Author |
Message |
Bill Lillios
Yet to post message Username: blillios
Post Number: 1 Registered: 8-2013
| Posted on Sunday, 08 September, 2013 - 05:44: | |
I'm a new owner of a 1996 Bentley Turbo RL with very low mileage. I'm experiencing the following 5 electrical problems. 1) The headlights turn on and off when the ignition is turned on although the light switch is off. 2) The windshield washer sprays by itself at the same time when the headlights come on in issue #1. 3) The alarm system is activated although the driver side door has been opened using the key. It does not stop even when I put the key back in and turn it in the door lock. 4) When the ignition key is turned on the fuel pumps do not respond. Fuse A4 and the fuel pump relay are good. There is continuous power on relays #30 prong but 85 and 86 are not activated by the ignition switch to snap the relay contacts together in order to supply voltage to the fuel pump through #87 and 87a prongs. 5) Finally after facing all of the above problems I turned the battery master switch off to avoid draining the battery. When I returned a couple of days later the truck was locked and it could not be opened with the master key which turned within the lock cylinder freely left and right without engaging the release catch. Previously the car had been parked for a long time. However, it started immediately and I drove it home, a distance of 1000 miles without any problem except of occasionally issues 1 and 2 above. Conditions 3,4, &5 developed a few days after the trip. Since the only available information I have is the owner's manual and the service handbook I would appreciate some advice on how to proceed. I'd also like to ask if anyone has the electrical and relay schematics for this vehicle. Does anyone know where is the computer located? I want to check for any corrosion between the contacts. Bill |
Brian Vogel
Grand Master Username: guyslp
Post Number: 632 Registered: 6-2009
| Posted on Sunday, 08 September, 2013 - 14:16: | |
Bill, You may want to either repost this on the Silver Spirit, Spur, & Bentley Derivatives forum or contact the forum moderator asking that the thread be moved. Thread relocated as suggested - your wish is my command..... The R-Type predates the Turbo R (which is an SZ series car that is a Bentley derivative of the Spirit/Spur family) by 40 years. You are likely to get responses in the correct forum, and not so likely here. Also, please send me a private message (PM). Brian |
Richard Treacy
Grand Master Username: richard_treacy
Post Number: 2894 Registered: 4-2003
| Posted on Sunday, 08 September, 2013 - 23:47: | |
We're having the same issue on a '96 Turbo R here in Sydney. The headlamps come on and off at random and the washers (headlamps and windscreen) are squirting at silly times with no rhyme or reason. It all happened quite suddenly, and cleaning plugs and sockets has made no change. I suspect the headlamp ECU located underbonnet on the left hand valence under the fuses. I considered trying out my own ECU from my Conti R (same ECU), but am unwilling to do so as a test in case it is destroyed. To explain, the headlamps, wipers and washers have separate ECUs, but they interact. Let's exchange successes. RT. |
Richard Treacy
Grand Master Username: richard_treacy
Post Number: 2896 Registered: 4-2003
| Posted on Monday, 09 September, 2013 - 00:05: | |
ps: your trunk/boot release issue is a mechanical one. Best use a spare car or battery and put a jump lead (-ve) to the chassis and (+ve) to the main 12V harness (problem here as we call the trunk the boot and the main 12V harness the trunk 12V harness) and operate the trunk/boot lock solenoid electrically. Then you may open the trunk and reconnect the linkage to the lock which has apparently dislodged itself. US-English and UK/Australian-English. What a bother. Something to do with the War of Independence I suppose. RT. |
Bill Coburn
Moderator Username: bill_coburn
Post Number: 1522 Registered: 4-2003
| Posted on Monday, 09 September, 2013 - 08:16: | |
Richard/ Sometimes I wonder whether these electronic embuggerances are/were England's revenge for losing that battle.??? |
Richard Treacy
Grand Master Username: richard_treacy
Post Number: 2897 Registered: 4-2003
| Posted on Monday, 09 September, 2013 - 10:30: | |
Bill, All the yelling and screaming about Lucas electrics brought on this German Bosch rubbish. Another war revenge ? Love the ignition points and Lucas electrics on my older cars. Trouble-free. Geez, I am an electrical design engineer and loathe ECUs. At last, I have figured out how to cancel the dashboard warning for the airbag in my Conti R. I changed a light bulb out of sequence and it caused an irregular error message although the airbag is fine. RT. |
Paul Yorke
Grand Master Username: paul_yorke
Post Number: 1122 Registered: 6-2006
| Posted on Monday, 09 September, 2013 - 17:16: | |
Depending on what alarm you have . . there may be a battery in the alarm unit which leaks with age. The headlamp fault does sound like an ECU fault as well. Possibly dampness and tracking. As RT points out , substitution is usually the easiest check. On the boot lock - it could also be a broken plastic part on the back of the lock. RT - Will you share how you got the air bag warning out? Lucas , for all their faults and the ridicule , at least gave you something simple to work with! |
Richard Treacy
Grand Master Username: richard_treacy
Post Number: 2899 Registered: 4-2003
| Posted on Monday, 09 September, 2013 - 21:49: | |
Thanks, Paul, That indicates the interaction between ECUs. Particularly, the headlamp wash only operates with the headlamps turned on. Wowee. How many megabytes of machine code does that need in an ECU ? On pre-1989 cars it took about 10cm of 0,5mm cable to do the same thing. I have put the airbag stuff in a new thread. RT. |
Ernest Carty
Experienced User Username: edcarty
Post Number: 19 Registered: 12-2012
| Posted on Monday, 09 September, 2013 - 22:10: | |
Hi Richard with regard to your Alarm ,have you noticed a message and and sound coming up in the messaging centre of the dash?It usaualy reads Alarm Activated this often comes up on my 97Turbo RL and is caused by not using the Remote to disarm the system,the remotes are prone to failure ,first check the battery,then point the remote to the right hand side of the rear screen this is where the alarm sensor is situated,if the system does not reset check the fuses and also use the remote to arm and disarm the system after you have gained access to the Battery this way it will also rest your Central Door Locking which will have been disabled by turning the battery master switch off or in your case disconnectin.g the battery |
Richard Treacy
Grand Master Username: richard_treacy
Post Number: 2902 Registered: 4-2003
| Posted on Monday, 09 September, 2013 - 23:01: | |
Ernest, My system is similarly annoying if not necessarily identical. However, read on and give it a try. The remote in my car has an inductive capacitor and no battery by the way. In the first week that I had the Continental R I unlocked the boot with the key in an expensive Sydney city carpark after a bit of shopping. First the dashboard complained, then the alarm went off. That was hopelessly embarrasing. Using the remote randomly stopped the alarm, but the immobiliser would not cancel. It looked as if the car would be there overnight. Resigned to a tow truck in the underground carpark, I read the owner's manual but that did not help. By chance I locked the driver's door door with the key but unlocked it to put the manual back in the glovebox. Just one more try of the starter I thought in desperation. Eureka all was reset. So, on my car, using the key to unlock the boot or passengers' door after using the remote sends the system into meltdown. Using the key on the driver's door (only) resets it. I tried it later at home and it was all repeatable. I would rather like to throw the alarm and immobiliser away, but they are rather integrated into these beasts. RT. |
Bill Lillios
New User Username: blillios
Post Number: 2 Registered: 8-2013
| Posted on Wednesday, 25 September, 2013 - 07:23: | |
Richard, Thank you very much for your response. Based on your advice I connected the positive from a spare battery to the alternator large connector and the negative to the chassis. The car was electrically powered and I was able to unlock everything by using the key in the driver's side door lock. The fuel pump problem I was able to solve temporarily by bridging the engine management relay. The car started immediately. I'm still however looking to solve the real problem and reinstall the engine management relay as I'm afraid to drive the car with a jump wire in its place. I will appreciate any help I can receive on this issue. The headlamp and widescreen washer random on and off problem is still unsolved. According to your advice, I went to the headlamp control unit and the neighboring relays. I taped them lightly and nothing corrective happened. I welcome your cooperation in this issue. I will replace the HCU as soon as I can find the part, and tell you what happened. In the mean time if you have any other ideas please let me know. The boot lid lock item is as you said a mechanical issue (a broken plastic part as I discovered and that Paul mentioned) and I believe it best if I create and new thread to ask how to replace that one. Thank you for your advice and responses everyone. Bill |
gordon le feuvre
Experienced User Username: triumph
Post Number: 17 Registered: 7-2012
| Posted on Tuesday, 01 October, 2013 - 05:55: | |
Recently had '97 Turbo RL with only 25k miles intermittently fail to proceed that was just engine management relay. Replacing this sorted issues. |
Bill Lillios
New User Username: blillios
Post Number: 4 Registered: 8-2013
| Posted on Monday, 14 October, 2013 - 23:44: | |
Richard, On the subject of the 96 turbo headlamp and washer random coming on and off, you mentioned a possible malfunction of the headlamp ECU. Do you mean the headlamp control unit AV2628? Bill |
Richard Treacy
Grand Master Username: richard_treacy
Post Number: 2927 Registered: 4-2003
| Posted on Tuesday, 15 October, 2013 - 17:31: | |
Bill, That is an Avant Electronics part number, and I understand that Avant of the UK had these these units designed and made for Crewe by third parties. Avant is, at least today, a manager of parts sourcing and subbing out jobs rather than a stockist or manufacturer. I don’t like your chances of finding one outside the Crewe network, and the headlamp ECUs are repaired at a price which is not too bad really when you look at the labour required to fit one. AV2628 cross-references to the following Crewe part numbers: there are UD70736 (all early cars and intermediate UK, Sweden and Canada cars), UD75360 (UK, Sweden and Canada, later), and UD72630 (rest of world, later). I think that the only differences between the above types are the labels on the assemblies. However, it appears that all have been superseded by UV10843PA in the newer Crewe part numbering system. UV10843PA is valid in the Crewe database for the headlamp ECU of these cars. None of the pat numbers here register as being available new from anywhere, but as mentioned they are often repaired and sold as an exchange under part number UV10843PA. RT. p.s. the last SZs have a different ECU which handles an optical sensor for automatic beam control. |
Bill Lillios
New User Username: blillios
Post Number: 6 Registered: 8-2013
| Posted on Monday, 21 April, 2014 - 22:09: | |
The original Avant 2628 headlight ECU has four relays. The function of the first two is to turn the left and right headlights on. The last controls the windshield spray. What is the function of the third relay? Also what do the solid-state switches control? |