Very strange problem with interior electronics and car not starting

[Edgykevvy]

Hi there, for some reason the LCD display in the middle of the dash on my Ford Fiesta 2011 is just showing dots and dashes, and my dashboard gauges aren’t on either. There is plenty of power in the battery (12 volts exactly) so it can’t be that. I have previously tweaked with the ignition wiring system, in order to add a start button and kill switch, Both of which are wired in properly and have been for some time, working like a charm. Whether it’s relevant or not, I had this issue yesterday temporarily, shook some wires about to see if it was a loose connection somewhere, and it suddenly all came back on and worked perfectly, all except my radio which suddenly would not let me use any of the buttons in order to change anything, so I couldn’t technically “use” it, it was just able to be turned on and off but no sound, control, etc… is this a fuse issue? An ECU issue? The problem fixed itself but has now just reoccurred and I have not been able to repeat the miracle jiggling about of the wires in order to remedy it like I did yesterday. The funny thing is, the way it happened today; I got in my car, the dash, lcd display etc were fully functional except the radio, then I started my car, it struggled to start, then suddenly roared into life however the problem then returned in terms of the dead dash and the dots and dashes on the lcd display, so I sat there with it ticking over for awhile to see if anything presented itself and alas nothing did, so i turned it off, and then was unable to start it again, with the dots and dashes staring at me mockingly. I’m praying you’re able to help me as I’m genuinely lost, and usually I’m rather savvy with these kind of things. I’m hoping it’s not an ECU issue.

 

On an additional note, whenever this “dots and dashes lcd” issue arises, I am unable to start the car, but when I put it into ignition, I hear certain whizzes and buzzes such as the one from the washer pumps etc… just none of the integral things happen, including starting the car. 
 

im thinking it’s likely an issue in terms of a break in the circuit from the dash electronics, ignition system etc.. to the battery terminals, but before I go down that route, I’d like to get a second opinion.

 

also, I have already tried disconnecting the negative terminal and reconnecting it to see if that provides any progress, however this is not fruitful.

 

as I said, the battery is currently at and seems to be holding it’s 12 volts of charge.

 

something else that might help someone decipher this odd issue, is that I have used a multimeter to also check the passenger-side fuse box, to see if there are any issues there, and it seems that although power IS going to the fuse box, it’s uncharacteristically uneven and irregular. For example, usually I can see several fuses channeling the full 12 volts from the battery, however upon closer inspection today it seems that this averages at around only 6 volts instead. Maybe this is useful as a sort of potential indicator to the issue I’m facing, I’m trying to provide as much information as I can in order to make your job easier! 
 

let me know if my thoughts and hypotheses are correct.

 

 

 

Please advise. Many thanks. 

[unofix]

9 hours ago, Edgykevvy said:

There is plenty of power in the battery (12 volts exactly)

You might like to reconsider that statement 🤔

12.00V = ~46% charged                         Also better to repost this in the FIESTA forum

[Eric Bloodaxe]

17 hours ago, unofix said:

    Also better to repost this in the FIESTA forum

@Edgykevvy you have reposted in the "Fiesta Guides" sub forum which cannot accept replies.

You need to post in the main Fiesta forum as suggested.