Multiple Faults indicated on dashboard

[Christos]

Hello Outlanders,
I have a 2015 PHEV and my mileage is relatively low at 40,000.
Recently, for no apparent reason, I received a host of fault lights on the dashboard; EV System Service Required, RBS Service Required, FCM Service Required, ASC System Service Required. I pulled over and stopped the car. When I turned the ignition on again the faults had reset but upon driving another couple of miles they reappeared. There was no loss of control for the car.
I've lived with this for about 5 days, meanwhile searching wherever I can, this forum, You Tube etc for a solution.
The 12v battery seems ok showing 12.4 volts. There is no problem starting and there is no problem with 12v circuits, windows, fans, lights etc. I actually took out the battery to reset any alarms and took the opportunity to fully charge it. The fault, and all the alarms continue to come up intermittently. I don't think that any of these alarms are true because if there was a genuine fault then it should be on constantly and to get 4 discrete alarms at once indicates perhaps a software problem. I plugged in an OBD diagnostics tool and there are no fault codes indicated. In fact, I plugged in another OBD tool to confirm that there were no codes.
Do any of you kind people have a similar experience, a possible solution or even a fix to suggest that I may follow to resolve this?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[DibbyDibbyDJ]

You need to get the fault codes read.

When a single fault occurs it can spread a code around multiple systems.

An ABS code for instance will generate Engine codes, and cruise control codes, because when the ABS system stops working the cruise control no longer has the ability to slow the car down due to ABS fault. and therefore it cannot control the engine speed either.

 

[Christos]

Hello Dibby,
thanks for the quick reply.

You may have missed that I tried 2 OBD diagnostics tools and neither showed any fault codes. So there is nothing to read
I agree that a single fault could progress to others but I don't think it is a true fault i.e. the fault does not remain in fault condition permanently, so there is nothing that I can trace. This is the problem with intermittent faults occurring.

I'll probably drive over to Mitsubishi today just to show the photos I took of the fault lights and maybe some advice. Just trying to avoid a mega bill if I can resolve it myself.

Thank you for your contribution. Very much appreciated.

Chris

 

[DibbyDibbyDJ]

OBD code readers can struggle with the protocols on a PHEV. Maybe i should have been more precise with the codes needing to be read on a MUT3 dealer tool.

 

[Christos]

That's understood, thank you.
I'll give Mitsubishi a visit for a chat and possible solution.
I was impressed by the OBD I used as it gave lots of other information about the car; just no fault codes. Always willing to learn though and as before appreciate you taking the time to reply.
Thanks,
Chris

 

[Lon12]

I have a digital 12v meter plugged in to my cigarette lighter (aux 12v) on all my cars so I can watch the DC to DC converter charging.
The only time I've seen a cascade of error codes like you had is when the 12v system voltage gets to low.
Have you been able to watch your voltage while driving to make sure the DC/DC converter is working properly? I suppose it might be possible that the converter coincidentally starts working properly after the error event so that everything works fine after you turn the car back on again.
This happened to me with the Chevrolet Bolt a couple of times. I would get error messages driving and could see the 12V system voltage quickly dropping. But after turning the car off and on again everything worked fine. It doesn't take long for the 12V battery to restore its voltage once charging resumes.

 

[Christos]

Hello Lon 12,
First off, thanks for taking the time to reply.
I like the idea of monitoring the 12v auxiliary. I’ll do the same I think. I could possibly leave the OBD tool connected as it shows the actual value of the 12v. Other threads I’ve read imply that it may be the battery so I have gone down this road and sent photos/measurements to Tayna batteries but they cannot give me a direct replacement. I need to check the detail of the one they’ve suggested.
I tried the local Mitsubishi dealer earlier but they’re closed for the bank holiday, so I’ll drive over tomorrow. I thought that my 12v supply was ok but even after I removed the battery and fully charged it I still got the row of faults up again.
It seems to me that this is not an uncommon fault so I’m sure Mitsubishi should be aware of it.
Thanks for the info and I’ll let the forum know the eventual outcome. This could be a real frightener for anyone driving at speed and could easily contribute to an accident.
Thanks,
Chris

 

[AndyInOz]

Hiya, you mentioned that the battery is OK because it is at 12.4 volts.

Fully charged you should be seeing something like 12.6 to 12.9 volts.

It's been a long time since I've looked at car electronics, but seem to recall that the circuit, in regular cars, runs at 13.8 while everything is powered from an alternator.

12.4 suggests that your 12 volt battery is failing.

 

[Christos]

Hello Andy,
Sorry for late reply, I never received a text to say there was another answer. Thanks for taking the time to reply. You are spot on.

Update for fellow Outlanders who may experience the same problem:
I took my vehicle to get a professional OBD diagnosis. Everything seemed ok although there was a low voltage for some parameters. Had to bite the bullet and progress this so bought new battery (phew, not cheap ; but a damn sight cheaper than Mitsubishi). Voltages now good but cascade faults remained so back to OBD. Only real issue seemed slight delay in some readings on Left Rear speed sensor. No point hanging about so inspected sensor and found that the spring clip that holds the sensor was corroded and actually broke off as I tried to take out the sensor for cleaning. This is a really poor design as I now have to replace a wheel hub bearing for the sake of a cheapo spring housing.
Question; what do folk think of cleaning up the area where the spring retainer broke and actually gluing the sensor with an epoxy? Will the sensor still work? My thinking is that it is worth a go as I may have to change the hub anyway, so a new sensor would be purchased at the same time.
If the bearing hub needs to be replaced has anyone already done it? Is it difficult, as I can only jack up the car and work at ground level? Any special tools required (I have an impact gun and oodles of sockets but do I need a puller of any sort?). Any advice offered warmly welcomed and appreciated as before.
For those with an older car, it may be worth putting some copper slip or similar over existing sensor spring clips to avoid a needlessly expensive repair.
Thanks,
Chris

 

[nrayanov]

Old/Weak 12V battery, probably going to die soon. Start from here.

The next thing to check is the ABS sensors on the wheels.

EDIT: Didn't notice you already took step #1, and noticed the issue with step #2.

 

[Christos]

Thanks nraynov,
replies always appreciated.
I'm halfway through changing the wheel bearing out. The hub bolts are both tight and awkward. The legacy of car maintenance !!
Chris

 

[ThudnBlundr]

I had this a couple of times on our 2015 PHEV. It was always after driving for a while, and twice it was as I was driving to the garage for something else! They couldn't find any codes stored for the numerous errors. In most cases, the errors disappeared after leaving the car for a while. On the one time it didn't work, I tried disconnecting the 12V battery, but 2 errors remained. I had to move the car forwards a bit, and simply driving a metre cleared them.

I never did discover what the issue was. I had many suggestions that it was the 12V battery, which is often the cause of random errors, but mine was fine. Another was mismatched tyres, which can cause some random errors, but not the number I had. The most likely suggestion was a poor earth connection/strap somewhere in the 12V system. There's one on the rear motor which fails quite often; there's also one hidden behind the ICE which I didn't get round to checking before we sold the car