Took the car out for the 1st time in a month yesterday. Got 1/2 mile from my garage and smoke starts coming through the dash

Pulled over, switched off, smoke subsides. Turn igniton back on (engine off), smoke starts whisping its way through the dash again

Could see more smoke over by where ecu is so pulled off panel disconnected ecu and disconnected the battery. Called AA. got to me within 20 mins which is a record i think.

He unbolted ecu and removed it and then removed abs control box which sits on top of the engine ecu. The loom that comes off the abs control box has a multiplug with various wires going off it. They had all burnt out which caused the smoke.

Pulled aprart the multiplug and left it for a couple of mine then reconnected. ABS light comes on. Pulled it apart, abs light goes off, so deffo the abs no longer works. Car runs fine and drove it back to my garage.

An auto electrician is due to come out to re-wire it, but how do you trace WHY the fault occured in the 1st place

 

Dunno how you fix it mate but glad you stopped it in time

 

Very lucky Rich

Hope you get it sorted soon mate

 

this is probs the reason most people are putting new looms in


glad it didnt turn out to be serious though

 

New engine looms yes, which is what i have. Not many people put new CAR looms in though do they as that is a major job

 

you're lucky rich,my mates 4x4 caught light and burnt the whole front loom and part of his dash and sounddeadning.
glad you caught it pal.thats another mod ive got to do then

 

Dont be confused with an engine loom like Ryan would make and the rest of the car loom. They are seperate, well they are on a 2wd

 

yeah sorry mate i was getting confused which happens easily

 

Rich,

Lucky escape

Common fault on abs looms is it rubs on the turbo heat shield
and eats through the wiring causing shorts.

However, the system is fused do should have just stopped working
when the fuse blows. As it didnt, either they have been bypassed
or the short is to another high power circuit and feeding back through the
abs system.

Good luck getting it fixed

 

Simon,

Many thanks for the reply. So you saying, where the wires could have rubbed on the heat shield, this in turn could have caused a short at the ABS ecu end yes, where the multiplug comes off the harness that plugs into the abs box above the engine ecu? Sorry if that sounds muddled, but wiring isnt my strong point wish it was now

There has been no additional wiring on my car so that circuit if oringinally fused would still be fused. Strange that The only thing that doesnt work on my car now is the abs.

 

Very lucky mate.

Hope you get it sorted.

 

rich check the bulkhead grommit for rubbings, not sure if its the same for saphs but the 3dr ABS loom goes through another hole next to the the ECU loom hole.

Also check the ABS distribution block (where the hole is) as there is an earth for the ABS loom ontop of that.

Sorry i cant be of more help

 

shit that was lucky Rich..hope ya get it sorted mate

 

cheers for the help. You got PM

 

Rich i've gotta change my ABS loom aswell as mine smokes from time to time underneath the battery

Where it comes through the bulk head it seprates ino 2 section and where the Y is it smokes like a gooden and the ABS pump primes constantly

Have a new loom and pump but don't really fancy changing it by myself as i'm 100% sure i'll fuck it up!

 

Also check for shitty wiring through the bulkhead behind the battery.

The problem is that this is really easy for your average DIYer to get to, and they put a nice fat battery cable through for their shit box stereo oin the boot, and leave it un protected as it goes through the car etc.

Chaffes are usually responsible for the fires, as the protection wears away, the bare positive wires need touch any earth to create potential fire!

Pull out the standard wiring, and make sure there is no "spare" wiring first. This may have caused the initial issue.

JJ

 

Smit

Are the looms the same on a 2wd and a 4x4? Do you have a loom that come off the ABS control box (looks like a small ecu) and then a multiplug connector that is home to various colour different wires?

JjCoDeX75

Good thinking. Ive never had a boom box in the boot or any extra stereo gear. Reckon i will have to take the dash out to make a proper job of it.

Is it easy to remove the whole dash does anyone know?

 

Bloody Hell Rich

At least it didn't go up in flames, its not a nice feeling seeing your car burn

Steve.

 

Rich - I've got the whole loom to change (total engine bay minus the wheel sensors) Got it off a friend. Not sure whether 2wd is the same as 4x4...

Sure someone will clear it up

Specialist job changing the fooker i do think! I'm not taking any risks anyway

 

cossie4i

Absolute cunt is what it is Steve mate.

MAD YUM

Dave
Just when things SEEMED to be going ok with it (bar the mis-fire of course ) but that was due to be sorted fairly soon. Now i can kiss goodbye to autronics as i beleive an decent auto electrician wont be cheap.

 

Smit

I dont think i will have fucked the pump as i switched off straght away, but there is no god's shitty earth that i am attempting to fix it myself.

I hope yours comes good as well mate

 

The ABs loom that comes out of the abs ecu thingy is ok. Its where that loom then breaks off into another part of the car loom that is fucked. Im not replacing the whole car loom

 

I have changed the dash in mine several times - it is pretty straightforward;

The dash breaks generally into three main pieces - the top, and the two halves of the bottom.

You first take out the bottom right bit (by your feet). This is held by screws up to top half of dash, and one hidden by the kick panel and door seal.

Next you need to really remove steering wheel, the cowlings around the steering column where visible (including the two indicator stalks for safety). Remove the cluster surround panel, and then the cluster itself. Reach your hand in from underneath to release the speedo cable.

After you have done this, you are ready to think about the bottom half of the left dash - this is a big bit. I usually take the stereo out first, which makes it a little easier. The plastic cradle that it mounts to is part of the dash, which does not need to be separated, so dont waste time with this bit.

Memory doesnt serve me well, but be sure that you have all of the screws out. I seem to recall a couple of sneaky little bastards down by the Ash tray - you may need to remove the centre console, but I am not sure. If so - it is likewise just screwed on. The tricky bit is getting it up over the handbrake.

Once the bottom half is loose, bring it slowly forward and show the wiring. Carefully unplug each of the connectors (including the glovebox light and switch. Label the ones you arent sure on, though they are pretty straightforward.

Once this is out, the hard work is done!

The top half is quite easy, and very light. Remove the remainder of the switches on the right side (dont worry about the order - the connectors will only plug into the right switch). Remove the plastic vent tubes from the dash side and from the centre box.

Next you will find it screw fixed in three places by the windscreen, with further fixtures low down obscured by the now removed lower dash pieces.

Dont forget to remove the three screws that hold the heater controls in place - it is best to leave this in situ, as the cables can be a pain.

Carefully lift the dash out (shouldnt fight you) and remove from car and thats it - hey presto!!!

To refit follow above in reverse.

A few bits you should do with the dash out....

1. Heater matrix - it is a bitch of a job unless the dash is out. Also, dont fuck about near the pedals, simply unbolt the heater box, (remembering to drain the coolant system and release the two pipes to it) and remove and change the heater matrix - youll kick yourself if you dont do this, as they are cheap, and a bitch to do with the dash in place.

2. Clutch ratchet plastic teeth part. They go for a past time, and again - waay easier when you can see what you are doing.

Ref the loom - dont forget that essesntially, the ABS loom, and the Cosworth ECU looms are separate from the main loom. So dont get too bogged down with the rest of it unless you need to.

I have done this relatively recently, so any probs, PM me

JJ

 

JjCoDeX75

Thats very helpful. thanks for taking the time to write that. I shall copy and paste into word and print that out me thinks ta mate

 

Glad the car didnt go up mate

 

NP Matey!

I have taken the dash out of mine sooo many times. I usually do it to replace with a diff kind. Have had the 2wd original (in garage at the mo), a 4x4 std one, and now I have the J plate facelift version installed.

I will sit down tonight and Try to rewrite in a better way, but should do as a starter for 10!

I have the dashes in the garage that are the same as the 2wd ones. If you need photos of the rear of them for fitment locations, let me know, as I can do this quite easily.

JJ

 

I wish it had of done tbh. Nice insurance payout

no i dont mean that AJ really. I would be truely gutted if it had gone up completely.

 

 

me too

 

id check around teh turbi heatshield and see if any wires have melted and shorted with each other

the current will take path of least resistance, so if it didnt blow the fuse then its going to fry the earths or smaller wires, so could of damaged the abs ecu aswell

easiest thing to do is change teh complete loom as mentioned

it does plug behind teh top half of teh passenger dash with 2 triangualr mutliplugs, the other plug is for the heated front screen and washer jets loom

to remove th abs loom teh complete dash needs to come out and so does the all the kick panles as you will have to get the back wires for the rear sensors aswell

the abs light wire is attched by tape with main harness so just trace it back

if you want me to write instructions in what to do let me know unless someone else wants to do a step by step guide

but dont think of it as a hard job, its not its just simply taken off and replacing and can be done in a day

the real hard bit is too see if the loom has taken any of teh main carloom out as this will need relacing if it has and depends on how far its gone

also the main power cable for abs is on teh live connector so you will need to undo the 7mm bolt off that triangular connector for positive side on battery

 

now now Rich

glad it didnt mind..., you got it sorted yet?!