Ford Fiesta 2014, UK - Engine Malfunction & Spanner

[RosieRumble]

Hi all!

This is my first time posting, and I'm hoping to receive some advice. I don't use my car frequently, only about once every week or two, and I make sure to give it a decent run when I do. The other day, when I turned on the engine, a yellow spanner (wrench) symbol appeared on the dashboard along with the warning message "Engine Malfunction - Service Now."

To prevent any potential damage, I decided not to drive the car at that time. I checked the oil levels, and they seem to be fine. Additionally, I charged the battery, which wasn't completely flat but was very close to it.

Today, after reinstalling the battery and starting the car, everything seemed to be fine. There were no symbols or warning messages displayed. However, I haven't been able to take it for a drive yet, but I did let it idle and revved the engine a bit, and everything sounded and felt normal.

My question is, assuming the symbols/icons don't appear again, can I assume that the issue was related to the nearly flat battery? Or would it still be necessary to send my car for a service at the garage, considering the potential hassle and cost?

Thank you in advance for your help.

All the best,
R

 

[Handy Andy]

The "low battery" can make that message appear, but you'd also see an Icon that looks like a car battery outlined in red ...

Kinda looks like this

Since you have not seen it since then, the "service engine now" message is also not appearing - go ahead and drive it around the neighborhood street a few times - backing up selecting gears - things like that to verify the car does "go".

I cannot guarantee the wheels won't fall off, but if that doesn't happen as you drive it, then that is a good start...

But after sitting so long the rotors and the brakes - in general - will need service due to the rust on the linings and it can damage the pads.

Sadly this fate is suffered by any car that is stored even for 6 months - during "Covid" we let one car sit while we used the other to make the necessary trips needed to us at that time. The car that sat - required some work to it's brakes both front rotors and rear Drums - not a big deal just needed to be driven slowly and the brake pedal applied while driving - applied gently to see if the linings can be used to re-grind the surface rust off the lining and bring them back to a useful life.

Makes a horrible noise that goes away - once that surface can get re-burnished it can be driven at higher and higher speeds but for braking - pressing firmly but not for long periods of time - a slow firm pumping action can help restore the surfaces and doing this as a pumping action makes the pads to lining "grind" a more random action to help reduce flat spotting caused by the Pad being stationary over one spot - it can help reduce that reflective feel the pedal will place against your foot as the flat spot and the rest of the linings - start to become more "true" and less pedal vibration will signal that you are making the linings more "flat" so the pistons in the Calipers (front rotor) and rear cylinder (drums) will vibrate or work against the pedal less and less - allowing you to increase the speed to normal highway and should bring back most if not all the braking effectiveness it once had.

But that depends on how long the car sat and how much it had to sit in a high humidity and dew environment.

Worse case can set you back $1,000 + US dollars to rebuild the brake system if you can not make the car brake effectively - most of the cost is in labor, so if you can simply order and install new drums - pads and rotors - you should be ok.

You can review what is in this post to help you...
https://www.fordfiesta.org/threads/very-very-quiet-ticking-noise-when-braking.8694/post-23038

 

[SyntheticAtmosphere]

Cars now-a-days require a far more stable power supply than the cars of the past. In the old days you could run a car with a depleted battery (some cars even without a battery) so long as there was power to support the ignition system.
In todays cars, the electronic systems are many and they communicate using protocol messaging specified in high and low voltages. If these voltages fluctuate outside of the specified range, mixed and missed messages confuse the various systems that rely on that information. The interconnection can be vast, 1 piece of information could be wheel speed/road speed. This information is sent to your speedometer, engine management computer, ABS system, Traction control, stereo volume, power steering, air bags, cruise control, lane departure and on, and on...! The term for this system today is CANBUS, It was mandated in 2008 automobiles. If you were to drop the operating voltage of the battery down to 10-11V, you could start to experience silly actions like you are experiencing and they will disappear if the battery is brought up to full charge.
Also note, a car battery that is depleted regularly will have a shorter service life. It may be valuable to have your battery tested if it has been in service for a long time. If this car is on its original battery from the factory, 10 years is a good life span for a battery. However, due to the use of more recycled metals in new batteries, best lifespan now is about 5-7 years.

 

[RosieRumble]

Thank you both for the thorough responses!

I did actually replace the battery about a year ago. Unfortunately, I have a bad habit of letting it run low and as you say, it's not good for it

Based on both your knowledge and my previous experience, I suspect that the near depletion of my battery caused some mixed signals, resulting in the incorrect warning message and symbol appearing in my car. This has actually happened once before, around a year ago when the weather was colder and I hadn't driven the car for a while. At that time, I charged the battery and the warning message of "Immobiliser malfunction - service now" disappeared.

I will definitely keep you both updated if the warning message reappears!

Thank you again for your help.