Yes again!! Beginning to wish I had never seen this motor and paid the extra for another FH12 - however it’s bought so there isn’t much I can do about it
This tractor unit pulls fridge trailers for a well known Scottish milk supplier (the trailers are usually black and white!!) . On almost every trailer there is no problem but on a couple of trailers whenever I plug the electrics in the trailer lights come on and go off again within about a second. The n/s marker lights on the unit also go out.
As soon as I switch everything off and put the lights back on they are fine - until I switch on the ignition then they go out again. All that is left on are the tail lights, indicators and a couple of o/s trailer markers plus the unit lights.
The mechanic has checked the trailers and they are ok he says it’s a problem with thunit - they work with everybody elses units too, just seems to be mine!! Our local Iveco dealer has had the unit for the last 2 days and can find nothing wrong they say the problem is with the unit!!!
Anybody got any ideas (other than a can of petrol and a match - already thought about that)
Have you tried turning the lights and ignition off before you couple the suzies. It is normal to get ABS faults if you dont do it this way on many trucks.
My FH would trip all the lamps if I turned on the loading lamps in our trailer boxes unless you did it this way. after about 30 seconds it would reset them
I wondered that, simply because I’ve come across both 03 and 04 plates that had the same problem with the same “cure” (the switching on and off thing).
Certainly in the case of one of the 03’s, a software upgrade solved it. Ask them to do one, even if they say it doesn’t need it. We did, job done. No more wierd light problems.
Oh, and many thanks to Biggusdickus, my partner in Iveco-ing…It was him who passed the suggestion on to me, and I in turn passed it on to our FM.
proud, just a quick thought, is the trailers your connecting up to running on led lights■■? all of the lights on the trailers what you say is a problem with?? if so they are you need to get one of the rear marker lights changed to normal buld dont know why but this works if you have trouble with trailers what have all lee lights on them just change a rear light unit to single or double contact bulds, may help you there again it may not,
The computer on the Stralis looks for ANY problem or irregularity that may cause a problem and if it finds one, it will shut the system down. That is a great principle, but in practice, well we all know it just didn’t work. If it sees an incorrect reading on the power that one side of the trailer is using against the other, shut down is the answer. I came across this when a trailer had the number plate light connected to the left hand side lights, so this made an imbalance. to counteract this we put a light connected to the other side, over the handle for the 5th wheel area (which IMO should be a legal requirement anyway) and it seemed to cure things.
However, the early electrics were a night mare and they have had several updates as previously said and in my experience, the dealers are usually bordering on the criminally inept, so I would insist on them updating the software, The problem is most likely in the trailer, but the tolerances need to be reset on the unit so it doesn’t see them. If the trailer mechanic actually checked the ohms values on these trailers, I would be pretty sure he would see there is a problem, but I would also guess that he is just checking for shorts/continuity etc. Also, you need to check that every bulb is the correct rating as you will find many times a 4 watt has been swapped for a 5 watt or vice-versa and that screws the system up again if the computer is still set looking for a fine tolerance.
Later trailers which tend to have more LED type lights never seem to give a problem.
One O/D I know of lost everything due to one of these trucks. He fired it back after 18 months ownership equalled less that 12 months on the road, but the finance company couldn’t understand that the dealers couldn’t keep it roadworthy and fought and won the case thanks to a judge of the normal UK judge mentality
One main dealer had an Italian Stralis limp into the yard, computer said it needs a gearbox, operator (who run about 3-400 of them) said no change the relay. Dealer changed gearbox and the problem was still there so then they changed the relay (problem solved) and tried to still bill him for the lot. What he didn’t know is that said operator is also a very big mate of the main man at Iveco and the firm also owned a dealership that sold them by the hundred over there. I heard the service manager had to repay the cost of the box out of his wages over a few months.
Great trucks to drive, frightening to own. Horrific on depreciation.
Scarab:
Remember, a Stralis is like a beautiful woman:
A glorious sight to behold, but sometimes a little temperamental. Did you forget its birthday??!
It’s not just me that takes her Stralis personally then…
All joking aside, DYMM has it about right. Ivecos are truly glorious trucks, but dealership R&M will let you down every time. Now, whilst it’s only fair to point out that the same is true of pretty much all dealerships, regardless of the badge on the sign, Iveco tend to actually fit the stuff which other manufacturers are still talking about and tinkering with - the spectacularly advanced electrical system being a case in point - so keeping on top of any faults which develop is a must.
These trucks are a work in progress, a process I’ve experienced first hand having driven so many now of different ages, so they must be kept updated. Whether it’s a good idea to be running what is effectively a development project on the road is another debate…but look after them properly and you won’t go far wrong. Leave anything, no matter how small, to fester and all hell will mechanically let loose.
I love them, and I have run them in the past - albeit Eurotechs. But neglect them at your peril. They are indeed like a good woman, and hell have no wrath like a woman scorned.
as has been said already go for the software update.
most dealers charge an hours labour (approx £60), and any problem caused by the onboard computer will be solved.
you wouldn’t have an almost 4 year old computer thats not had an update in your house but thats what you’ve got in your stralis.
used to drive an ERF which, if the lights inside the fridge trailer were on it would trip the circuit breakers and all the lights would go out, unit and trailer, and I would have to reset it.
We were scratching our heads for days on this as it happened on several trailers, until we found that if the trailer interior lights were switched on, it caused the problem.
We switched them off, and since then, no problems.
. On almost every trailer there is no problem but on a couple of trailers whenever I plug the electrics in the trailer lights come on and go off again within about a second. The n/s marker lights on the unit also go out.
Our local Iveco dealer has had the unit for the last 2 days and can find nothing wrong they say the problem is with the unit!!!
