My wife took a hit to the front left of our 2001. Other than replacing the fuse/relay box there doesn't appear to be any under hood damage. The car was running after the collision and was driven to a nearby parking lot where it was then shut off. When I got there I tried to start it but it would not turn over and the MFD shows this: This will give you an idea of the extent of the damage: I could find no wires or electrical components that were damaged. I got all the parts I need from a running (but totalled 2003). So my question is what should I swap out next? Thanks for you collective wisdom
Oh and the 12v battery which was a brand new 500 cca eventually discharged down to 1.7v after recharging it I installed it and tried again and got the same result. I don't believe anything was left on but I can't say for sure.
Nothing ... you should read the trouble codes and post them here, and go from there. But the rapid discharge of your aux battery does suggest that there is some wiring damage that left a discharge current path. There won't be any specific codes for that, so in addition to reading the codes so you know what your car needs to tell you, you can probably start some old-fashioned ammeter gumshoe work to find where that unintended current path is. The Wiring Diagram Manual will help you pick out the circuits that have power when the key is off, so you know where to focus. -Chap
The only code showing is p3100, and this may be because after the battery going dead other codes were erased. I have a donor vehicle, a 2003, that is, mechanically, in excellent condition that I will be using to swap out parts. I have a volt/ohmmeter, but with out being able to start and drive the car to find out if there are any other codes, I wouldn't know where to start looking. I just thought someone may have known a similar situation that could give me an idea of the possible causes, then I could use the old method of "R&R" until I find the culprit. BTW I did pull the drive battery, it was my first experience in reconditioning a gen-1 battery, and, after sitting for two months without having been started, each module measured between 7.2 and 7.5 volts. So I think I can rule that out. Thanks again for the help.
Ok, but P3100 has 75 different possible causes identified by the subcode(s). If you could post that information we'd be getting somewhere. Pages DI-199 to DI-201, DI-229 to DI-236. Maybe I misread what you wrote, but it seemed as if your aux battery is discharging while the car is off. I'm always in favor of reading codes, but there won't be any codes to tell you why that is happening, it'll just be a matter of finding an unusual current draw with your meter in the relatively small number of circuits that have power when the key is off. The Wiring Diagram Manual will show where those are ... that's where to start looking. -Chap
Check dome light as the door switch may have a problem. It will drain the 12V but might not be noticed in daylight. Bob Wilson
Verbatim repost? It has subcodes. 75 of 'em possible. Reading the subcode(s) may shed more light. For your aux-battery drainage problem, you don't need to be able to start or drive the car or find codes. That's just a matter of looking with your meter at the circuits that could have power when the key is off, and the Wiring Diagram Manual is where to start looking for those. -Chap
I can't say for sure that there was nothing left on that would have discharged the battery but I have recharged it and confirmed it to be a good battery, recharged it, reinstalled it and will recheck it in a couple of days.
How do the wires and connection that go to the front of the transmission look? What about the ones going to the side of the inverter? Also, the information codes would help a lot. Do to think you could get your hands on one of those cables that works with Techstream? Avi
As you can see from the pictures above I had to remove the fuse/relay box and headlight assembly after straightening the fender support. This gave me an excellent view of the wires and electrical devices and connectors in the affected area. The only thing that had any damage was the fuse/relay box and I replaced it with one that came from a 2003. There are 4 connectors on the side of the 12v converter and as you can see in the picture the brackets holding them in place were slightly moved but I couldn't see any damage to the wires or plugs. We just moved, in fact the accident happened in the middle of the move. I had just purchased the tech stream hardware and disc before we started the move but was having difficulty getting it to work for me so I set it aside and it got packed. We still have many boxes to go through but it hasn't showed up yet. As I've said I have every part I could possibly need on the 2003 donor car I have, so I can start going down the line R&R (ing) one part after another until I find the problem or my tech steam whichever comes first.
