General Fiat Ducato 2013 2.3l Key Fob/ Imobiliser problems

[FiatDucatoCamperUK]

Hi all, I've been reading through all your posts over this week looking for potential solutions to the imobiliser issues I'm facing, but can't quite put a finger on it..

I own a Ducato for many years now, which mostly serves as a motor home. For over 2 year now, I've been faced with a strange imobiliser problem which is hard to explain, and mechanics were unable to resolve on 2 ocassions.

The issue appeard this week again, I was driving my car when all of a sudden, my windshield washers turned on by themselves, the imobiliser lock icon appeared, and my indicators/ headlights, even windows stopped working. I pulled over, switched the engine off, and was unable to turn it back on, I had to unplug the battery to stop the windshield washer spraying.

After 10 minutes I plugged the battery back, I was able to start the car, and made it back home, but again, just as I was a mile away, the same thing happened, the imobiliser icon popped up, and washer started spraying non stop.

Ive charged the battery fully today, plugged it in, and the car starts no problem, but with the engine off, when I pressed the open door button on the key fob, the car did not unlock, but the windshield washer started spraying, and I was unable to start the engine no more, had to, again unplug the battery and wait for it to reset.

It seems the key fob is one cause of this, but the issue also happens while driving, which is my biggest safety concern.

The low battery voltage seems to be causing this, but I don't know what might be causing the problem.

I thougt of fixing/ replacing the bcm, which is what the mechanic suggested, but im not sure if this is it, as everything works when the imobiliser problem is not present.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[jackwhoo]

The immobilizer is not connected to the windscreen washer .....so it's not an "immobilizer" problem.
The common component with your problems is the bcm , so agree with your mechanic but check ground wires/straps first and check for water ingress into ecus.

 

[FiatDucatoCamperUK]

Thanks for the insight.

When this happened last time, ive replaced the main copper ground wire that connects to the engine. I've also checked all the fuses / relays on the ecu for resistance with a multimeter, and they did seem to be working.

I agree, the issue must in some way be related to the bcm, but when it works, every component also works as it should, so i dont think its the bcm thats faulty itself.

Ill clean the ecm again tomorrow.

The bigger problem is when driving, as when suddenly this issue appears, not only the washer comes on, but everything else electronic stops working (headlights/ radio/ windows/ emergency hazard lights). I'm not an electrician, but perhaps something is shorting the bcm, just unsure of where to start looking.

The immobilizer is not connected to the windscreen washer .....so it's not an "immobilizer" problem.
The common component with your problems is the bcm , so agree with your mechanic but check ground wires/straps first and check for water ingress into ecus.