Electrics: Brake Failure Stop Safely (anti skid message)... fuse issue?

[xbarnes]

Hi there,

I have recently become the proud owner of a 57 plate XC90 - what a fantastic vehicle!

In an attempt to discover why my front heated seats are not working, I seem to have upset the cars computer system! In the fuse box under the steering wheel, I popped out fuse #1 as the manual states that this is the for the drivers heated seat... the fuse was fine. I pushed the fuse back in and an error appeared on the dash...

BRAKE FAILURE STOP SAFELY with the red triangle. The ABS and anti-skid lights are on also - these errors come and go temporarily, sometimes approximately 5-10 times during a single 20 mile journey. Sometimes just the anti-skid light appears (orange)... could this be a loose wire?

On investigation into the fuse box area which I may have disturbed... there is a weird device I have recently come to learn called a "fuse tap". This appears in #27... the wire coming from the tap was just dangling. A local garage investigated and noticed that the fuse directly below #1 was missing (fuse #15), this fuse is associated with the ABS system. They stuck the "loose" wire into the #15 hole area, and the dashboard lights went out - bingo!

However... after a few weeks, the lights have started to appear again intermittently. The wire mentioned above appears to still remain in the fuse hole... albeit it does not feel like a good connection. All these issues started after I meddled with the heated seat fuse, so it feels like a fuse-box issue at this stage.

So I am wondering if anyone out there can help me with the following questions...

1. Should there be a fuse in the location #15?

2. I thought a "tap" was used for getting external power sources... is it common for the tap "wire" to go back into the fuse box?

3. Is it safe to attempt to insert the correct fuse into #15 and leave this weird tap wire dangling?

4. Given that I discovered that #1 fuse is fine... what's next for my heating seat investigation!!!

I would really appreciated any help on this matter as I am worried that costs for diagnosing this fault are going to rocket, and I feel that I have a potential small fix right under my nose!!

Many thanks.

[Funky Diver]

I can't help with all of that tbf... except the heated seat one. I had the same on mine and it was purely the connector not secured together. Plugged it back together and voila.

One of the BEST things I've purchased for my XC is a DICE unit from China. Came with everything to get it up and running, and now fault codes and issues are a breeze. Does require a bit of messing about to get the learning under your belt... but it's paid for itself 10 times over since I got it.

[xbarnes]

Hey there, thanks for your reply! Regards the heated seat, where is the connector that you refer too? For info, both switches work and light up with the two settings indicated... but both seats do not work!

The brake failure light is really troubling me... the cars booked in for diagnostics next week, and I'm worried it's going to cost me a fortune. Is there any reason why there is no fuse in #15? And would it cause any harm if I tried with one in there?

Today, the brake failure light has been on permenantly... you lose cruise, trip, and all averages on the dash.