4x4, ABS, Brake, Self Level fixed...
 

So last weekend I loaded up our bicycles to head to the track. With the bicycles, tool boxes and gear all in the hatch we got on the highway.

I got the 4x4, Brake, ABS errors and then the Self Level Susp Inactive message.

Got home, unloaded the car and started looking in to the issue. I read that it could be a ton of different issues. Well 15 minutes later I started the car and all was fine for a week now.

Today I am headed to my Dad's to fix his car. Load up the X5 with my tool box, jack, jack stands and other gear. Get halfway there and all the lights and warnings come on again.

So I think to myself, is it just a coincidence that these lights come on when the car is loaded up with heavy stuff?

Get home and pull the hatch area apart. I find a black wire labeled "Battery Squib" near the back of the rear passenger seat and see that this wire is basically being crushed by the spare tire, I guess the weight of additional cargo put it over the edge.

So I cut the wire, soldered and crimped it back and made sure it was zip tied tight against the wall so that when the tire was in and weight was on it there was no issue.

Well I button it all up, start the car and all is great. So when you get the plethora of warning lights, check the wiring in the spare tire/battery well in your hatch to make sure none of it is obstructed. Before you go diving at ABS modules, speed sensors, transfer case actuators etc...

Well, off to Dad's I go.

Battery Squib??? WOW!!! got a picture of that one???

Yup, thin black wire going in to a yellow plug along the back of the spare tire well. Has a grey tag hanging off of it that says "battery squib" It was looped out and the spare tire cradle was sitting right on top of it and had it completely pinched off.

yellow plugs normally are associated with the airbag (SRS) system, could be a crush detector... next time i dig in my trunk, i will see if i find that cable...

I will get a picture of it when I get home and have the hatch unloaded. I also noticed the fastener that holds the negative battery cable to the floor was broken, so the negative battery cable was being crushed by the spare tire.

I can't believe the amount of loose wiring in that area. I mean the spare, battery, all the tools etc... are back there. That loose wiring is just begging for problems like this.

I've googled it and the only "squib" I come up with has to do with the air bag as well. I just wonder how that ties in to the other systems. Or if the short was causing voltage to drop and that triggered everything else.

Gotta love these high tech, high maintenance ladies. Mo computer Mo problems.

I'm just glad it wasn't something serious as I didn't feel like dumping hundreds or thousands in to fixing it.

Do you have a plethora of warning lights?

Three Amigos-What Is A Plethora? - YouTube

Ok, scratch that. Celebration was premature. I made that road trip to my Dad's (around 65 miles round trip) and on the way home all the lights came on again, along with the radio cutting out for a few minutes, the TPS light came on and the speedo dropped to 40MPH and slowly crept back up to 75mph which was my actual speed. I'm going to test the ABS sensors tomorrow. Does anyone know if the ABS sensor wiring goes through the spare tire well? It has to have something to do with the weight of all my tools in the hatch. I got home, unloaded the car, started her up and all the lights went away.

the speed sensor wire on rear left, and the speed sensor and the brake sensor wires on the rear right are going to the cabin through grommets in the side of the wheelwells and join the huge cable harnesses on each side of the car... they do not go through the spare wheel cavity. the cables in the spare wheel cavity are the power cables from the battery, and the cables for the air suspension, along with the trailer hitch, PDC, TV module wiring coming from the battery compartment and the radio wires if so equipped...

the extra weight that you put on to the rear axle may trigger some load sensors on the back that are acting up...

do you have xenon lights from the factory? do those lights go up and down on cold start-up? do the they point down all the times?

They go up and down on start up.

I just got in the car, started it with the voltage showing. It was fine, I figured I was going around 70mph when it happened tonight, engine was around 2k rpm. So I revved to 2k and held it there. Voltage seemed fine, but after 30 seconds or so dipped to 11.8 for a second, right after that all the warning lights and the suspension warning came up. Looks like I'll be replacing the faulty reman alternator with a replacement tomorrow.

this is very good observation... the voltage drop may be primary cause to the issues, as the drop causes the module to lose its "footing", or, the drop could be secondary - something causes a sudden load on the current and the voltage regulator drops the voltage... the second version should not be happening, as the voltage regulators are designed to prevent that from happening by holding up the voltage upto the nominal current of the alternator, which is 150 or 180 Amps... i don't think you had a sudden rush of current through the system (fuses would start popping!!), so the chances are the voltage regulator/the alternator should be replaced...

on the other hand, considering that the onboard voltage monitoring is somewhat buffered, if you saw 11.8v drop, the real drop may have been much lower (which makes me look at the battery with a suspicion - internal resistance drop inside a faulty battery may create some current issues, as entire electrical system of the car goes through a single point - the battery)

Battery is brand new.

i bought a brand new battery manufactured in August of 2013 that measured 12.5 VDC and 1115 CCA (nominal 12 V and 900 CCA) out the door on September 30, 2013... on October 30, 2013, i returned that battery with 700 CCA and voltage that would not go higher than 10.48V sustained - less than a month old battery was defective from the get-go... one of the internal chambers must have been compromised...

just a thought... :)

I will test the battery in the morning. Cant hurt and if it ends up saving me from having to swap an alternator again I will be happy. Battery has just over 12v after sitting all night though. So I doubt im that lucky.

here is a snap-shot of the battery info from the advanced-auto parts reader...

it is not just the voltage that you need, it is also the internal resistance, that is usually is not measured by a voltmeter but can be "deduced" by a "under-load" measuring...

the car's electrical system is "rated" around 2,000 -2,500 Watts, and all of that current goes through the battery, about 150-200 amps max, about 80-100 amps sustained... that is a lot of amperage (1 amp is enough to kill a man!!)

so, be careful around the battery...

I know exactly what you're talking about, know how to test a battery.

I just wish this car's electrical system wasn't as sensitive as a woman with PMS.

Just swapped in a replacement alternator. The first one was jumping between 13.5 and 14.1 volts at idle. It would drop to 11 or so after being at 2000 rpm for a bit. The new replacement sits 13.9-14.1 at idle and pretty much holds steady at 13.9.

Hopefully the replacement reman holds up this time.

I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier. I had the same issue last year while pulling a uhaul so I figured it must have been related to that. After researching decided to change ignition switch and problem has been gone. Had a lot of people pushing me towards battery/alternator but fortunately much cheaper and an easy DIY.

Scott

New alternator is charging like a champ, but it sounds like a low psi supercharger. Looks like i get to order another replacement.

Got a refund from the first parts supplier, ended up going to Carquest and getting a reman, so far it's working like a champ and isn't making a peep. Hopefully it lasts. If this one dies I'm just ordering a brand new OE one.