No E-Diff, DSC, flashing lights and audio

[James35f]

Greetings all!! My first ever post and not how I would have wanted it. A few on the ago I bought an approved used 2015 F Type R. Absolutely love it. But since day 1 it has had an intermittent recurring issue.

It will be driving just fine - sometimes for days at a time. Then all of a sudden, warning bong, messages saying E-Diff and stability control not available. At the same time, I can hear relays going off like (again intermittently , but sometimes in rapid quick fire) with audio and infotainment screen cutting in and out and headlights flashing (if on). After a while it goes away. Sometimes it goes away after restarting.

It’s been back to the dealer twice for several weeks at a time. It’s had full CAN BUS checks several times with no issue showing. They thought they’d identified a dodgy electrical control module (relating to diff I believe) as the problem and replaced it but the problem has come back so it must be something else.

Any ideas I could get them to look into this time? Worried if it’s some loose connection etc it’s going to be a needle in a haystack. Really want it fixed rather than swapping the car but not ruling anything out at this stage!

Thanks so much
James

[scm]

My money would be on a bad earth. Some folks have found the stud in the front right wheel-arch to be a good candidate.

Oh, and welcome to the forum, shame it took an issue to get you aboard!

[RPSN]

It’s been back to the dealer twice for several weeks at a time. It’s had full CAN BUS checks several times with no issue showing. They thought they’d identified a dodgy electrical control module (relating to diff I believe) as the problem and replaced it but the problem has come back so it must be something else.

Any ideas I could get them to look into this time? Worried if it’s some loose connection etc it’s going to be a needle in a haystack. Really want it fixed rather than swapping the car but not ruling anything out at this stage!

Welcome to the forum.

I'm another who thinks it could be a bad earth or connection.

Here are three separate areas that have caused electrical issues on some F-Types. It’s worth mentioning them to the dealer.....

Power stud corrosion:
viewtopic.php?p=43005#p43005

viewtopic.php?p=43081#p43081

Battery negative earth connection on boot floor:
viewtopic.php?p=60018#p60018

Engine earth strap:
viewtopic.php?p=44313#p44313

[GARETH]

Check for water ingress into the boot. You’d think the dealer would have already done that, but you never know. You need to take the boot floor trim out and check at the lowest point. Lots of electrical bits in there. Does it only happen following wet days or washing the car?

Some modern mechanics don’t look past the computer screen!

[simpleR]

Water in the boot around the battery or bad earth.
After 4+ years on the forum that would be the two most common reasons.

[gasgas]

Had a similar issue, my indie identified 3 or 4 possibilities after code checking, replaced the battery and all is good.

[James35f]

Very helpful - thanks so much for the quick replies. Will have a read and mention these when it goes back in. Will get some pics up once it's back to health!

[Tel]

James, the good news is, it's not terminal!

From the symptoms you describe it's merely a connection issue, be it CAN Bus or Power.
The bad news is, it's a time consuming Pita to trace, especially if it's as sporadic as you say.

If you are so inclined, you might want to purchase a cheap code reader, wait fir the fault to manifest and read the codes.

I'd suggest an Indie, not a dealer to look into this.

[scm]

I'd suggest an Indie, not a dealer to look into this.

Excellent suggestion - it'll save you at least 50% of the labour cost!

The suggestion by gasgas is good, too - if you're on your original battery it may be due for replacement.

[James35f]

Thanks. Car is still under approved warranty and since the fault was pretty much present from day 1 the main dealer seem keen to fix - I will keep you posted.