25/09/2022
This Vauxhall Movano came in on a recovery truck as a Non Runner, When turning on the ignition you were presented with a Christmas tree Dash and no start off the key we also noticed the wipers were on and could not be turned off.
Electronics can be a funny thing to work on as you can easily go off track trying to rectify a fault which isn't really a fault only a symptom of a fault !!!
An in depth investigation starting with a code read and system scan gave us several non communication with the ECU codes, low Voltage codes and little else.
Assuming the low voltage codes were from a flat battery we put a support unit on to supply power and charge the battery up. There is no point chasing faults with a low power situation in action.
Returning to the scanner it was noted that even with the support in place we were still getting low power. This gave us a direction to go in along with a place to start.
It very quickly became apparent that the battery terminals were badly corroded and using a simple Multi-meter backed up by a test light we rapidly found a voltage drop on the terminal and the associated supply module.
Corrosion had rotted away the small fuse but it still allowed enough contact for a voltage reading yet it would not light even a small test lamp.
We decided that the module was too far gone to rely on and opted to replace it with a new unit. all caused by corrosion which was causing a high resistance and a lack of power under load.
Once replaced all our faults miraculously disappeared and the wipers stopped, a quick turn of the key and the van fired straight up.
So what was reported as major electrical failure had a simple cause, Lack of power to the main units.
