Auris dashboard lights/electrical issues

[ZFK2024]

Hi, I have a Toyota 2015 auris estate. Was running perfectly until a couple of weeks ago (week after service) multiple warning lights came on when driving - abs, traction control, engine (all static orange), stop start light flashing, and the brake light and power steering light keep coming on and off. Speedometer also loses power every minute or so. Have been weeks trying to sort. Abs has been taken out and examined with no issues found they say. A guy in Toyota also reprogrammed but this only fixed the issue for a week?

Any ideas of what this could be? Am booked to see auto Electician this week..is this the right move? 

 

[Mooly]

Seeing as there are so many seemingly unrelated issues I would suspect a simple common source such as a power supply issue or ground fault.

At a most basic level check the 12v Battery terminals are secure.

If it gets to involved diagnostics I would concentrate on just one 'easy' symptom such as why the speedo is playing up. That would lead to anything common for all the others.

It reminds me of an Audi A4 I had. All sorts of weirdness including wipers coming on by themselves, fuel gauge errors  and the cassette player ejecting a tape when the air con was turned on. Bad earth on the passenger side A frame. Dealer couldn't fix it... took me ten minutes rattling wiring harness around under the dash to send it crazy and find the fault (large earthing bolt hanging out).

  

 

[syncview]

it looks like bad ground, check and verify ground terminals, all of them. 

Some may even look good - id suggest you remove them, clean and re-install.

[solero]

It could be another module sharing the same can bus, pulling the canbus comms lines down.

If the fault is persistent, it should be fairly easy for an auto electrician to diagnose.

You can also check all the earth points, as they are in the wiring/routing diagrams on this forum

 

[ZFK2024]

Thank you both for your replies - there seemed to be fault codes in most parts when they ran diagnostics..3 codes I remember were U0073, U1103, U0129..amongst many others.  will ask garage this week to take a look although hoping the auto electrician knows to check this stuff. This will be my fourth trip to different people to try get this sorted over the last month or so 😭

[solero]

Yes they are all canbus related comms error codes. The technician should disconnect one module at a time to identify the faulty module pulling the can bus lines down.

[syncview]

ahh fun times

[flash22]

not sure why they went for the ABS or reprogramming

first off alternator and Battery check make sure everything is tight and voltages are correct

The first thing to spring to mind would be the eco-run module aka stop/start module this causes all sorts of issues inc dash lights flickering, bouncing gauges and intermittent electric issues the module on the TS is located behind the glovebox

05/2015 is a changeover for the module so could be 1 of 4 types

 

edit. looking at the Speedo it has a 5k redline so it is a diesel possibly a 1.4, 6 speed manual

 

 

[ZFK2024]

Yes it is diesel 1.4l, second half of year.  Not sure why they went at abs or reprogramming…I think just guess work. Pure coincidence probably but panel came off below glove box 2 days before this happened. 3 year old had shoved pens in behind. Mechanic glanced over wires and said looked ok. Should auto guy know to look for all of above? 

[flash22]

It wouldn't be a bad idea to point them towards the Stop Start module, the simplest thing you can do us unplug the connectors and plug them back it

it looks like this,

just an example............

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256136353223

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202925350756

[ZFK2024]

Ok perfect. Thank you so much for your advice. Just one last thing, when garage ran codes the other day, they reset..normally takes a few days for the lights to appear and go crazy..if lights have not illuminated again by Wednesday, will the auto electrician still be able to pick up issues? 

[ZFK2024]

Nevermind, lights all came back on! One thing I did notice was that a trigger point for the more intermittent lights like the break warning light and power steering and also loss of speedometer were bumpier roads! I don’t know if this has any association 

[TonyHSD]

Low 12v Battery very common to trigger numerous faults and set warnings on dashboard. 
I had recently tested a Passat 2015 diesel that works perfect fine but had tons of warnings. The Battery was in poor state and the reason for all that codes. 

[syncview]

could be a loose connection

[ZFK2024]

So had it in with auto electrician - said all faults pointed to faulty dash, he took it out and couldn’t find the issue. He replaced a can trans something or other and said to see how it went and if it happened again I would need a new instrument cluster. As soon as I collected the car, lights showed up straight away. I left it there as power steering was very difficult. I’m afraid il throw more money at this and it won’t be sorted - have any of you had this issue? 

[syncview]

is the electrician qualified to work on CAN bus issues? 

 

I'm just curious; did he check the grounds etc before proceeding to diagnose?

[ZFK2024]

I believe so - I asked him about all sorts of things, bad grounds, speed sensors, wiring under dash, loose connections and the Battery. He said no to all, and seemed certain it was an issue relating to the dash, he had a detailed look at the communication fault codes and said he didn’t have time to explain why it needs a new instrument cluster..this is the 4th person I have taken the issue to so feel like I am at their mercy as have very little knowledge of cars myself 😥

[syncview]

1 hour ago, ZFK2024 said:

I believe so - I asked him about all sorts of things, bad grounds, speed sensors, wiring under dash, loose connections and the battery. He said no to all, and seemed certain it was an issue relating to the dash, he had a detailed look at the communication fault codes and said he didn’t have time to explain why it needs a new instrument cluster..this is the 4th person I have taken the issue to so feel like I am at their mercy as have very little knowledge of cars myself 😥

i can understand that, gets frustrating... best of luck

[solero]

Im assuming he said he replaced the canbus transceiver. This would be a non serviceable component on the cluster. If so he would have had to source and replace the onboard component (soldering, heatgun involved)

If he went to that bother, why couldnt he fix the cause.

Sorry, but to me, it does smell like bull**** and drumming up excuses and a bill, then blind you with science.

Its not an easy fault to locate but its not rocket science either. He needs to be methodical, and justofy his suspicion rather than just guess/fingerpoint at cluster.

I would ask for a money back guarantee if hes so sure and it still doesnt fix the issue. See how he responds to that.

Power steering not working is all related to canbus issues. Is he going to use the parts cannon on that next?

[ZFK2024]

He sent me this image earlier of him working on dashboard and I asked him if he fixes the cluster will it definitely sort the problem - to which he replied, yes. I will ask him for some sort of money back guarantee as I have already paid 2 other people on my quest to fix this problem. 
 

what sort of other questions should I ask before work commences? Or should I cut my loses and wait another few weeks to be seen in a Toyota dealership? Will they even be able to find the problem 

 

 

[solero]

Think of the cars can bus as a shared telephone line with all modules talking on this one line. You are trying to identify the bad module on this line. He is saying its the cluster.

Ask him why the cluster is affecting the power steering? Does unplugging the instrument cluster fix the power steering issue (not always possible to test, if its at the ends of a canbus line without substituting a balancing resistor)

Has he measured the can bus line resistance? Has he tried unplugging other modules on the canbus line. This can be time consuming/costly. Depending on how accessible they are. Does he have a schematic of the other can bus modules on the line? 

It does look like he is making an assumption from the nature of the collection of trouble codes.but a mixed bag of codes doesnt necessarily point to a bad cluster.

Picture is reassuring to show he did actually work on it. Looks like hes reheated some tracks. I would expect canbus transceiver to be seperate 8 pin chip leading up to the big chip.

If hes agreeing to a money back guarantee fix, then you dont have anything to lose, but time.

Whats his cost for swapping the bad cluster? Im assuming this largely the cluster cost and his troubleshooting time. Removing cluster is relatively easy.

Ask him if swapping cluster will affect the mileage of the car? Some cars store odometer mileage in cluster, others store it in the engine ecu. Manufacture's dont make it easy to correct the mileage for obvious reasons. Even dealers will give you a letter for mileage discrepancy, rather than correct it, as its illegal to do the latter.

Good luck.

 

 

[flash22]

vss and power issues can affect multiple systems

 

the symptoms point to the eco-run module aka stop start module

edit. mileage is stored in the ECU and cluster, mileage correction (cluster) is simple with the right calc

[ZFK2024]

Just to update, car went to dealership on Friday - no surprises, no lights on when I got there!! However, when they ran diagnostics, multiple faults came up across different modules, think the usual communication codes! Had to leave it there so they could start examining wiring (at a high cost) today - however I get a message this morning to say Battery test failed and needs new Battery, they have put this in in and keeping it overnight to test tomorrow again…hoping this is finally the solution …my only things making me doubt it is the fact that the speedometer, brake, and power steering light go off at the whack of the dashboard still…maybe this is coincidental?  

[solero]

A whack to the dash shouldnt bring up any lights. It does suggest a poor electrical contact somewhere. This could be poor contact with the connectors or a crack or dry joint on the tracks of the board.

Didn't you get it repaired by your other auto elec? I thought he gave a money back guaranteee on the dash being at fault?

[ZFK2024]

He replaced the cluster but lights were back the following morning and he said he couldn’t see me again for weeks to look at - he refused to explain why exactly he replaced the cluster and his next course of action