RWJohn Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 I recently bought my first motorhome, privately. 2015 Swift Escape on a Fiat Ducatto Cab/Chassis. When winterising it I lifted the bonnet to check the fluids and found a loose lead with a strange connector which suggests it's some kind of sensor. Try as I might I can find no suitable home for it. On the one trip away, and the 250 mile drive when I collected it everything worked fine. Any ideas? Not sure if I can attach a photo here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Why not try and contact the previous owner ? It may be thay had something attached to it, and have removed it? PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Take it to a Fiat commercial dealership and ask them what the cable is for. The wiring loom is multifunctional to cater for all models. You'll probably find it's not required in your particular model. I had a 2002 Ducato and that had a loose wire dangling down from the engine bay. The dealership advised it was surplus to requirements for my model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 RWJohn - 2017-01-13 9:20 AM ...Not sure if I can attach a photo here? There’s photo-posting advice here that may be helpful http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Posting-Photos-/37941/ There are other ways to add photos to forum postings, but the forum’s own method is fairly straightforward. The file containing the photo needs to have a .jpg extension (eg. hymer-motorhome-photo.jpg) and be under 100kb in size. If those criteria are met and the procedure described in the above link is followed, a photo should add OK. (If you want to know how to get under the 100kb limit, that’s another matter...) I don’t think there are any genuinely ‘loose’ cables in my 2015 Ducato’s engine compartment, but there will be (as Robbo says) points in its under-bonnet wiring-loom to which things not fitted to my particular vehicle (eg. fog lamps) might be connected. Posting a photo would be helpful, but otherwise it might be enough just to describe where under the bonnet the loose cable connects to. It could be (as P Jay suggests) that the cable relates to something now removed from the vehicle or it might be ‘surplus’ as Robbo says, but if the cable is actually dangling loose and looks like it’s supposed to link to some sort of sensor, it may have become detached from where it should be. Although the cable’s connector-end is not attached to anything, and apparently this produces no symptoms of something being wrong, this doesn’t mean that the cable is intended to be loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWoo Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 My Ducato based Bessacarr also has an unattached connector under the bonnet. I have always assumed it was for fitting an accessory such as fog lights. My car has a couple of these spare connectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWJohn Posted January 13, 2017 Author Share Posted January 13, 2017 Thank you all. Can't manage to get a photo under 100Kb. Service is booked for April for both Fiat and Habitation so hopefully no problems until then. Will keep in touch with any updates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWJohn Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 Managed to reduce the photo to less than 100Kb so here's what the end looks like - any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Hi, There are two possible reasons (besides the obvious that it should be plugged in to something, and is not) and they are (as already suggested) because wiring looms are multi purpose and it's cost effective to fit a loom with redundant wires and plugs rather than to specify a different loom completely where certain features are absent or not required for your specific build, or they are legacy connectors because of a specification change. A good example of this is that early X250 Ducato's between 2006 and 2008 had level sensors for the coolant tank; later vehicles did not. The plug will still be there up until the 2015 restyle when a completely new set of wiring looms was introduced. The change from Euro4 to Euro5 has a number of modifications to the engine with different pollution control devices and the loom was altered to accommodate these but some of the unused connectors were still there! I guess a bit of cable and some plugs being supplied that are not required is cheaper than going back to the drawing board and designing a new one. My advice is to smear some grease on any plug that appears redundant, just in case there is any power going to it or if a stray signal could be produced by corrosion down the line and secure it out of the way with a ty-rap or similar. DON'T put a plastic bag over it! This will invite condensation and accelerate corrosion. One to be wary of though is any plug that is close to the rear of the radiator fans. I have seen a great many vehicles that have been repaired and the fan wiring has not been re-connected! There should be a temperature sensor and one or two fans properly connected for the cooling and AC systems to function correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWJohn Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Thanks, I have greased and tied as suggested. Will now leave until service in March and see if the specialists know! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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