RA-18-0026 – Change to the Battery Supply Cable Routing – 2005-2009 Aston Martin DB9 & DBS

NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V795
Manufacturer Aston Martin The Americas
Components ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Potential Number of Units Affected 1,953

Battery Cable may Short Circuit

If the battery cable is damaged and then grounded, the short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.

Summary

Aston Martin The Americas (Aston Martin) is recalling certain 2005-2009 DB9, and DBS vehicles. The battery supply cable on these vehicles may become damaged when the driver seat is positioned in the full rearward location.

Remedy

Aston Martin will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the battery supply cable for damage, and install a routing block to keep the battery supply cable from being compressed by the seat, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 1, 2018. Owners may contact Aston Martin customer service at 1-888-923-9988. Aston Martin’s number for this recall is RA-18-0026.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

SAFETY RECALL ACTION

Reference number:	RA-18-0026	Issued: 18 December, 2017
Subject:	Change to the Battery Supply Cable Routing
Model(s):	DB9, DBS
VIN range:	Refer to the separately published list of VINs
Applicable to:	All US Dealers (Refer to VIN list).
Distribute to:	After Sales Manager Warranty Executive Manager Technician(s) Service Manager Parts Sales Manager

Attached Documents:

Appendix A – Table that Shows the Quantities of Affected Vehicles
Copy of the Owner Notification letter for vehicles in RA-18-0026
Copy of the Change of Keeper or Address form.

Reason for this Safety Recall Action NHTSA ID: 17V795

After the issue of Safety Recall Action RA-18-0020 in April, 2016, we have now found that the same effect (that is described below) can affect a larger group of vehicles than the initial safety recall. This is because the software protection for the range of movement of the seat can be lost and subsequently incorrectly re-learnt. Vehicles affected by this Safety Recall Action (RA-18-0026) must have both conditions that follow:

The battery cable must be in a specific position and;
There has been a fault or power failure that causes failure of the software protection.

If the correct seat calibration procedure is completed as described in the Workshop Manual, the Owner’s Guide or with the use of AMDS, the problem cannot happen.

Other Aston Martin vehicles have a different cable routing and are therefore not affected.

Aston Martin has determined that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists on a range of vehicles that were manufactured from July 2004 until July 2008.

This Safety Recall Action is applicable to the vehicles below:

DB9 with height adjustable passenger seats from July 2004 to July 2006.
DBS with height adjustable passenger seats from June 2008 to July 2008.

Description of the problem

On the affected vehicles, it is possible, in some circumstances, that when the right front seat is operated to its fully rearward position that the seat’s left runner can compress the battery supply cable. The battery supply cable is fully insulated but if the seat runner compresses the cable repeatedly, damage to the insulation of the supply cable can occur. When this happens, it is possible that the seat runner can conduct electricity from the battery supply cable. An earth wire that connects the seat runner assembly to ground will conduct the electricity to ground and begin to overheat. The heat will cause the ground wire to degrade, causing smoke to appear in the passenger compartment, and eventually, the copper of the ground wire will break and open the circuit.

To correct this problem you must examine the battery supply cable for damage. Also, you must install a routing block to make sure that the seat runner cannot continue to compress the battery supply cable.

The Workshop Procedure that follows must be done to every vehicle that is in the separately published list of VINs. You can find the list of VINs as an attachment to this document on the DCS portal.

PLEASE DO A CHECK OF ALL VEHICLES THAT ARE IN THE AFFECTED VIN LIST

Communications

In some regions, we will write to every owner directly to tell them about this Safety Recall Action. A copy of the letter is attached at the end of this Safety Recall Action for your information. There is also a copy of the “Change of Keeper’s Address or Ownership” form. You can download these documents from the DCS portal. If you need to mail the Customer directly, your regional After Sales Manager will tell you. If you need to do this, you can make a claim for your administration costs (refer to Warranty Data).

When the Owner calls to make an appointment, briefly describe the remedial work which will be done to the Owner’s vehicle and fully explain the reason for this work. Tell the owner that the repair will be done at no cost to them.

Service Reception Desk – Checks you must do before you book the vehicle in.

When you make a reservation for a Customer that you confirm the name and contact details are correct in Aston Martin’s records. To do this, please do the steps that follow:

Enter the vehicle’s 6-digit chassis number into DCS (amdealers.com) and click “Validate” (refer to Figure 1).

Figure 1

Make sure that the vehicle details are correct. If the current owner is correct, no action is necessary.
Make sure that the Customer name is correct. If the data is correct, then no action is necessary.
To update the Customer details, use the search feature to find the customer in your Synergy database (refer to Figure 2).

Figure 2

Note: The Customer record and updated details must have been entered into Synergy before you try to transfer the ownership in DCS.

If the correct Customer shows, click “confirm”.
If the correct Customer details do not show, click “add new”.

Before you start work

Log on to the Online Dealer Warranty (ODW) system. Do the steps that follow:

Select the Warranty Live screen (Outstanding Campaigns Status).
Download the VIN list from DCS and do a check of the VINs in your control.
Find out if there are other open Service Actions (SAs) or Safety Recall Actions (RAs) for the vehicles in the list.
List the SAs and RAs and plan the work so that the Owner only needs to come to your Dealership once.

Note: The ODW system operates in real-time. Thus, the online condition shows only the newest Dealer Warranty Claim submissions.

Workshop Procedure

Open the right door.
Operate the right front seat to the fully forward position.
If standard seats are installed, press the seat back release button and manually move the seat back forwards (refer to Figure 3).

Figure 3

If lightweight seats are installed, access will be easier if you open the left door and work across the transmission tunnel. Operate the left seat to the fully forward or fully rearward position, as necessary.
Lift the carpet from the floor and from the rear right side of the transmission tunnel (refer to Workshop Manual procedures 01.05.AE and 01.05.AG). You need only lift the carpet in the area adjacent to the rear end of the inboard seat runner (refer to Figure 4).

Figure 4

Pull the stud-mounted tie wrap off the weld stud to release the battery main supply cable (refer to Figure 4).
Examine the battery main supply cable for damage.
If you do not find damage, continue from step 11.
If only signs of light damage are found, wrap self-amalgamating harness tape around the supply cable. Continue from step 11.
If the supply cable insulation is damaged (melted or showing bare metal – refer to Figure 5), or if you think that the cable is damaged internally, contact Aston Martin Technical Services. Contact information is given at the end of this document.

Figure 5

If the supply cable is not damaged, install the routing block.
- Install the block (1) on the weld stud.
- Push the block against the body.
- Push down the stud-mounted tie wrap (2) to attach the block (refer to Figure 6).

Figure 6

Use two cable ties to attach the supply cable to the routing block (refer to Figure 7).

Figure 7

Install the carpet on the floor and on the rear right side of the transmission tunnel (refer to Workshop Manual procedures 01.05.AE and 01.05.AG). Use double-sided adhesive tape as necessary to attach the carpets.
Operate the right front seat back to its initial position.

Warranty Data

Make sure that you submit your claim in less than 24 hours after the work is completed. The records of your claims are used in the reporting process for the Recall Action that Aston Martin need to submit to the applicable authorities.

Procedure and Labour Time

Description	Labour Time
Examine battery supply cable and install routing block kit	0.2 hours

Part Data

Description	Part Number	Quantity
Routing Block Kit that contains the components that follow:	GD33-37-10114	1
Routing Block	GD33-10A760-AA	1
Cable Tie	4G43-N02091-AB	2
Self-Amalgamating Harness Tape	Local Supply	As necessary
Double-sided Adhesive Tape	Local Supply	As necessary

Please Note:

When you have completed this Safety Recall Action, make sure that you make an entry in Section A of the Vehicle Owner’s Guide to show that the procedure is completed.

Appendix A – Table that Shows the Quantities of Affected Vehicles in the US Market

Note: Please refer to the list on DCS for the vehicles in your region.

Model	Period of Manufacture	Registered & AMLNA Fleet
DB9	July 2004 – July 2006	1950
DBS	June 2008 – July 2008	3
TOTAL	July 2004 – July 2008	1953

If you have any questions related to this Safety Recall Action, please contact: Aston Martin Technical Services on: +44 (0) 1926 644720, email: [email protected], or contact your After Sales Manager.

The English version of this Safety Recall Action is written in Simplified Technical English to ASD-STE100™.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/RCMN-17V795-0657.pdf