Technical 169 instrument panel slowly going south

[puntodeltathema]

Hello folks. I've a 2006 Panda Eleganza dualogic in the domestic fleet.... Instrument panel warning lights are starting to go out to lunch...first the side/head light telltale, then right hand indicator telltale, and now the left hand one! Just wondering if others have experienced this and if any good hacks. I note the usual repairers don't offer to tackle these on their websites but I may get in touch with one to see if they would take it on. I think all the warning lights are LEDs.

Thanks in advance for any experiences or intel.

Nick

 

[koalar]

First check all the light do actually work, the rear light cluster can cause all sorts of problems, especially check the indicators with the brakes on

As far as the instruments go I have only see or heard of four types of failures

First they glow dim, even if the ignition is off

This is caused by water, condensation getting onto the PCB, there's not much you can do about this easily

So before you start, take a look at night

The second, is as well as the lights going out, some of the gauges briefly drop to zero

This is the chassis earth going from the battery negative to the chassis leg, worth taking apart and cleaning up, just to eliminate

The third is the back light fails on the LCD which you haven't got here

The fourth is a single LED failing, which are soldered on to the
If you have MultiECUscan you can switch the LEDs on an off to confirm the display


Apart from those, your pretty much on your own, unfortunately

If you have MultiECUscan you can switch the LEDs on an off to confirm the display

Maybe @irc @portland_bill has come across you fault

 

[irc]

Only had 2:
a) the water ingress problem, caused by blocked duckbills and fixed by replacement & mileage correction, and
b) intentional bodgery (by some clown trying to hide the constant MIL by attempting to link it to the Battery light) fixed by many hours of faultfinding followed by replacement.

Both were existing faults on cars i purchased cheaply. Never had one fail in use.

This one does sound like water ingress, with failures creeping round the PCB.

Best bet is probably to find one from a scrapyard with lower mileage and replace it.

I seem to remember that there was a firmware change somewhere about 2007/2008 which could complicate things, but not sure if it was ECU, BCU or Eleganza Dash (or all 3). I believe newer dash into older car worked OK but older dash into newer car didn't go smoothly.

 

[puntodeltathema]

Thanks - helpful. It does seem to be "spreading" and maybe significant that the three lights having issues (and these have been intermittent but getting more permanent) are next to each other. Damp ingress may indeed be an issue, thinking about it. I recall I had to clear the duckbills after noticing "sloshing" noises going round corners after the torrential downpours in the autumn which led to quite a spectacular exit of water under the car! And it probably hasn't been out much since then.

Being a dualogic the panels are rare in scrappies but I've put out a couple of enquiries to people on eBay... Finding one with less than my 101k has not so far been straightforward, which says something positive about the general longevity of this great little Fiat (the 169's are superb on so many levels).

Looking at the MoT manual, I think as long as there's an audible telltale for indicators inside the car this may not strictly be an MoT failure - but I wouldn't want to rely on arguing that!

Nick

 

[portland_bill]

Maybe [/USER] @portland_bill has come across you fault

Sadly, (or thankfully) I've not experienced this fault, only what we've seen on this forum, which as said is usually water ingress.
I think the next step would be to remove the instuments, and check carefully for damp. A night in the airing cupboard might fix it. Is the inside of the car dry, or a little moist?