.
BUT When I turned ignition ON the only thing that works is CHECK ENGINE light and I was able to run starter but engine did not start.
NEXT WEIRD THING - when I have ignition turned off and I press brake pedal CHECK ENGINE light is turning on, when I left my foot from brake pedal - it turns off.
I don't know what to do and my Polish friends don't have any clue for my problem.
I would start by checking the main fuses on the battery....
It's difficult to see whether these are blown, you will need a multimeter (or just replace them, they're not that expensive)
Yes I have, I have also a multimeter. Check engine lights when the ignition is ON and also when I press brake pedal. I can run starter but engine does not start. I was thinking about ECU, but will it disable all electricity in car including interior light? I dont think its possible.
Inertia switch is normally near the passenger's feet in the front footwell.
Also check the major grounding points for damage, inside the engine compartment and also inside the passenger compartment. It's unlikely they have been affected unless there is water getting inside the car.
Also follow the battery negative cable, it should bolt to the frame near the front of your battery tray and then on to the transmission case. There will be a ground connection to the motor somewhere near the top, too. It's an important one (how did I learn this???).
Inside the cabin are ground locations on the centre tunnel, one near the gear lever and one nearer the hand brake (from memory) also behind the plastic trim "kick panels" each side of the dash.
It's worth getting a copy of e-learn, try the Bulgarian sellers for a download - just a few €.
I am not familiar with the 147 system but it does sound like there is a problem with the body computer.
On the 156 there is an integrated service modules which controls amongst other things lighting.
On the 147 I don't know if there is an additional unit other than the body computer to control the lighting. The instrument cluster is for sure connected to the body computer. Not only is the engine check light on but all the dials are working but reading strange values.
Can you find a workshop that can help you check the body computer and the fog light circuit?
Dials are not working. They are showing these values even when the battery is disconnected. Speedo just freezed. DK what to do, im checking grounding points inside but I'm almost sure that there is body/ecu fault and repair won't be cheap.
Have you checked the battery voltage? It could be as simple as a flat battery or poor battery connections. Low battery volts make the electronics on these cars go crazy with imaginary faults.
Check you have at least 11.5v across the terminals and clean and remake the connections to the battery posts. If possible, borrow a known-good battery and try that instead. At the +ve connector block look very closely for cracks in the flat connector strips. They quite often give problems. You would not be the first person in this forum to think you have fried ECU and or body computer etc when a crap battery or connector block were the cause.
EDIT: In view of how confused the car is, I think I would disconnect the battery overnight to allow the electronics to re-set.
The fact that this happened when you operated the foglights suggests a connection somewhere went high resistance because of the extra current drain from the lights. That high resistance is probably the source of the ongoing problems, preventing adequate current from getting to the ECU and/or body computer. It could be an earth but you seem to have checked them. I would definitely take a very close look at the +ve connector block. Go over it with your multimeter checking for high resistance between different points. Or take it apart, clean and rebuild it, looking for cracks.
I've replaced battery for sure but nothing happened. When I took a photo car was disconnected from battery for about 20hours and it did nothing.
Car went to electrician and I'm waiting for some information from him.
Guys, I'm very grateful for your whole help and as soon as I know something about my problem I will post it to let you know what was broken and what was cause of that.
There was no chassis ground, but everything was connected properly. I've changed ground wires and boom, my alfa works again. Cost of repair? Four beers
Thanks for your help guys,
Filip
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