ESC and Hill Assist unavailable lights!!! HELP!!!

120882 Views 51 Replies 33 Participants Last post by Brookes500, 7 d ago

FirstCarFiat

Discussion Starter · Oct 3, 2014 (Edited by Moderator)

So just wired my car back up after putting in new speakers and an amp.
Had been running the car throughout the installation to check components. Everything was working fine.
Then routed some small power cables behind the dash, put the terminals on the battery and when I started the car I got a message saying "ESC unavailable and Hill Assist unavailable". Did I blow a fuse, or is something more serious wrong???

HELP!!!!

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redred

· #2 · Oct 3, 2014

I have the same issue. According a Fiat Technician it is due to a poor ground connection for the module that controls the hill start and ESC. I will be taking it in tomorrow to get looked at. Apparently the 2012's have this issue because when the cars were built they painted over the nut that the ground strap attaches to. The technician told me he's seen this on several 2012's.

You didn't blow a fuse at all. It's something up with the car itself and should be easily rectified by taking it in to your local Fiat Studio.

Reactions: 3

Timmay

· #3 · Oct 3, 2014

It is possible that when routing that cable you might have loosened a factory ground or possibly nicked a wire and created a short...?

FirstCarFiat

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 3, 2014

Haha... Thanks for the quick replies but I found the issue.

In my haste to clean up my build I forgot to clip the gas pedal harness back in.
That one harness has wiring for the esc, steering, Hill assist, and somehow the ground for the ipod input in the glove box.

Plugged it back in and good to go.

Will do some write up on the build over the weekend.

Reactions: 1

redred

· #5 · Oct 3, 2014

FirstCarFiat said:
Haha... Thanks for the quick replies but I found the issue.

In my haste to clean up my build I forgot to clip the gas pedal harness back in.
That one harness has wiring for the esc, steering, Hill assist, and somehow the ground for the ipod input in the glove box.

Plugged it back in and good to go.

Will do some write up on the build over the weekend.

Is this the connection in the car by the gas pedal? i.e.: where you would plug in a Sprint Booster or GoPedal?

FirstCarFiat

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 5, 2014

redred said:
Is this the connection in the car by the gas pedal? i.e.: where you would plug in a Sprint Booster or GoPedal?

Yes. I popped the harness off to access the hole in the firewall and forgot to put the harness back in.

Reactions: 1

Curteous1

· #7 · Jan 5, 2015

Does anybody have a more specific description of where the "bad ground that controls the ABS & ESC module" is located? I'm getting the intermittent "hill start assist, ABS & ESC unavailable" warning messages as well.

Reactions: 3

daverubino

· #8 · Apr 13, 2016

I got the same error today and came looking to the forum for an answer. After reading this, I installed an extra 12 volt outlet that I needed to be always hot for my braking system for when I tow the car. The ground I used was an existing ground with 2 wires nutted down to a stud just to the right of the gas pedal. After reading this, I went back and disassembled the ground, filed down the bottom surface so it would be good bare metal and re-assembled the whole thing. I turned on the key and the error message was gone. Don't know if was luck or coincidence, but it might be worth a shot. I did get a check engine light also this evening which is still on. I'll get that checked tomorrow when I get my muffler delete pipe installed. I've been running with the muffler off today so don't know if that has anything to do with it. The engine light came on well after the esc light. This might be an old thread, but I found it and it apparently helped me, so there's my input to the problem, valid or not!

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Tedolph

· #9 · Apr 13, 2016

FirstCarFiat said:
Haha... Thanks for the quick replies but I found the issue.

In my haste to clean up my build I forgot to clip the gas pedal harness back in.
That one harness has wiring for the esc, steering, Hill assist, and somehow the ground for the ipod input in the glove box.

Plugged it back in and good to go.

Will do some write up on the build over the weekend.

Hmmm.......

That last one is interesting. Did your USB port go down as well with the gas pedal harness unclipped?

Tedolph

troy_audi0

· #10 · Apr 24, 2016

Nice!
I have this problem as well, just got it back from service.. Going to track this down..

Ohiom3rmaid

· #11 · Nov 19, 2016

Hi, I own a 2012 fiat 500. I have 67000 miles on it, so no warranty.
My fiat has hill start unavailable, esc error, power steering not working, plate light out, and trunk not working.
These all happened at the same time. So I figured it was an electrical issue. I read the forum and went to work on it.
I manually opened the trunk and got to the wiring harness in the trunk door. 6 wires were badly damaged. After fixing the wires and rewrapping them I started the car. The plate light was the only fix. The other issues remained. So back to the forum. I saw where a bad ground wire can cause issues. I located that. It was bad but not terrible. I took it out and put in a new one. Still have the same problems.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I am at my wits end with this issue. I have had it less than a year....

Tedolph

· #12 · Nov 21, 2016

Where was the bad ground?

Tedolph

yaya

· #13 · Aug 6, 2019

Ohiom3rmaid said:
Hi, I own a 2012 fiat 500. I have 67000 miles on it, so no warranty.
My fiat has hill start unavailable, esc error, power steering not working, plate light out, and trunk not working.
These all happened at the same time. So I figured it was an electrical issue. I read the forum and went to work on it.
I manually opened the trunk and got to the wiring harness in the trunk door. 6 wires were badly damaged. After fixing the wires and rewrapping them I started the car. The plate light was the only fix. The other issues remained. So back to the forum. I saw where a bad ground wire can cause issues. I located that. It was bad but not terrible. I took it out and put in a new one. Still have the same problems.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I am at my wits end with this issue. I have had it less than a year....

I didn't know anyone else had the issue with the trunk not opening and the plate light warning on the dash.... SHEESH!!!!! these 2012's came with a whole heap of issues. my car is also out of warranty, and just recently "Hill assist unavailable" warning has come on along with the "ESC" light on my dash. I'm also having a problem with a check engine light for the same problem I'm fixing the codes are for a small gas leak... I bought a new gas gasket and it seemed to fix the problem for about 3-4 months and now its back with the exact same codes, sometimes the code goes away for a few days and then returns... HELP

2012 Fiat500 Sport 100K miles. up to date with all maintenance.

map

· #14 · Aug 6, 2019

I don't know how often, but it seems most 2012 owners have had probs with the hatch wiring harness.

Vehicle Tire Auto part Car Fender

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yaya

· #15 · Aug 6, 2019

at least now I know what it is thanks!

map

· #16 · Aug 6, 2019

It can cause a lot of weird problems... door locks not working, popped fuse, etc.

The factory was a bit too short. That plug is supposed to be in the door but the sharp edge cut those wires. The other fail seems to be the plug doesn't pop and wires in the rubber housing flex and break. Mopar has a replacement harness, but most owners simply fit it at home. Once repaired, make it an inspection item at oil change intervals???

What's up with the gas leak?

Reactions: 1

Fabio13

· #17 · Aug 6, 2019

Sure you don't need a new battery? Older weak batteries do that and clean/check connections under battery.

yaya

· #18 · Aug 7, 2019

map said:
It can cause a lot of weird problems... door locks not working, popped fuse, etc.

The factory was a bit too short. That plug is supposed to be in the door but the sharp edge cut those wires. The other fail seems to be the plug doesn't pop and wires in the rubber housing flex and break. Mopar has a replacement harness, but most owners simply fit it at home. Once repaired, make it an inspection item at oil change intervals???

What's up with the gas leak?

I have no idea what’s up with the gas leak my mechanic said to replace the gas gasket, which I did so the next step is going to be doing some sort of smoke test that will let him know if there is a leak and where it is and we’ll go from there...

map

· #19 · Aug 7, 2019

Gas gasket? That's a new one to me. When working with gas, careful with smoke tests.

Golota

· #20 · Aug 29, 2019

I am having same problem ESC light came on and car is pulling to the right so BAD!
But the problem is that I haven't touched tires or changed them. IT fills like it's a flat tire or just right breaks are pulled... Any thoughts?

Thank you in advance

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