What's going on?!?

[cer29072]

After changing out the radiator, hoses, and belt on my daughter's 2013 Big Horn, she started getting a LOT of 'check engine' lights!

Not sure if it's related to the fact that the battery was disconnected for a few days while I was doing the work (new battery installed too), or something else.

She says that all of her gauges seem to be showing 'normal' values, and the truck is running OK, but I'm really concerned about it up and dying on the road whiles she's going into work (she's OTR very early in the mornings.)

I've attached a PDF file of the report that was logged today. This is after clearing out the MIL codes a day ago.

Is the TIPM possibly going bad, or do I need to look somewhere else?

 

[mtofell]

Numerous and different codes like that are almost always due to battery issues. With the new battery I'd clear the codes and run it for a while.

 

[cer29072]

Thanks...I'll clear out the codes again and let it 'cook' this week to see if there's any improvement.

 

[Daw14]

Be certain that the terminals and coNections are clean and tight , may want to inspect and clean any accessible grounds also.
If it continues have the battery load tested.
Lots of lights is often a symptom of a dying battery

 

[cer29072]

Thanks...I have cleaned/retightened all of the visible ground connections. Not saying that a new battery can't be bad, but it does have a new battery in it. I'm letting her drive it this week after clearing out all the codes, and then I'll re-run the scanner on it. If there's little to no improvement, I think my next step is to pull the TIPM and clean/re-seat all the connections under it and re-set all the fuses/relays, then cold-start the process to see if there's any improvement there.

 

[thewanderer]

Thanks...I have cleaned/retightened all of the visible ground connections. Not saying that a new battery can't be bad, but it does have a new battery in it. I'm letting her drive it this week after clearing out all the codes, and then I'll re-run the scanner on it. If there's little to no improvement, I think my next step is to pull the TIPM and clean/re-seat all the connections under it and re-set all the fuses/relays, then cold-start the process to see if there's any improvement there.

I just replaced my TIPM with one from MAKS. They told me to disconnect the battery and ground the positive/negative cables together overnight to be certain ALL capacitors were totally drained of power. Doing that hard resets the TIPM.

 

[cer29072]

What lead you to changing out the TIPM? When I had the truck down to change out the radiator and battery, I did jump the +/- leads out together. Since the repair, I've pulled the Negative cable off and did another reset, but didn't leave the cable off overnight. I've cleared the codes after a couple of days of running, then rescanned for them after another couple of days running. Still have too many that just don't make a lot of sense to me for the truck to still be running as well as it does.

I really don't mind if I have to lay out the money for a TIPM or BCM, but I'm not one that just replaces parts until I hit the target. I can do the physical changeout, but reprograming would have to be by the dealer I'm sure.

 

[RamDiver]

What lead you to changing out the TIPM? When I had the truck down to change out the radiator and battery, I did jump the +/- leads out together. Since the repair, I've pulled the Negative cable off and did another reset, but didn't leave the cable off overnight. I've cleared the codes after a couple of days of running, then rescanned for them after another couple of days running. Still have too many that just don't make a lot of sense to me for the truck to still be running as well as it does.

I really don't mind if I have to lay out the money for a TIPM or BCM, but I'm not one that just replaces parts until I hit the target. I can do the physical changeout, but reprograming would have to be by the dealer I'm sure.

I wouldn't change anything without a proper analysis. And by nature, I would look at the most probable items first, and consider the required effort for each area.

We have seen this over and over again and most users keep fighting and not hearing the advice they came here to obtain.

As previously mentioned, the SOP when numerous unrelated failures appear is more often than not, power-related.

Yes, it could be a poor common ground or an intermittent fault in the TIPM but, it could also be the new battery has a flakey cell.

The ease of effort to complete diagnosis on each of those 3 items is ranked battery, grounds and TIPM. I put the TIPM last because I wouldn't open that can of worms before exploring most other areas. I have experience with many and larger TIPM-like devices.

I spent most of my life working in Telecom with large complex data systems, I'm not afraid of an electronics or electrical challenge.


So, once again, likely the most popular approach would be to start with load testing the battery. Beware of digital load testers, they often yield a false positive when there's a flakey cell.

Splurge and spend $20 at HarbourFreight for a toaster-style load tester. They never provide false readings if used correctly.

100 Amp, 6/12V Battery Load Tester

Amazing deals on this 100 Amp 6/12V Battery Load Tester at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

.

 

[cer29072]

Thanks Michael...in the grand scheme of things, a $20 load tester is pocket-change! At the very least, it'll point a finger or eliminate the battery from this equation!

 

[RamDiver]

Thanks Michael...in the grand scheme of things, a $20 load tester is pocket-change! At the very least, it'll point a finger or eliminate the battery from this equation!

You're most welcome.

Call me efficient or lazy. I try to always choose the easiest and fastest path to the solution.

And, if you treat the tester with care, you will have gained a valuable tool for years into the future.
One of my load testers is about 40 years old and works as well as day one.

.

 

[Hardracer]

Cer29072.....what is leading you to believe the TIPM/BCM are faulty?
My case...had rt front headlight out,changed bulb,worked for a couple days,went out again,did some searching,Google(and here) directed me to probing wires(im awful with 12v electrics,just followed directions),pulled the light connector,fried inside,kept probing further down the line led me to the TIPM,consulted with a master tech buddy up north,he said sounds like you did everything right,took it to the dealer(stealership)didn't tell them what I found,later that day tech sent me video of wat he did and showed probing on the vid,explained how it worked...indeed was the TIPM, something about a grounding issue in there fried...spent the $$$,all good now couple years years....never had the dash light up though other than a light code if I remember right(I suffer from CRS--cant remember sh**...lol)
Im with the others(and they are way better than i for speaking on diagnosing stuff)as for checking the battery with the toaster load tester.
I also had a battery issue year or so later,Buddy here at work put his toaster on it said battery bad..took it to autozone they put there digital type tester thing on there said it was good,I said nope change it..as it had 3 days left on the warranty from them..I upgraded to stronger and diff.type and paid the difference which was the cost of the old battery almost.All is still good.
Sorry for the long post,I do get to rambling.
Keep us posted

 

[cer29072]

Thanks Hardracer...I'm no Expert on all things electrical, but do have a good understanding of it; automotive being an exception I took RamDriver's advice and bought a better load tester than the digital one I had purchased on Amazon a number of years ago...makes sense since I see no way that those testers can carry much of a real load without frying! Anyway, the battery tested GOOD. On an assumption that maybe the codes were triggered by real but separate problems, I started with the right rear taillight short to ground one. All looked well as far as the bulb socket, replaced the working bulb with a new one since I had the fixture pulled, but code remains. A couple of nights ago when I went out to get something out of my vehicle I noticed that the interior and dash lights were on...I peeked into her truck to see if there was a door ajar dash light on but there wasn't. I opened/closed the doors a number of times to see if they would eventually go out, but no luck. Once I removed the Negative battery clamp, did the 'reset', all was well again.

She works at a school, so she'll be home next week and it'll offer me some time to do some more troubleshooting. Like RamDrive, I'll troubleshoot something as much as my ability/knowledge will allow before just becoming a 'parts changer'...too many of them even at the dealerships (stealership )

From what I've researched so far, if it comes down to the TIPM, I'd just buy one of the rebuild ones online rather than spend the time/money to try and rebuild hers!

Thanks again to you and all that have helped thus far! Will keep y'all posted about washes out here...of course, anyone that has some more advice is more than welcome to jump in!
Charlie