maceonline said:
if it is my dashpod cutting the car out, whats my next step.....as when i connected the jump leads it did spark!!!
It's not a problem if the jump leads spark as that just indicates a current is flowing between batteries. The problem comes when the battery voltage
drops too far then recovers - during cranking on a nearly flat battery, or when jump starting if the leads are not heavy duty enough, or when reconnecting a battery if the connections bounce.
What can happen is that when the voltage drops too far, the processor can corrupt data or crash and lock up. If at that moment the voltage recovers before the processor is properly reset, the processor can remain in a corrupted or locked up state and refuse to function properly. Normally there is a reset circuit that relies on the voltage coming up cleanly and remaining above a certain level before releasing the processor from reset - but it needs time to discharge proerly before power is reapplied. The dashpod processor runs continuously even with the ignition turned off for as long as battery voltage is present. If it is locked up you need to remove power to give it a chance to power up properly.
In your case if this happened when jumping the car your dashpod may not function and not talk to the ECU.
It's worth checking fuses too as the engine running symptoms would be the same as regards the immobiliser function if there's no power to the dashpod.
Couple of other points:
Without the ECU connected the car will not start.
When jump starting it's a good idea to keep the lights turned on on both cars during disconnection of the jump leads, as what can happen is that if an alternator was previously supplying a high current into the load and that load is suddenly disconnected a surge in voltage may occur, so keeping a load present damps down the overshoot in voltage before the alternator recovers its composure.
