Faulty Ecu Or Relay ?

[Cow]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this so you will have to excuse my lack of car knowledge. I have had my Chrysler Delta for about a year and a half its the multijet 1.6diesel auto 2012. Everything was fine until about 8 months ago when the battery had died . I thought nothing of it and changed it . The car then ran ok for another 6 months then the battery died again. I managed to jump it and took it for a long drive to charge it. The radio now had power but wouldn't turn on. The battery continued to drain and has been an ongoing problem since . I took it to Halfords for a diagnostic check and they gave me the fault code P0685. I believe this relates to the ECU and they wouldn't touch it. I've since had an auto electrician out who also couldn't solve the problem. Before I go to a main dealer can anyone shed any light on the matter? Over the last week things have got worse and a transmission fault light has now appeared on the dashboard and the car only drives in first gear in auto and 3rd gear in semi auto. Could it be something simple like an ECU relay? , or something much more serious? The car is currently sat doing nothing on the drive as it is unsafe to use . Please Help !!!!

[MikeyRules]

Hi Cow and welcome to the forum...

 

Here is some info from a diagnostic forum:

 

OBD II fault code P0685 is a generic code that is defined as “ECM/PCM power relay -circuit open”, and is set when the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) detects that its own power supply has failed, or if it detects a low voltage in the circuit that supplies it with power.

 

What repairs can fix the P0685 code?

 

1. Repair of shorts or bad terminals or connections.
2. Replacement of the powertrain control module relay.
3. Underhood junction block replacement (fuse box)
4. Replacement of battery cables and/or connectors.
5. Fuse replacement.

[Nello]

Get it in to a decent Fiat independent. Any with the proper Fiat Diag SW can help. I know you are not local but Paul Gilbert at MotorMech in Birmingham will fix it. Worth the recovery cost if its sat doing nothing - http://www.motor-mech.co.uk/index.asp

[Cow]

Nello,

 

Thank you very much for your reply , is there any simple fix I could carry out myself before putting it into yet another auto electrician. Is there any relays or fuses I could change that may help ?

 

I appreciate your time .

[Andrewgrale]

Nello,

 

Thank you very much for your reply , is there any simple fix I could carry out myself before putting it into yet another auto electrician. Is there any relays or fuses I could change that may help ?

 

I appreciate your time .

How many fingers am I holding up???

 

Generally you need to start at the battery and work your way out to the various connections and controllers, pay particular attention to any fuses and any connections

 

Did this problem start suddenly or did it develop over a period of time??

[Cow]

I think it has got worse over time for sure ,there was no transmission fault light coming on previously. I could jump the battery and then drive it for a week or so then the battery would die again . Radio hadn't worked since the first time the battery died . Do you think your man in Birmingham could definitely sort it . The costs could be endless with electrical faults though .

 

Thanks again

[Cow]

I think it has got worse over time for sure ,there was no transmission fault light coming on previously. I could jump the battery and then drive it for a week or so then the battery would die again . Radio hadn't worked since the first time the battery died . Do you think your man in Birmingham could definitely sort it . The costs could be endless with electrical faults though .

 

Thanks again

[Nello]

Paul Gilbert will be able to diagnose for sure - depends on the issue as to cost but he will know. Without wishing to sound rude but are you sure you're battery terminals are tight from when you changed? I large amount of electrical issues I read are due to poor connection and shorting out of circuits. Check all earthing points too.

[Cow]

A lot of the auto electricians around my way won't even touch it. I am 100% sure that the battery terminals are clean and tight but I will check the earthing points too .

[ForzaLancia]

having dabbled fixed a couple of Alfa selespeeds, the ECU tends to be reliable and the problem is likely to be interupted power supply somewhere.

 

Likely candidates are the relay (sele owners kept a spare in the glove box), fuse, and any connectors that may have corroded. On the the sele there was a multiplug that connects the auto unit to the main loom and that was well known for causing issues, a similar one probably exists on the Delta, find it and clean it up along with any fuses and relays. The other thing is that seles loved a decent battery, and would not work with a battery that would happily power on a non auto car. I suspect a voltage leak somewhere and that has drained the battery and subsequently affected the auto unit.

 

HTH

[TJB]

Is the radio the touchscreen satnav unit? I know that on some cars they can develop faults that can cause rapid battery drain, not sure with FCA stuff, but it is a known issue on Mondeos with nav units. A lot of this stuff is from common suppliers.

[alfaspud]

Is the radio the touchscreen satnav unit? I know that on some cars they can develop faults that can cause rapid battery drain, not sure with FCA stuff, but it is a known issue on Mondeos with nav units. A lot of this stuff is from common suppliers.

Sat nav isn't touchscreen (mores the pity) - not the OEM one anyway

Edited March 9, 2020 by alfaspud

[Cow]

It does have a touch screen Android computer system which makes me suspicious but would that in turn cause other issues like the transmission fault ? I have managed to find an independent fiat dealer who sounds pretty confident he can fix it so fingers crossed!! Probably half the cost of a main dealer too.

Thanks everyone for your feedback it is much appreciated!! I will give you an update on any news ?

[MikeyRules]

I meant to ask ask where you were? Who is it that you're taking the car too?

[Cow]

I live in chandler's ford near Winchester, the garage is small car services near Winchester .