110 replies to this topic

[johnH]

thanks for the comments guys. just rang them for an update and apparently they are looking at it now...all very well since its been there since 10!

i was thinking there cant be anything wrong if i have covered the mileage i have done, in the dark, with my stereo on. i was speaking to a mates dad who just had a galaxy in for the same thing. apparently there was something in the dash(not cluster) he replaced and the light went off.

im putting my money on something really simple, like a sensor grounding incorrectly or something.

[johnH]

well happy now...got it fixed.

this is what it says on report:

"INVESTIGATE BATTERY WARNING OB 85+
CARRIED OUT IDS HOOK UP RETRIEVED CODES
P0622, CARRIED OUT CHECKS ON SMART CHARGE
WIRING, FIND HIGH VOLT DROP ON WIRE, LOCATED
OPEN CIRCUIT ON WIRING, CARRIED OUT CHECKS
AND CARRIED OUT REPAIR TO WIRING BETWEEN PCM
MODULE AND ALTERNATOR"

TOTAL COST: £150
VAT: £30
AMOUNT DUE: £180

well so it was the smart charge harness, i must have been elsewhere lol but i can say for definite it wasn't the red wire. the engineer rang and said the wire was snapped in the wheel arch lining area!

as said before im well happy and got this sorted. the best bit is, i thought it was going to cost a lot more to fix XD

thanks for all your helps guys, really appreciate it.

hope this helps someone in the future for ref

[artscot79]

well happy now...got it fixed.

this is what it says on report:

"INVESTIGATE BATTERY WARNING OB 85+
CARRIED OUT IDS HOOK UP RETRIEVED CODES
P0622, CARRIED OUT CHECKS ON SMART CHARGE
WIRING, FIND HIGH VOLT DROP ON WIRE, LOCATED
OPEN CIRCUIT ON WIRING, CARRIED OUT CHECKS
AND CARRIED OUT REPAIR TO WIRING BETWEEN PCM
MODULE AND ALTERNATOR"

TOTAL COST: £150
VAT: £30
AMOUNT DUE: £180

well so it was the smart charge harness, i must have been elsewhere lol but i can say for definite it wasn't the red wire. the engineer rang and said the wire was snapped in the wheel arch lining area!

as said before im well happy and got this sorted. the best bit is, i thought it was going to cost a lot more to fix XD

thanks for all your helps guys, really appreciate it.

hope this helps someone in the future for ref

thats why i use ford an independant wouldnt have found that and just replaced the alternator just to have the same issue then replace summat else etc etc very few garages understand the smart charge system most dont even know the car should have a silver calcium or double calcium battery

[johnH]

yeah i know what you mean haha halfords actually recommend lead acid batteries for these vehicles, and from what i have read they a are a no no for the smart charge

[jeebowhite]

Good Job! shame though because the smart charge system is so complicated it makes it difficult for us mere mortals to diagnose... at least it has now been resolved, although at a cost of £300+ for new battery, alternator and smart charge harness...

[johnH]

tell me about it and they needed the ford IDS/WDS system to look at it. no doubt using the actuator side of the software...definately going to start saving my pennies and buy a clone device. after 4 diagnostics, i would of got my money back! plus i can get a few beer tokens for the local or national area.

[artscot79]

tell me about it and they needed the ford IDS/WDS system to look at it. no doubt using the actuator side of the software...definately going to start saving my pennies and buy a clone device. after 4 diagnostics, i would of got my money back! plus i can get a few beer tokens for the local or national area.

most places do fit lead acid batteries double calcium or silver calcium the sc can detect if the battery has the correct elements and if it doesnt like lead acid it fries it causing electrical issues kind of ridiculous as most cars are fitted with smart charge these days

[catch]

tell me about it and they needed the ford IDS/WDS system to look at it. no doubt using the actuator side of the software...definately going to start saving my pennies and buy a clone device. after 4 diagnostics, i would of got my money back! plus i can get a few beer tokens for the local or national area.

Glad you got it sorted at last John.

This thread has served two purposes, one being it highlights a cause and fix of a permanent "Red Light" issue.

And the other being a "University of Life" lesson into the possible pitfalls of chucking money at faults by replacing components on nothing more than a "it must be that" basis.

You know really worthwhile threads like this one highlighting fixes to faults should really be elevated to a folder named something along the lines of "Faults and Their Possible Causes and Fixes" In fact a slimmed down, Fault and Fix post highlighting the problem and the fix, being added to such a folder would be better still.............anybody else agree?

[johnH]

defo agree with that catch...but in my personal opinion, and i do it myself..will read the thread and think "well that doesnt happen on mine so it cant be that" but thats down to the individual.

one thing linked to this is that i read numerous threads regarding this, and even read that the wire snapped in the wheel arch (but only seen it once) but i thought it cant be mine as these say it comes on after 20-30secs.

but lesson learnt...

basically if the alternator is charging over 13v, and the battery is over 12v its your smart charge wire (blue), either breaking 6 inch from plug at alternator (where cable tie is) or where mine was (wheel arch near pcm). or it could be the red wire (simple multimeter check on engine fuse box). no reported fault on grey wire.

[DanielGallimore]

Hello, sorry for posting in this topic again but this seems like the problem i've been having.

I have a Ford Fiesta 2003 - Battery light came on about a week ago, assumed it was the alternator as it was sounding very dodgy and also when i have my lights on they would dim is i used my windows. So i got a recondition alternator - put it in got the same problem - got a new reconditioned alternator same problem again light was on - so I start reading up and found that it could be the smart charge system and the ecu - so i thought i'd ask is it worth me just taking my car to a ford dealer and getting them to check it out? i don't really about 200 odd that johnH got given to fix his problem. - Also the battery is only 6 months old.

Basically do you think its the smart charge system? and should i just take it in for them to fault code it and hopefully fix it?

[artscot79]

Hello, sorry for posting in this topic again but this seems like the problem i've been having.

I have a Ford Fiesta 2003 - Battery light came on about a week ago, assumed it was the alternator as it was sounding very dodgy and also when i have my lights on they would dim is i used my windows. So i got a recondition alternator - put it in got the same problem - got a new reconditioned alternator same problem again light was on - so I start reading up and found that it could be the smart charge system and the ecu - so i thought i'd ask is it worth me just taking my car to a ford dealer and getting them to check it out? i don't really about 200 odd that johnH got given to fix his problem. - Also the battery is only 6 months old.

Basically do you think its the smart charge system? and should i just take it in for them to fault code it and hopefully fix it?

it could be a faulty cell in the battery its cheap and free to check any garage will do it the lights should dim if you use the windows momentarily while the alternator adjusts for the drain remember youre using battery power the alternator is just replacing that i doubt its the alternator as youve hgad a few smart charge is possible could be a broken wire but have the battery checked first and as always make sure its silver calcium or double calcium battery. it doesnt sound like you had an issue to start with as you use the windows the motor is high demand so if you are at a standstill idling its a slight dip as the alternator takes up the extra drain thats just normal keep ypure finger on the window button youll see it steadies out the battery light i think is the actual battery i had a 2 month old one that had a faulty cell its not unusual

[johnH]

hi daniel, appologies for the late reply i just got back to work (only time i can surf forums) anyways to check the smart charge system, put a multimeter across the alternator and check the voltage...if its running at around 14v its fine. if its around 13v at best, your smart charge is knackered.

if this is the case, the common wires are the blue and red. you can check the red instantly with the multimeter, obviously turn car off, turn multimeter to resistance. unplug the 3 wire connection and shove one end of the multimeter into the red port and the other to the corresponding fuse in the engine bay. i cant remember what number it was on the focus, but it is listed in your owners manual. if your getting a resistance of around 0.06 then its good, around 1 or more and there is your problem.

next step would be to check the blue and grey, that would mean finding and getting to your ecu. unplugging the conenction and resistance checking them again.

that would atleast tell you which wire is at fault from that you can trace the wire find where it is damaged and repair it. i think all ford did was strip back the wire and crimp connect it and wrap in electrical tape

[catch]

hi daniel, appologies for the late reply i just got back to work (only time i can surf forums)

Sheeeeeeeet, will your surfing the net, who's watching for the "Boogies" entering our air space!

[johnH]

the scopies next door im a techy so no work for me

[jeebowhite]

Yeah, John just gets so engrossed in the forums, he doesnt realise that everywhere around him has just gone dark and lost power... Hes just sat looking at our posts not realising people around him are shouting and crying cos they cant see the boogies!

...And in the meantime, you see Cameron and Clegg fighting to see who gets to take air force one out for a spin... or should I say Eurostar...