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Electrical Issue?

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3.3K views 16 replies 6 participants last post by  gins  
G
#1 ·
My '05 Spyder, equipped with DBW is putting out an interesting display. The cast of characters in order of appearance are RED suspension light followed by MSP light followed by ABS light and occasionally the check engine light puts in a guest appearance. The suspension seems a bit stiff and the throttle a bit twitchy.
Unfortunately their are no credits for this performance as no codes are displaying.
Any and all opinions are welcome.
Thanks
 
G
#3 ·
Thanks, I appreciate the help.-You're probably correct as the Indie that works on it has a pretty good scanner but nothing is coming up. Have to go somewhere else I guess.
I remember a bunch of this going around on this forum a couple of years ago but forgot what the solution was.
 
#6 ·
Jason is, of course correct. The only way to be sure is to have it scanned.

If you're wanting to have a poke and don't mind putting in some time and money with precisely zero guaranteed chance of getting a good diagnosis, read on.

It may be that the CEL is not linked to the ABS / MSP / Suspension.

An OBDII check *may* tell you why you're getting a CEL.

The others are (possibly) more likely linked. The most common culprit we've seen in our very non-professional and completely non-scientific environment would be either one of the acceleration sensors coming adrift or less likely a failed ABS sensor.

Also *vaguely* possible, a low battery.

Hope you get it sorted.

C
 
G
#7 ·
Actually a bad alternator was the first suspect--due to the large number of warning lites. The alternator brushes were very worn so it was replaced, with the only effect being that the lights came on sooner! (they reset when the ignition is turned off).

The whole sequence of events began with the lights coming on about halfway during a 25 mile drive. Not knowing what was going on, I pulled over and switched the car off for a few seconds and it started up and we were able to complete the drive.with the lights coming on about 2 miles from the destination. The car sat for a couple of hours and when we started home, the lights came on again at about the half way point. The brakes were working and the suspension seemed ok but throttle response was really twitchy, in that it seemed to have much touchier acceleration and when I let off the throttle is first or second gear the car "bucked" severely as it decelerated--kind of like being in the wrong gear in a manual tranny. This caused me to think Drive by Wire issues. We weren't going fast because we were in traffic and trying to nurse it home or at least get it close to the repair shop. I pulled over again and switched it off, but this time it would not re start. After about 5 mins,I was in the process of calling the shop for a tow and tried another restart and it started up again. We were about 2 miles from home so I drove home and let the car sit over night and took it to the shop the next day with no warning lites displayed.
They checked it out and could not duplicate the problem and since it wasn't throwing any codes concluded that it "might" be the alternator but really did not know. I had them change the alternator but when I picked the car up again and drove home all of the lights came on again within 3 miles. I have zero confidence in my local dealer's ability to even work on the car--after a long history of expensive mis-diagnosis' on their part but I do have another very good indy that I will take it to after the holidays. Thanks for all of your support and suggestions.
 
#8 ·
All of these errors can commonly show up with low voltage. The car goes through a series of self tests when it's started up, if the voltage is below a predetermined level then many systems will report an error for low voltage. Unfortunately the cars display doesn't specify what the error is... only that there is an error. So you see MSP Failure, Suspension Failure, etc... and it often looks very confusing.

From there you can also get many problems that will misreport since the car is low on battery and the electronics themelves don't work well at low voltage, sometimes they simply don't do what they're supposed to do until they have the right voltage supply.

There is never any harm from bypassing the DBW so feel free to do that. From there, make sure the battery is charged, holding it's charge, etc... If you ever see the alternator failure light / message that's almost always going to be your issue. You can test the battery etc.. but it's usually worth checking those areas first before chasing the error messages on the dash too far. Of course a scan with a tool is helpful as well.

Hope that helps!
 
#11 ·
Honestly, you need to quit throwing parts at it...You can check an alternator without just replacing it.. You have already done that and now moved on to the DBW....There is a way to figure out what is up with a car...You can install bypass plug for DBW module, but I don't think that is your problem....Jason
 
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G
#13 ·
Final report.
Problem is solved. Rebuilt alternator seems to have fixed the issue. All lights out and no codes--and DBW definitely working!
Thanks for all of your input and while I have your attention, while this was going on I finally got around to replacing my "oil non return valve".
I have no idea how it works but I cant believe what a difference in the lack of clatter on engine start up that little thing makes. Best $30 ever spent and I would never have even known about it's existence had it not been for this forum.
Thanks guys


If you havent heard about it and are experiencing the famous clatter on start up, the fix may be part # 180267 from Recambri
 
#14 ·
Hey gins, glad you got your electrical issue all sorted. Who rebuilt the alternator?

As for the oil non return valve, I recently replaced it also and have to say, didn't see much difference. I still have a quick clatter on start up.
 
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