Fiat Linea 1.4 FIRE Emotion Pack

My worst fears came true. But finally figured out the cause & solution of the issue the hard way.

I have always felt that there is some issue with some relay else while connecting -ve terminal why should there be a "tak" noise (with slight sparks) which did never happen earlier?

Today morning while leaving home for office, the remote key did not work. The car did not start. There are no electrical signals. While in MAR position all needles are at standstill, surprisingly, while key is on OFF position, the needles are vibrating. Even once the RPM needle went quite a way up & came down. Disconnected -ve terminal of battery, took a cab & headed for work.

A little research on the net shows that my fears were true.

In all probabilities, a battery/ AC compressor relay seems to have gone. The relay is in a fuse box near the battery. The indication that it's not working is - the error message appears on MID in cold starts "airbag failure pls check owner's handbook". This message appeared in my Linea prior to the old battery drain. The "tak" noise while disconnecting/ reconnecting -ve terminal of battery seems to show that this relay has conked off.

Once this relay is not working, AC compressor does not cut off even when key is taken out & AC if OFF. In such case, AC compressor continues to draw power from battery.

I think this may have been the case with my car. Have to get it checked today afternoon once I reach back home.

 

The culprit was AC Compressor Relay

Done.

In the afternoon when I came back home, got the car jump started by the battery guy. Went to Wasan Motors, Kandivali-W (called Works Manager in the morning that I might drop in without appointment). One good thing about Wasan is they accommodate me in such emergency without appointment. Reached at 4:30 pm. Explained the symptoms to SA and also explained him the cause & solution without giving him a chance to do any other trial & error :mrgreen: As soon as I asked him to check AC Compressor relay, he smiled & said it would have definitely gone as it usually happens with Linea

He got the technician check it. Technician exchanges a nearby relay with AC Compressor relay, checked and said relay has gone kaput. In 5 minutes, he changed the faulty relay.

So guys, if you feel that cranking takes a few fractions of second more & the message "airbag failure, pls check owner's handbook" flashes on MID, get AC Compressor relay checked. This message occurs when there is not enough current to run Diagnostic checks as Vijay mentioned. AC Compressor relay is located in in a Fuse Box near the battery on the right hand side. The bottom most fuse-like plug-like relay is AC Compressor relay. The symptoms of AC Compressor relay going kaput are...

• "tak" noise (like a swaitch is toggling) when you disconnect -ver terminal of Battery OR
  
• "tak" noise when you plug out & plug in the faulty relay.

Fingers crossed till tomorrow morning. It better works.

This has to go in Did You Know series thread.

Got a couple of other things also done.

• Got Coolant leakage checked. There is a leakage in the hose which needs to be replaced. They did not do it as all the bays were loaded & the TASC was overflowing with cars. I tried asking them to do it tomorrow being Sunday. But there is only 1 SA team works on Sunday and it's not a Fiat team. I've a trip to Surat next week. So, got the coolant topped up. I wanted to puchase ParaFlu coolant bottle. But they do not sell it saying they have it only in barrel and not in bottle. Will send drive on Monday to get the hose replaced.
  
• Corner of the Left side Cowl (black plastic under the wiper) near the passenger side A Pillar has come out of it's plug and was jutting out. Got it fixed.
  
• Rear Passenger side Door Handle Chrome came out y'day. Got it fixed. Technician did it with FeviQuick

 

No. That is another good thing about Wasan. Small Small things like these, it's never bothered. Neither Relay was charged to me nor the coolant top-up. But then they could not accommodate me for change of AC hose and I'll have to go back again. Give & take ?

The Relay is quite simple to plug out & plug in. It's like a fuse or a plug. But I do not know if you pull it out, what are the implications on running of the car? My guess is, the car should run normally as it's only an AC relay.

In the morning my only worry was whether Wasan Motors will have the Relay in stock or not. Fortunately it had.

 

Bang on, Bala.

But thanks to Internet the issue was diagnosed & solved without delay or without posing much problems.