My car gave up on me - possible electrical issues again involving ABS, too

tayanc · 28th December 2023, 10:45

Greetings,

I had lately been having issues with my ABS, the warning light intermittently came up and went off with speedometer and odometer remaining operational. The sensors have been replaced, and the issue persists. However, after replacing the sensors; the car's behaviour became even more erratic.

Incident #1 : While taking my car back from the mechanic, near my parking lot, the yellow "battery low" message and yellow indicator on the trip computer screen intermittently appeared and went away, as well as the yellow ABS fault message and indicator, and at the very end of my trip, the red Brake Fault message and indicator came on and went away. Since then, the car worked normally up until incident #2.

Incident #2 : After two weeks of being left unused, the car has been emergency started. The same issues came and went regarding "battery low" and "ABS fault". In addition, the stock radio and ATC were on, and after 3-4 kilometres of driving; the radio began restarting, and the IPK went slightly dim intermittently, as well as the odometer screen beginning to behave as if ignition was on position I or II, with my gear selection coming on and going away. Finally, the car stopped on the highway, and placing a hazard triangle on the back as well as calling a towing service was in order.

The car being taken to the mechanic, it was emergency started once again; and an initial check of the voltage values on the battery proved very erratic, wildly fluctuating between 10,8 and 14,0 but generally staying around 11,5. My mechanic hinted at the alternator being dead. But I suspect there might be something more. Please help me, countless thanks in advance.

The car : A very sad 75 Connoisseur LHD, year 2000, 2.0 litre petrol.

Yorkshire GOC · 28th December 2023, 11:06

Is your plenum chamber dry - could be your ECU has been damaged by water - worth a check to see if there are any water marks on the ECU.

Diesel ECU's are unsealed so are prone to water damage if the plenum chamber drain has blocked.

another_clean_sheet · 28th December 2023, 11:30

[QUOTE=

Diesel ECU's are unsealed so are prone to water damage if the plenum chamber drain has blocked.[/QUOTE]

According to his profile he has a 2 litre V6

tayanc · 28th December 2023, 11:41

My car is not a diesel, it is a petrol and the plenum has been checked both right before incident #1 and after incident #2. I forgot to mention that as when something goes wrong, I always blame the plenums first.

SD1too · 28th December 2023, 14:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by tayanc

... an initial check of the voltage values on the battery proved very erratic, wildly fluctuating between 10,8 and 14,0 but generally staying around 11,5. My mechanic hinted at the alternator being dead.

Hello Tayanç,

First of all place your battery on a mains powered charger immediately for at least 24 hours. Leaving a battery in a discharged state and continually jump-starting the engine is not recommended. This could very well be the reason for the erratic triggering of various warnings.

Your alternator's output should not fluctuate between 10.8 and 14.0 v and the general value of 11.5 v is much too low anyway.

Although an alternator fault is possible, first loosen the battery connection clamps and gently tap the cable terminals using a rubber mallet to make sure that they are firmly located on the tapered posts. Now tighten the clamps just enough so that they cannot be turned by wobbling the cables. Do not over-tighten these clamps otherwise the soft lead posts will be damaged. Use a regular hand spanner.

Next check that the black negative cable is securely connected to the car's body just alongside the battery box. The bolt and bracket should be clean and bright with no rust.

Also check the connections at the alternator visually.

Now repeat the charging voltage measurements and report back please.

Simon

tayanc · 29th December 2023, 22:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by SD1too

Hello Tayanç,

First of all place your battery on a mains powered charger immediately for at least 24 hours. Leaving a battery in a discharged state and continually jump-starting the engine is not recommended. This could very well be the reason for the erratic triggering of various warnings.

Your alternator's output should not fluctuate between 10.8 and 14.0 v and the general value of 11.5 v is much too low anyway.

Although an alternator fault is possible, first loosen the battery connection clamps and gently tap the cable terminals using a rubber mallet to make sure that they are firmly located on the tapered posts. Now tighten the clamps just enough so that they cannot be turned by wobbling the cables. Do not over-tighten these clamps otherwise the soft lead posts will be damaged. Use a regular hand spanner.

Next check that the black negative cable is securely connected to the car's body just alongside the battery box. The bolt and bracket should be clean and bright with no rust.

Also check the connections at the alternator visually.

Now repeat the charging voltage measurements and report back please.

Simon

Hello again.

Thanks for your very helpful comments. My mechanic somehow solved the problem. And he (as is the tradition over here) withheld how he did it. But it is very probable that he took hints from my remarks, which were borrowed from your ideas.

The downside is, I had my ABS sensors replaced for no obvious reason. It was electrical all the way.

Besides, I lost my confidence in my 75. Seemingly it breaks down in every way she can find. I would very much confide in a car that has no soul, for the sake of being a more trustworthy boyfriend to any woman.

I took my 75 for a second to last trip back to my hometown today. As in any motorway trip, she behaved gracefully at any moment. As I withstood 2 years of 75 ownership, she has really been a pain nearly every single drive; but also, she has been a very graceful car, a luxurious one even by today's standards. As the one holding the steering wheel, I could see no reason to leave her. I feel somewhat of a compassion with my 75. She was built with the utmost of hopes, the pinnacle of automobile technology in her day, but very complicated and painful as well. Even today, in my hometown Edirne's dense fog, she behaved very well with her fog lights, unlike every evening where I curse the ever-so-dippedness of her dipped beam.

She still has a number of slight to moderate faults, but I am unsure whether to fix them before selling or not. A very experienced person in British cars has proposed me to make a classic out of her, but my small-town mindset also hints me at selling her to a dealer as a steal.

But in any case, I feel cursed. A 75 with a very capable and clean V6 engine; as I have experienced, feels much smoother than my father's eTSI Golf at both nearly 150 bhp. How would I let go of my lovely car that curses at me with a fault every single time?

SD1too · 30th December 2023, 08:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by tayanc

I would very much confide in a car that has no soul, for the sake of being a more trustworthy boyfriend to any woman.

Excellent Tayanç, that has to be the quote of the year!

But wait a minute. My Connoisseur is a similar age to yours and has also been throwing some challenging faults at me recently. Here are some comments made by my female passengers over the years:

"This is a nice car Simon" (whilst checking her make-up in the vanity mirror).
In reply to my question about which car we're taking: "You know that I always prefer to go in yours".
"Oooh, a Rover" (spoken in an admiring tone).

You can't beat that can you?

I wouldn't be surprised if your smooth Connoisseur earns you recognition for having "soul" yourself; for offering comfortable and elegant transport that isn't available from Mr. Average.

Simon

tayanc · 31st December 2023, 22:10

Your reply has reminded me that most of my friends who have lived abroad hinted me that I have born in the wrong place. They all say, my soul is Balkanic with a very unlucky British hint that I have never taken proper care of.

Now at my hometown, my aging family tries to "help me out" by getting rid of this "disease of a car". Just over 10 kilometres in the West, in Bulgaria, in Greece; the 75s are abundant and seem pretty happy. The disease, in my eyes; is our car repair industry.

Also, our kind of single women have a different look at automobiles. I once received a comment from a female passenger that due to my car being painted silver, it was second-rate. Later she fell for an owner of a black DS7, which; for me, is just another soulless marketing gimmick that I would happily pass on. At some point, she uttered she missed the perfume of wood and genuine leather. Then she gave up on missing that, given that our kind of leather does not pretend to massage passengers.

Back to my family, long-time believers of the VAG sect, they are trying much harder than an entire flock of VW dealers to lien me on a new Polo with manual A/C and partially manual windows and they threaten me with a Renault Taliant as an alternative (it is a tailored joke of a car harkening back from the 1990s specifically for the Turkish market). When I ask about CC and parking aids, and even a properly functioning FM radio, they just ridicule me and ask whether I need a car or a fast-moving computer that is very prone to faults, and they point out that when cruising, my right leg still works; also hinting at acquiring a manual given that my left leg also works.

I guess I am a person from a different era. But it is not an issue that anybody should treat on this part of this forum. And I am very much misunderstood or mistreated in our community in Turkey, because I have never looked at my Rover as a cheap luxury. I looked at her as a work of art with little recognition besides her home country. And when I was a child, any car that had a reliable and slightly large engine was a work of art for the "Connoisseur"s of all ages.

Happy new year to all my comcarriots.

tayanc · 16th June 2024, 23:03

A well-worth update:

I see that very similar failure states have been experienced in this forum and other forums specialising in the 75. One example is this: http://www.75ztcommunity.co.uk/elect...ved-t2534.html Other examples can be found by inputting "abs fault low battery rover 75" into your search engine of choice.

Although I loved my 75 for a first car, to which I thank for teaching me how a car works and breaks down, and does this in a very British way; I'm considering leaving it to scrap for a very reliable and feature-poor new car. At this point, I guess that's what I need. My 75 has never cooperated with me in what it relates to electrical issues, and I have little time to spare.

If I happen to sell my car, I would duly bid my farewell to this amazing community of 75 enthusiasts. It was a story well-lived for me; and now it's time to move on for me. I wish I had more resources to keep my 75 afloat.

28th December 2023, 10:45	#1
tayanc Newbie Rover 75 Saloon Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: Istanbul Posts: 15 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	My car gave up on me - possible electrical issues again involving ABS, too Greetings, I had lately been having issues with my ABS, the warning light intermittently came up and went off with speedometer and odometer remaining operational. The sensors have been replaced, and the issue persists. However, after replacing the sensors; the car's behaviour became even more erratic. Incident #1 : While taking my car back from the mechanic, near my parking lot, the yellow "battery low" message and yellow indicator on the trip computer screen intermittently appeared and went away, as well as the yellow ABS fault message and indicator, and at the very end of my trip, the red Brake Fault message and indicator came on and went away. Since then, the car worked normally up until incident #2. Incident #2 : After two weeks of being left unused, the car has been emergency started. The same issues came and went regarding "battery low" and "ABS fault". In addition, the stock radio and ATC were on, and after 3-4 kilometres of driving; the radio began restarting, and the IPK went slightly dim intermittently, as well as the odometer screen beginning to behave as if ignition was on position I or II, with my gear selection coming on and going away. Finally, the car stopped on the highway, and placing a hazard triangle on the back as well as calling a towing service was in order. The car being taken to the mechanic, it was emergency started once again; and an initial check of the voltage values on the battery proved very erratic, wildly fluctuating between 10,8 and 14,0 but generally staying around 11,5. My mechanic hinted at the alternator being dead. But I suspect there might be something more. Please help me, countless thanks in advance. The car : A very sad 75 Connoisseur LHD, year 2000, 2.0 litre petrol.

28th December 2023, 11:06	#2
Yorkshire GOC I really should get out more....... Rover 75 connoisseur se v6 auto Join Date: May 2014 Location: Hull Posts: 2,094 Thanks: 1,842 Thanked 623 Times in 469 Posts	Is your plenum chamber dry - could be your ECU has been damaged by water - worth a check to see if there are any water marks on the ECU. Diesel ECU's are unsealed so are prone to water damage if the plenum chamber drain has blocked. __________________ She came off the Longbridge Line on 20-05-2003 The Silver Machine was the 13th of 160 Rover 75's to come off the production line that day and is the 100th of 527 Starlight Silver Rover 75 2.5 V6 Connoisseur SE Auto saloons listed in the build records produced world wide.

28th December 2023, 11:30	#3
another_clean_sheet Posted a thing or two Rover 75 CDTI Tourer Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Great Bardfield, nr Braintree Posts: 1,422 Thanks: 303 Thanked 436 Times in 317 Posts	[QUOTE= Diesel ECU's are unsealed so are prone to water damage if the plenum chamber drain has blocked.[/QUOTE] According to his profile he has a 2 litre V6

28th December 2023, 11:41	#4
tayanc Newbie Rover 75 Saloon Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: Istanbul Posts: 15 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	My car is not a diesel, it is a petrol and the plenum has been checked both right before incident #1 and after incident #2. I forgot to mention that as when something goes wrong, I always blame the plenums first.

31st December 2023, 22:10	#8
tayanc Newbie Rover 75 Saloon Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: Istanbul Posts: 15 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	Your reply has reminded me that most of my friends who have lived abroad hinted me that I have born in the wrong place. They all say, my soul is Balkanic with a very unlucky British hint that I have never taken proper care of. Now at my hometown, my aging family tries to "help me out" by getting rid of this "disease of a car". Just over 10 kilometres in the West, in Bulgaria, in Greece; the 75s are abundant and seem pretty happy. The disease, in my eyes; is our car repair industry. Also, our kind of single women have a different look at automobiles. I once received a comment from a female passenger that due to my car being painted silver, it was second-rate. Later she fell for an owner of a black DS7, which; for me, is just another soulless marketing gimmick that I would happily pass on. At some point, she uttered she missed the perfume of wood and genuine leather. Then she gave up on missing that, given that our kind of leather does not pretend to massage passengers. Back to my family, long-time believers of the VAG sect, they are trying much harder than an entire flock of VW dealers to lien me on a new Polo with manual A/C and partially manual windows and they threaten me with a Renault Taliant as an alternative (it is a tailored joke of a car harkening back from the 1990s specifically for the Turkish market). When I ask about CC and parking aids, and even a properly functioning FM radio, they just ridicule me and ask whether I need a car or a fast-moving computer that is very prone to faults, and they point out that when cruising, my right leg still works; also hinting at acquiring a manual given that my left leg also works. I guess I am a person from a different era. But it is not an issue that anybody should treat on this part of this forum. And I am very much misunderstood or mistreated in our community in Turkey, because I have never looked at my Rover as a cheap luxury. I looked at her as a work of art with little recognition besides her home country. And when I was a child, any car that had a reliable and slightly large engine was a work of art for the "Connoisseur"s of all ages. Happy new year to all my comcarriots.

16th June 2024, 23:03	#9
tayanc Newbie Rover 75 Saloon Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: Istanbul Posts: 15 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	A well-worth update: I see that very similar failure states have been experienced in this forum and other forums specialising in the 75. One example is this: http://www.75ztcommunity.co.uk/elect...ved-t2534.html Other examples can be found by inputting "abs fault low battery rover 75" into your search engine of choice. Although I loved my 75 for a first car, to which I thank for teaching me how a car works and breaks down, and does this in a very British way; I'm considering leaving it to scrap for a very reliable and feature-poor new car. At this point, I guess that's what I need. My 75 has never cooperated with me in what it relates to electrical issues, and I have little time to spare. If I happen to sell my car, I would duly bid my farewell to this amazing community of 75 enthusiasts. It was a story well-lived for me; and now it's time to move on for me. I wish I had more resources to keep my 75 afloat.