Good Mechanics / Bad Mechanics / And The Anti-Skid Message

[Prof W]

So, I have been the proud owner of my V50 since January, and hopefully it is now close to being sorted. (The last engine/gearbox I worked on was a 1973 pinto.... with lots of room around it. These new cars with no space and an engine compartment full of stuff scare the living sh... scare me quite badly )

I had two problems at the beginning, one was an exhaust smell inside the car, and the second was the anti-skid warning message/reduced engine power messages usually when going up a hill, or under heavy acceleration.

So I went to ATS in Huddersfield to have them find where the exhaust leak was coming from. They 'Diagnosed' leaking seals on my turbo and told me I needed a new one.

I bought a brand new Garrett turbo, and they agreed to fit it with an estimation of 4 hours work. When they took the turbo off, they found that as well as leaking seals on the turbo, the down-pipe to the DPF was entirely cracked .

To be honest, I was already thinking that this was a more likely source of the exhaust leak... So I ordered a brand new DPF as well.

When it came to collecting my car, it 'turns out' that replacing the turbo took longer than expected... over 6 hours, and then they charged me extra for fitting the DPF.... I had to pay, as I needed my car (at over £80 per hour!).

So, no more exhaust smell in the car. But still the anti-skid message appears under load. I spoke to a Volvo dealer, and his suggestion was it could be the EGR valve. But due to having to self-isolate at the time, I could not get to book the car in for the local Volvo dealer to look at.

However, I ordered a new EGR valve from AutoDoc and then looked around to find someone to fit it for me. Just as an exercise (and to prove to myself) I called ATS in Huddersfield for a price just for fitting!!!! They called back, and explained that as the EGR valve was buried deep inside the engine, it would take between 6 and 7 hours to fit. So I am looking at a cost of around £600 to fit the EGR valve..

needless to say, I did not ask them to do the work

I have been limping on, as I work 6-7 days per week, and I did not have the time to learn how to fit the damned thing myself....

And last week my clutch started to slip....

So, the other day I was walking my dog, when I saw a local chap working on his modern car..... I just thought I would ask him how easy a clutch change would be for DIY. Now it seems I asked the right person

It turns out that this local chap is a mechanic who specialises in VW, AUDI, MERC and BMW, but nobody is perfect

and he also does private work for some of the locals.......

So, the EGR fitting took an Hour, of which half an hour was waiting for the engine to cool as I had just driven hope from work (He charged me £40). He noted that the car was not a 'nippy' as it should have been, and has found a couple of leaks in pipes leading to the pressure sensor. So he is going to investigate the whole turbo issue for me while he is fitting the clutch for me on Saturday morning, but is going to replace the pipes, and then we have a solid base to start accurate diagnostics

However, I was interested to notice a post from JPB1, with a link to a video where a leaking pressure sensor was causing very similar issues to my car. So I will let you all know what happens after Saturday.

Oh, and the cost for fitting the full clutch kit and checking the turbo? £200. so a third of the price ATS Huddersfield wanted to fit an EGR valve.....

[Ashmere]

Wow, another v50 with anti skid message.
I would think it's nothing to do with the turbo egr

or any associated mechanics
We have been suffering the same anti skid/brake failure on our 55 v50 and several weeks and hundreds of pounds lighter are still no further,it's a minefield and will need a Volvo dealer to run a proper scan as only they have the system's needed to do this.
I feel your pain as we've put a lot of money into this car in the last few years and now God only knows how much more, for Now the car is laid up but I expect it will end up getting scrapped.

[Prof W]

I may have to go down the route of a Volvo dealer diagnostic, but I am going to try my diagnostic unit and see what that tells me. I have a CDP+ clone and am going to try the 'flight recorder' mode to see if I can get some live data and see if that gives any information.

Once the clutch and general check over is done on Saturday, I will have a spin up the M62 to saddleworth and check the performance/error messages. It is quite a long drag up to saddleworth, and every time I end up with the anti-skid warning when I try to climb that bit of motorway.

I do need to sort anti-roll bar links and bushes as I have a knocking.... So she will need a proper run after all of that...

I refuse to be beaten on this.

[lordbasil]

Originally Posted by Prof W

I may have to go down the route of a Volvo dealer diagnostic, but I am going to try my diagnostic unit and see what that tells me. I have a CDP+ clone and am going to try the 'flight recorder' mode to see if I can get some live data and see if that gives any information.

Once the clutch and general check over is done on Saturday, I will have a spin up the M62 to saddleworth and check the performance/error messages. It is quite a long drag up to saddleworth, and every time I end up with the anti-skid warning when I try to climb that bit of motorway.

I do need to sort anti-roll bar links and bushes as I have a knocking.... So she will need a proper run after all of that...

I refuse to be beaten on this.

There's an independent Volvo guy in Bradford I've used - has diagnostics & he used to work for Volvo

Rawse Motor Technicians - tele 01274 743310

[lordbasil]

https://rawsemotortechnicians.com/

[Prof W]

Thank you for the link.

I have run my own diagnostic system, but it is ISS, not Vida Dice. The list of faults was quite impressive.

Interestingly, a high turbo pressure was indicated, amongst everything else.

It is my gut feeling that the issue is a general communications fault rather than a specific mechanical issue being reported.

I have included my report here, but having read many posts on this subject (various random errors, anti-skid warning and others), it seems very much that there has to be a root cause.

Fortunately I now have a good mechanic, and my background is electronics and specifically communication systems. It would be ever so nice if we can discover the underlying issue that is causing so many of us to have issues.




This is going to take a bit of thinking about.....

I may have to invest in a Vida Dice system myself to really get to the bottom of this ...

[Prof W]

http://https://1drv.ms/b/s!Ap_b-MXj5CA8hNNbqlgqYamWKXu6mw?e=BHTmD6

[Prof W]

So, while my clutch was being changed, my mechanic noticed that the previously mentioned bad mechanic had made a bit of a bodge.
There was a hole (quite a large hole!!!) In the compressor pipe from the turbo. ATS in Huddersfield tried to fix this by sticking a bit of metal tube in the compressor pipe. This obviously has zero effect on sealing the hole. But a replacement pipe has cured the hole.

Interestingly, since that hole has been repaired, I have had no reoccurrence of my anti-skid service warning, and my car has not dropped into limp mode. Also my fuel consumption has gone down, and the car feels quite a bit more responsive....

It does seem that turbo/vacuum leaks seem to be connected to this warning. At least in my case.

I will keep you all updated.