Maj. Dundee

There is a misconception about the function of the Auxiliary/Back-up Battery. Its' sole purpose is to provide enough voltage to the transmission locking pawl and gearshift selector, so one may move the selector lever into NEUTRAL so it may be towed if the main battery is dead.

Maj. Dundee

Swap what?

flybd5

...and I'm always the last one to find out about these things.

flybd5

I think he means swap the battery for another one. Likely still in warranty.

Maj. Dundee

Nothing is ever clear any longer.

flybd5

No, no, I had one day of crystal clear clarity in 1979. I was in the Corps, near broke, and bought some MadDog 20/20. Little did I know... 30 minutes later I was doing a dead-on impression of the little girl in The Exorcist, pea soup and all. When you turn your head that far things get clear in a great big hurry. LOL!

(We now return you to the regularly scheduled broadcast...)

Maj. Dundee

Additionally, if the WHITE battery message appears in the I.C., it's time to change the Aux. Battery.

flybd5

Now all I gotta do is find space in the file in my brain. I have to start throwing out useless stuff, like old girlfriends. LOL!

Maj. Dundee

Never negate old girlfriends.

flybd5

Anything past 30 years is ready to be deleted.

dc2k

hey guys so I took out the battery and tested it and it was good but i took it to the store anyway to get it changed, but the guy at the counter tested it also with their tester and it printed out a paper that said its still good his printed out 12.76v so they wouldn't change it for me, he told me to go damage it if i really wanted a new one, but the problem is the truck is not starting anymore this morning i tried to start it, and it cranked and stopped and now when i push the start button nothing happens it doesnt even attempt to start. my brother said maybe the rebuilt alternator is bad which is possible but shouldn't the truck still start with the battery?

Maj. Dundee

Prior to removing the battery, weren't you able to start the truck?

dc2k

yeah yesterday morning it started fine. today before i went to go exchange the battery I tried to start it and it started cranking and stopped checked the voltage thru the cluster it said 12.2 , i tried again and it didn't do anything, i don't know what it could be, only other thing i can think off is the alternator but even with the bad one the truck always started it just had the red battery sign on the dash.

dc2k

i tried putting a booster pack on it to start it and it didnt start also the voltage reader on the cluster is at 11.9 and with the booster pack it didnt change, still at 11.9. i dont know whats wrong with it at the point i think maybe a fuse blew or something

dc2k

i got it started, its weird it wouldn't start nothing on the steering wheel was working the horn, the radio buttons, turn signal switch nothing and the wipers would go on once every couple seconds and
every time i turned the ignition on and off i would get a red light put in park or not in park but it was in park. so I pluged in my obd2 scanner and it wouldnt connect to the truck so while i was searching why online the little arrow on the P came back and i tried to start it and it worked. so i dont know i am thinking i need someone with the star computer to check it. maybe a module is bad or going bad?

dc2k

dc2k

I erased everything and restarted the truck and nothing came back on except the left inlet port and the other 2 codes that say disregard this fault on the first picture those 3 codes have been on since i got the truck back in march. after some searching i think the truck didnt start because it thought it wasent in park? thats the only thing i can think off.

flybd5

Did you clear all the errors before restarting the car and looking for error codes? The MB computer will store current AND historical fault codes. Here in Germany, for example, a prepurchase inspection includes downloading all the current and historical errors, printing them, then clearing them all out and running the check again to see which ones persist. When I had my US radio switched for an EU radio the computer knew everything that had been unplugged and plugged back in during the process. The errors were still there, just hadn't been cleared out.

If these codes and behavior were not there before the alternator was changed, you need to take it back to that shop and demand they troubleshoot and fix the problem. An alternator R&R does not cause these problems unless the mechanic is totally incompetent. If the problems were there before the alternator change, I would take the car to an MB dealer for trouble shooting and an estimate for repair WITH warranty.

Maj. Dundee

What was your procedure for disconnecting the battery, except the part with the seats and covering,<strong> just the battery.</strong><br /><br />All of these CAN codes are caused by low voltage or poor battery connection.<br /><br />Do you still have the problem of not being able to use the key to start the eng.?<br /><br />Even though it has nothing to do with your starting issue, when are you going to replace the Inlet Shutoff Sensor?

dc2k

I always had the key problem, i was told its a common issue think the guy said eis problem, it always worked with the push start so I never got around to fixing it, i am gonna take back I think it's a faulty alternator, i also want to get scanned with a star computer maybe a computer is burned

dc2k

I just took the seat off then unplugged negative then the positive cable and I wasent planning on fixing the shutoff until next year

dc2k

So now it starts fine but I Can't get it out of park, i think it's the faulty rebuilt alternator, I hope it didn't damage and other parts, truck was fine before.

flybd5

Get it plugged into a Star Diagnosis, clear out all the codes, then see what codes pop up after that.

dc2k

I reset all the modules with my scanner and it ran fine for a day then the same thing happened, keeps saying put it to park if i leave the ignition on for a while it glitches and everything goes away, either the module is damaged or i have a faulty alternator , waiting until saturday to get it plugged into a start computer.

Maj. Dundee

OK, I just thought of something. With both hands, turn the steering column module (black plastic cover) gently from side to side and see if it moves.