The story of "Swamp Thing"

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by c-bass

Just when I thought I was making progress Swampy seems to have a different idea.

I think this is payback for letting her sit for a year.

I've been using Swampy pretty much daily for 3 weeks or so but it's literally 3 maybe 4 miles a day.

The first few days she was running fine. As in no check engine lights fine.

This didn't really surprise me because after addressing the original issues and clearing the codes everything was good during any of the albeit limited driving I did last year.

Well eventually the amber glow of the check engine light returned to keep me warm as the temperatures dropped. Didn't really think much of it until one evening when I was done work I hopped it and it started to run rough and sounded like a small block Chevy.

The misfiring was so bad it barely had power to move forward when I pressed the gas for a few feet and then seemed to run like a "normal" misfiring BMW.

I've had them run rough before but never anything like this.

So I limp it home, hook up the laptop and we get...










I've seen my share of misfire codes but I don't recall ever seeing a "DME activation" error. Interesting...

So I move the coils over, fire it up, runs fine for a couple minutes and then starts Chevy-ing again.

do another scan, cylinder 3 error is still there, clear the codes and swap out the coil @ cylinder 3.

Fire it up, runs good, no codes and off we go.

Also right around this time I got tired of my routine of disconnecting the battery every night after I parked it to deal with the parasitic draw.

Instead of hooking up a meter, waiting for the computer to go to sleep and then pulling fuses I decided to approach it another way.

What's the least important thing on the list of usual parasitic suspects that might be drawing amperage?

The answer to that question for me is the TCU aka fuse 74.

Parked it for the night with the fuse removed and now we wait...

My truck has thrown weird codes at different times. The last time was when it threw a code for idle control valve mechanical fault. But it also threw a half dozen other codes that were totally unrelated like transfer case no signal. Things that have absolutely nothing to do with the engine or the idle control. Reset all the codes, drove it for a little bit and it threw all the same codes. Pulled the ICV, it was rattling around like it was supposed to, but I shot a ton of cleaner in it and put it back in. Hasn't acted up since.

[c-bass]

Originally Posted by Fifty150hs

My truck has thrown weird codes at different times. The last time was when it threw a code for idle control valve mechanical fault. But it also threw a half dozen other codes that were totally unrelated like transfer case no signal. Things that have absolutely nothing to do with the engine or the idle control. Reset all the codes, drove it for a little bit and it threw all the same codes. Pulled the ICV, it was rattling around like it was supposed to, but I shot a ton of cleaner in it and put it back in. Hasn't acted up since.

Been there done that.

I took everything apart and cleaned it out last year. ICV got a bath and I even used it to rule out some other symptoms on the wife's car.

Not to say that it wouldn't possibly be acting up after a year of sitting around.

[c-bass]

I won't keep you waiting any longer with the results of pulling fuse 74




Suuuuuuurvey says!!!!!!!!!





Vroooom!!


Swampy started right up after sitting all night


Parasitic draw fixed? Any more battery issues heading my way?? Some of these questions will be answered after work today.

[Overboost]

Good news, my TCU had failed causing the parasitic draw on mine too. Remember though, if you discharged the battery too may times, you may have damaged it. You may also have a replacement battery in your future.

[c-bass]

Originally Posted by Overboost

Good news, my TCU had failed causing the parasitic draw on mine too. Remember though, if you discharged the battery too may times, you may have damaged it. You may also have a replacement battery in your future.

The battery that was in there when I bought Swampy was brand new when I started off and now is useless.

The battery in there now is a "this will do for now" type scenario...which isn't working out all that much

[c-bass]

"Hey man, your car is rolling down the hill"







I parked Swampy in the same spot I normally do at the site where I'm working. (you can see the tire marks in the soil)

Put it in park and it felt like it rolled back a foot or two but the driveway on the way up was VERY slippery from all the frozen rain/snow we had so I chalked it up to that.

I pulled up again and this time when I put it in park it stayed.

for a while that is...

Son of a bitch rolled back at least a car length before luckily it stopped before smashing into the neighbor's fence, who just happens to be the neighborhood "Karen".

WTF?!?!?!

Now I'm paranoid about leaving the thing parked.

No unusual transmission behavior

no noises

no weirdness at all

just trying to wander off

[wpoll]

Parking brake?

[c-bass]

Originally Posted by wpoll

Parking brake?

It's been so long since I had a working parking brake courtesy of the rusted out backing plates that I totally forgot about that "feature"

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by c-bass

"Hey man, your car is rolling down the hill"







I parked Swampy in the same spot I normally do at the site where I'm working. (you can see the tire marks in the soil)

Put it in park and it felt like it rolled back a foot or two but the driveway on the way up was VERY slippery from all the frozen rain/snow we had so I chalked it up to that.

I pulled up again and this time when I put it in park it stayed.

for a while that is...

Son of a bitch rolled back at least a car length before luckily it stopped before smashing into the neighbor's fence, who just happens to be the neighborhood "Karen".

WTF?!?!?!

Now I'm paranoid about leaving the thing parked.

No unusual transmission behavior

no noises

no weirdness at all

just trying to wander off

Sounds like you have a broken parking pawl in the transmission.

[c-bass]

Originally Posted by Fifty150hs

Sounds like you have a broken parking pawl in the transmission.

Wouldn't I be able to feel that shifting into park? or rather not feel anything?