Sudden cut out. Esc & Acc error - No crank - Nothing on diagnostics

voltswagon

voltswagon

Member
VIP Member
T6 Pro
Hi not sure what happened.

When to pick up fish & chips last night in the -2 weather drone for 20mins fine and on way home it suddenly cut out with no warning.
Managed to stop at side of road & called AA.

This is a video of what was happening.


The errors are:
- ESC (stabilisation error)
- Acc error (not sure if this means front radar sensor or it means ignition problem as in acc power)

The main battery was very low 11.4v so I tried connecting to my leisure batts and it went up to around 12v and no more errors! but no crank.

The AA man arrived and used his battery booster to give 12.6v but again no crank.
Also nothing on diagnostics as it no connection...

I got it recovered to my local garage but they are busy for 10days.. so today I tried a few things.

Have removed all my electic mods incase there is a short somewhere (I doubt it)
So this included removing my inline stereo amp and could be something wrong with harness. For last few months the amp hasn't been always turning on (which I think might happen if it detects low voltage on the battery?

Everything else I have runs off the leisure system so I have isolated that by disconnect the ctek 250se main batt line.

Thinking of pulling out the main battery tommorow & checking the relays. Is it easy to test a relay?

I guess very worse case there has been an ECU error and it needs a new expensive ECU but I'd like to try some other things first..
 
For the battery to get that low surely the alternator must have gone right? or the system that controls when to charge the battery from the alternator but I though it was a constant thing rather than an on / off relay?
 
Could be the battery or a corroded earth connection from battery to chassis.

Pete
 
Thanks will check.
Forgot to say too when the new battery is connected the fan runs at high speed if ignition is on. Stops when ignition key removed. Not sure what thats about.

Did also notice the smart alternator wire is slightly snapped off so will check that too. Not sure how you repair it.
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2016 T6 Alternator/Charging Issues

Hi all, I’m hoping for a bit of advice regarding some issues I’m having with my van. My battery light is on, my battery isn’t charging, and I’m struggling to figure out if it’s an alternator, battery control module or wiring issue. I’ve scanned the van and I’m getting a 02252 code, although I...
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yeh, you gonna need to get your multimeter out.

as @Pete C says . . . main engine earth is a possibility . . that will effect ALT and Starter.

to test get a jump lead and connect the battery NEG post to the engine block and retry the start.
 
Thanks all.

Just waiting for a lift over. Will post up some pics.

Out of interest anyone know what voltage the ecu should wake up at for diagnostics or maybe its gone into a protective mode.
For example the radio doesnt auto turn on with ignition when voltage low.

The ECU and BCM are different right?
Where is the ECU located?
BCM is behind the OBD2 port.

Central locking still working so BCM should be (partially) ok.

Earth does make sense as starting point.. I once has a car where the mechanic didn't do up the earth post after doing some work and over every pot hole it would conk out.

I have it booked in with local auto electrician on the 23rd so I have a 13 days to try and diagnose.
 
My negative terminal wire is like this. I think this is the 'smart' linbus wires?
Wire exposed but still 'connected'. The blue thing is his probe.

Screenshot 2024-01-10 at 16.48.24.png
 
The diagnostics and the core electrics don't have any low voltage protection cutout AFAIK, but they will cut out if the voltage falls too low to work at all.

At the minute I'd say an old battery and poor charging are your mostly likely root cause, check the basics before worrying about the complex/expensive bits (and I know that's sometimes hard in the "crap how much is this going to cost" moment of panic!)
 
Ok towed it home now away from the awful garage.

Have put new battery in and it shows the icon for cruise control (I don't have cruise controlled fitted). I do have a front radar so am looking up which relay / fuse controls that.

Engine earth appears ok. Same voltage at engine block & batt neg.

Have a diagnostic unit arriving later today as my old vcds box stopped working.

The AA man was getting nothing at OBD2 port is there a fuse for the obd2 port / main bcm?
Where would you be looking?

Central locking, windows, stereo, lights etc all working.

As a process of elimination I should also try my other van key incase ignition/imobilisor issue.
although would expect obd2 to be working..

Relays seem to be all over the place in the T6.
Will test them when tester arrives.

By compassion my last car a nissan pathfinder had 3x fuse / relay boxes in the engine bay all accessible without removing anything & on the box is a diagram of each one making it so fast to diagnose. Even the caddy has a better main engine fuse design.

tempImage1nZdzT.png

tempImage7zvNSP.png
 
Have you ever got an OBD2 reader to work in this van?

I ask because interrupting the power line in it is a common security trope - you may find if you follow the wiring back that what you think is the OBD port is actually a dummy plugged into the real one (or it's tucked out of the way)

With a T6 it's not so much relay/fuse you want to be looking at but the fault codes - it's more likely at this point that your modules are out of sync.

If the battery has been out then everything should have shut down completely - the other trick is with the battery completely disconnected careful put a jump lead between the now free positive and negative battery clamps to ensure any remaining power in the ECU capacitors is drained and they are off.

Once you reconnect the battery the modules may power up in an odd order (given they never normally power off just go to sleep) so it's worth a short 10 minute drive to see if everything stablises.
 
You have VIP Membership so you can view the wiring diagrams - you are looking for "U31 Diagnostic Connection" for the OBD port - I think that fuse is shared with a number of other circuits so my suspicion is "security" tinkering.


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T6 - Basic Equipment Wiring Diagram

Wiring diagrams covering basic vehicle equipment including various sensors, switches and controls VIP Membership is required to download this document
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Thanks.

Can't quite remember but I think I have had obd2 working as it has needle sweep on. Which isn't factory so I probably did that with vcds.
That would have been 2 or so years ago.

The AA guy noticed that there seemed to be this leftover obd2 plug from its AA days. (all cut and not plugged in).
So the actually odd2 port is purple and loose so possible someone has caught part of the loose wiring.

tempImagel6YgDv.png
 
Last edited:
Do you have dash lights when ignition is on with the new battery fitted? Have you tried a bump start to rule out a bad starter motor?

Was all your lights bright before it cut out?
 
Van was all good had just picked up fish & chips from town and on way home 5mins into the drive just after some traffic lights I lost all mechanical power.
Only really noticed becuase steering went all heavy and brakes then hard. Radio & lights still on. Coasted to kerb.
IMG_1667.PNG
Lights seemed ok but I only looked at hazards. Turned radio off. Checked the voltage as have a victron monitor for leisure & starter batt. Noticed very low so could be a problem with alternator and charging system.

However new battery at 12.4v does not fix the issue so something else going on.

Still nothing on diagnostics port although the wiring may be damaged (as port is just dangling loose) so I'll try and trace it tomorrow.

When I turn ignition with new charged battery I get needle sweep and the below video. No crank.

It's showing cruise control as being on but I dont have cruise control. I do have a front radar for emergency breaking. I'll try unplugging the radar tommorow.

Good idea will try jumping it tomorrow.


Screenshot 2024-01-12 at 22.02.14.png
 
dopeytree said:
Van was all good had just picked up fish & chips from town and on way home 5mins into the drive just after some traffic lights I lost all mechanical power.
Only really noticed becuase steering went all heavy and brakes then hard. Coasted to kerb.
View attachment 225188
Lights were ok then but I did check the voltage as have a victron monitor for leisure & starter batt. Noticed very low so gotta be a problem with alternator and charging system.

However new battery at 12.4v does not fix the issue so something else going on.

Still nothing on diagnostics port although the wiring may be damaged (as port is just dangling loose) so I'll try and trace it tomorrow.

When I turn ignition with new charged battery I get needle sweep and the below video. No crank.

It's showing cruise control as being on but I dont have cruise control. I do have a front radar for emergency breaking. I'll try unplugging the radar tommorow.

Click to expand...
Try a bump start or even a live direct to the starter. The cruise control light may be down to the battery going completely flat and causing an issues with the BCM.
It may clear when started and drove. Anything is worth a try.
 
You might be better posting this update here on your diagnostic thread:

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T6 Van wont start - no crank, no dash lights

Hey brains trust. Got this van at manheim auctions. 2017 Transporter T6 ex Linfox Tobacco Transport van, WOVR. Arrived stuck in park, drivers window half down. They dragged it off the trailer as is, and didnt find the yellow leaver park lock release under the gear boot flap. Van wont start. -...
www.t6forum.com www.t6forum.com

What's standing out for me at the minute is your battery voltage.

I assume you are an AGM battery? In which case 12.4v is between 70-80% and about the right level for start/stop. 11.6v is very close to 10% and will be causing damage. Assuming you have a 100Ah battery and overnight is 12 hours that means you've lost 60Ah in 12 hours that's a 5A continuous drain.

That's a lot more than a normal parasitic drain, that feels closer to a short somewhere.
 
Ha thanks

Ok fixed obd2 port had some loose pins. I also have to manually type in the VIN number as auto scan doesn't work.
Am using this tool from amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BN7LV21P?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Incase anyone needs it what you do is take the obd port apart and then plug directly in. with out the purple plastic on:
View attachment 225545

There appears to a parasitic drain on battery as it has dropped around 1v from 12.4 to 11.6 overnight.

Picked up these codes:

Data Bus ODB Interface
01314 - Engine control module
01319 - Control module for distance control (radar?)
03158 - Information electronics control module 1

Brakes
U112100 - Database missing message

Steering Angle Sensor
U101100 - Supply Voltage too low

09 - Climate Control Module
U111100 - Function restriction due to missing message

17 - Instrument Cluster
04194 - Vehicle status with insufficient voltage
U111100 - Function restriction due to missing message
U112100 - Database missing message

tempImage16Delt.png
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tempImageLv5iSR.png
tempImagejnUAfK.png
 
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