Fiat 2.3 loss of power.

[Cattwg]

Had an interesting, if disconcerting experience this morning. We had just gone, very gently through a flooded junction (about 4 inches of water I’d guess) and I did what I often do after going through standing water. With my foot lightly on the accelerator I touched the brakes, to burn off any water that may have been picked up.

The van immediately lost power, I think it went into limp mode. We were still moving at about 15mph but the accelerator was completely unresponsive. After several seconds I took my foot off the pedal, it immediately became responsive and we continued on our journey with no further incident.

I’m sure I went through the water slowly enough so as not to drench the underside of the vehicle. I’d be interested in people’s opinions as to a possible cause of the loss of power.

Oh yes, it’s an Adria Twin based on a 2019, 2.3 Fiat.

Cattwg :-D

[Robinhood]

....my suspicion would be that the engine ECU had sensed an inconsistency between the use of the accelerator and the brake pedal, and taken the safest option in temporarily cutting power.

 

I know from experience that the X290 can throw error codes to indicate "inconsistency between accelerator and brake pedal"; I have had such stored on at least one occasion which I cleared myself (though I expect it would have cleared of its own accord after a given amount of use with no recurrence).

 

You could see if anyone close by has the ability to read the codes (MultiECUscan), but if the EML didn't illuminate, and you don't get a recurrence, I'd forget it.

[Billggski]

How far is your exhaust off the ground? A wave could have restricted the flow and put you into limp mode, or just restricted your power.

[Keithl]

Robinhood - 2019-09-29 7:00 PM

 

....my suspicion would be that the engine ECU had sensed an inconsistency between the use of the accelerator and the brake pedal, and taken the safest option in temporarily cutting power.

 

I know from experience that the X290 can throw error codes to indicate "inconsistency between accelerator and brake pedal"; I have had such stored on at least one occasion which I cleared myself (though I expect it would have cleared of its own accord after a given amount of use with no recurrence).

 

You could see if anyone close by has the ability to read the codes (MultiECUscan), but if the EML didn't illuminate, and you don't get a recurrence, I'd forget it.

 

Totally agree!

 

Perfectly normal behaviour!

 

A lot of modern cars are programmed to cut power if the brake is pressed at the same time as the accelerator.

 

Keith.

[Derek Uzzell]

I remember George Collings (ex-editor of MMM Magazine’s “Interchange” section) advising that (as Keith says) on many modern vehicles, attempting to operate the accelator and brake simultaneously would cut off the motor’s power.

 

This was in response to an enquiry about the time-honoured ploy for cleaning off surface rust from brake discs by a driver maintaining a vehicle’s speed by pressing the accelerator-pedal with the right foot while lightly pressing the brake-pedal with the left foot.

 

I’ve never attempted to provoke this behaviour with my Ducato-based Rapido, but it would be a simple matter for Cattwg to confirm whether what happened was ‘normal’ by repeating the exercise - ie. simultaneously right-foot accelerate and left-foot brake.

 

On the other hand (as Robinhood says) this MIGHT produce an error code as mentioned in this 2016 forum discussion

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Ducato-MJ130-P2299-error/42462/

 

There’s also a relevant comment by S E Scott in a 08-07-2019 posting here

 

https://www.fiatforum.com/ducato/444384-fiat-ducato-power-loss-when-driving.html

 

[Cattwg]

Thank you to all who replied to my loss of power query. I had a suspicion that it was to do with the electronics of the vehicle and your knowledgeable answers have confirmed it. We live and we learn.

Cattwg :-D