Teething problems !!!

paulandsam · 28th January 2011, 19:27

Hi All again !, Right now I have the ZT running and on the road (woohoo!) I am experiancing some teething problems all of which are electrical.
I am experiancing an armagedon of warning lights intermitantly flashing at me on every journey.
I have the battery and oil pressure lights very dimley coming on when I have my foot on throttle, when off throttle lights go off.
Airbag warning light comes on under acceleration and goes off when at speed.
On journey home from work tonight I also had the abs light and engine management light come on both for approx 4 seconds.
I have checked alternator output which is at 14.6amps, the battery is only 3 months old but did sit in car for about 2 months with no use (disconnected) it alaways starts the car perfecly.

Any ideas people, also I have no owners manual for my car, can someone please tell me how to set my clock in the car !!!!!! Many thanks in advance. Paul

suffolk boy · 28th January 2011, 20:45

hi the first thing i would look at is your plenums these are the drains under your windscreen search on here under plenums as soon as you can ie tommorrow!as for the clock if look at the rim you will see a little hole insert a paper clip or thin piece of wire pen nib etc push and the hands move .remove when right time

chrissyboy · 28th January 2011, 22:55

i would disconnect the ecm and leave it off for 10 mins to wipe any codes that are stored ,disconect battery before unplugging the ecm though ... see if the instrument cluster then resets ...also i would check the voltage you are getting from the battery as modern cars ecm`s dont like low voltage and play up if low

kaiser · 29th January 2011, 18:38

Chrissy, stick with the vodka, it must have done you good!!!

It is, I think, the first post I have seen from you which is decipherable without a translator, coherent and makes perfect sense!!

Just goes to show, there is always hope!!.

The problem is, now we know you CAN do it, so in future I will expect this, or better, from you.

No more typing with a finger in one ear and the eyes on the TV. Concentrate!!

(No offense, I hope.)

paulandsam · 29th January 2011, 20:12

Update time, I have as suggested looked into the plenum issue, found the outer 2 were blocked up due to poor fitment the last person to remove them refitted but managed to kink the bottom of both ! that is now sorted and fitted correctly. The centre drain point was completly clear. I disconnected the battery and ecu for about 30 minutes whilst cleaning all debris away and replacing pollen filter. All refitted now but made no difference

. But at least no chance of ecu getting drowned now ! Just a quick note there was no obvious evidence of water getting in or near ecu.
I cant help that feel the 1 year the car was off the road has bought out all sorts of wonderful gremlins !!!

chrissyboy · 29th January 2011, 20:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaiser

Chrissy, stick with the vodka, it must have done you good!!!

It is, I think, the first post I have seen from you which is decipherable without a translator, coherent and makes perfect sense!!

Just goes to show, there is always hope!!.

The problem is, now we know you CAN do it, so in future I will expect this, or better, from you.

No more typing with a finger in one ear and the eyes on the TV. Concentrate!!

(No offense, I hope.)

its a mix of my lessons and a new laptop .no more sticky keys

no offence taken

chrissyboy · 29th January 2011, 20:50

it would appear that the cluster may be at fault now ,i dont know about these clusters but on a bmw that had the cluster playng up i removed it from the car and when refitted the the display light was back ,so i guess i reset it self ,worth a try i guess as it costs nothing,i would then if no improvement check all connectors to the cluster making sure there isnt one that isnt connected properly... failing that check the wiring to the clusters for breaks or chuffing....if that dont solve it then i would be looking to the cluster being damaged in some way and maybe in need of replacing.if you have access to a good code reader i would see if you can get in to the display panel to see what codes you have there,it may be that the answer to your problem lies there ,it might come up with the area a problem maybe..

Richy · 30th January 2011, 02:15

Hi
I am no expert but had 2 of your issues when i bought my ZT last year.
The air bag light was due to a loose connection under my seat and the engine management light was due to the connection on the fuel pump. Both these were sorted thanks to the guys on here.
Hope you are sorted soon

Paul

paulandsam · 30th January 2011, 20:59

I am now starting to doubt the condition of my instrument cluster, It seems that after the car has been on for a while the display section looses lots of its pixels and messages for on board computer becomes unreadable. I dont mind sourcing another set of clocks but i have read that mileage correction on these clocks is not easy, as i only have 57k on my car i really would like to keep it reading this way ! Any thoughts ????

chrissyboy · 30th January 2011, 21:41

i believe if a new one is bought it can be set up with the true milage of the car on a t4

28th January 2011, 19:27	#1
paulandsam Newbie MG ZT 160, MG ZS180 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kent Posts: 26 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Teething problems !!! Hi All again !, Right now I have the ZT running and on the road (woohoo!) I am experiancing some teething problems all of which are electrical. I am experiancing an armagedon of warning lights intermitantly flashing at me on every journey. I have the battery and oil pressure lights very dimley coming on when I have my foot on throttle, when off throttle lights go off. Airbag warning light comes on under acceleration and goes off when at speed. On journey home from work tonight I also had the abs light and engine management light come on both for approx 4 seconds. I have checked alternator output which is at 14.6amps, the battery is only 3 months old but did sit in car for about 2 months with no use (disconnected) it alaways starts the car perfecly. Any ideas people, also I have no owners manual for my car, can someone please tell me how to set my clock in the car !!!!!! Many thanks in advance. Paul

28th January 2011, 20:45	#2
suffolk boy This is my second home fiat panda Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: haverhill Posts: 6,720 Thanks: 96 Thanked 586 Times in 526 Posts	hi the first thing i would look at is your plenums these are the drains under your windscreen search on here under plenums as soon as you can ie tommorrow!as for the clock if look at the rim you will see a little hole insert a paper clip or thin piece of wire pen nib etc push and the hands move .remove when right time __________________ fiat panda 1.2 eco

28th January 2011, 22:55	#3
chrissyboy This is my second home lovely little ford focus. Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: East Dulwich Posts: 7,877 Thanks: 2 Thanked 82 Times in 68 Posts	i would disconnect the ecm and leave it off for 10 mins to wipe any codes that are stored ,disconect battery before unplugging the ecm though ... see if the instrument cluster then resets ...also i would check the voltage you are getting from the battery as modern cars ecm`s dont like low voltage and play up if low __________________ [ I'm really confused. -I keep dreaming I'm an insomniac Last edited by chrissyboy; 28th January 2011 at 23:01..

29th January 2011, 20:50	#7
chrissyboy This is my second home lovely little ford focus. Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: East Dulwich Posts: 7,877 Thanks: 2 Thanked 82 Times in 68 Posts	it would appear that the cluster may be at fault now ,i dont know about these clusters but on a bmw that had the cluster playng up i removed it from the car and when refitted the the display light was back ,so i guess i reset it self ,worth a try i guess as it costs nothing,i would then if no improvement check all connectors to the cluster making sure there isnt one that isnt connected properly... failing that check the wiring to the clusters for breaks or chuffing....if that dont solve it then i would be looking to the cluster being damaged in some way and maybe in need of replacing.if you have access to a good code reader i would see if you can get in to the display panel to see what codes you have there,it may be that the answer to your problem lies there ,it might come up with the area a problem maybe.. __________________ [ I'm really confused. -I keep dreaming I'm an insomniac Last edited by chrissyboy; 29th January 2011 at 20:55..

30th January 2011, 21:41	#10
chrissyboy This is my second home lovely little ford focus. Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: East Dulwich Posts: 7,877 Thanks: 2 Thanked 82 Times in 68 Posts	i believe if a new one is bought it can be set up with the true milage of the car on a t4 __________________ [ I'm really confused. -I keep dreaming I'm an insomniac

29th January 2011, 18:38	#4
kaiser This is my second home 75 Tourer 2.5 Auto, 1.8T, 75V8ZT Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Johannesburg ZA Posts: 6,200 Thanks: 1 Thanked 859 Times in 613 Posts	Chrissy, stick with the vodka, it must have done you good!!! It is, I think, the first post I have seen from you which is decipherable without a translator, coherent and makes perfect sense!! Just goes to show, there is always hope!!. The problem is, now we know you CAN do it, so in future I will expect this, or better, from you. No more typing with a finger in one ear and the eyes on the TV. Concentrate!! (No offense, I hope.)

29th January 2011, 20:12	#5
paulandsam Newbie MG ZT 160, MG ZS180 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kent Posts: 26 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Update time, I have as suggested looked into the plenum issue, found the outer 2 were blocked up due to poor fitment the last person to remove them refitted but managed to kink the bottom of both ! that is now sorted and fitted correctly. The centre drain point was completly clear. I disconnected the battery and ecu for about 30 minutes whilst cleaning all debris away and replacing pollen filter. All refitted now but made no difference . But at least no chance of ecu getting drowned now ! Just a quick note there was no obvious evidence of water getting in or near ecu. I cant help that feel the 1 year the car was off the road has bought out all sorts of wonderful gremlins !!!

30th January 2011, 02:15	#8
Richy Loves to post Contempory V6 2.5 Tourer Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Scunthorpe Posts: 250 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	Hi I am no expert but had 2 of your issues when i bought my ZT last year. The air bag light was due to a loose connection under my seat and the engine management light was due to the connection on the fuel pump. Both these were sorted thanks to the guys on here. Hope you are sorted soon Paul

30th January 2011, 20:59	#9
paulandsam Newbie MG ZT 160, MG ZS180 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kent Posts: 26 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I am now starting to doubt the condition of my instrument cluster, It seems that after the car has been on for a while the display section looses lots of its pixels and messages for on board computer becomes unreadable. I dont mind sourcing another set of clocks but i have read that mileage correction on these clocks is not easy, as i only have 57k on my car i really would like to keep it reading this way ! Any thoughts ????