I have a 09 200 Series that has been solid until recently. I assumed it was a transmission problem as it was not shifting but the entire dash went nuts. The transmission checked out fine. When he ran some tests it went off like a slot machine otherwise. All at once several failures. The screen is moving from screen to screen. The HVAC controls are intermittent at best. It’s not shifting so I manually shift home. Even the LO4 is flashing but thank goodness it didn’t throw me into LO. I got it home and decided to check for a ground problem. I unhooked the battery ground for a min. Reconnected the ground and it was as if it had never happened. Now a week later it’s back. Does anyone have any experience with a issue like this? Maybe another ground to the frame somewhere that loose? I’ve obviously got to take it in but I sure would like to know what’s wrong and what must be fixed.
200-Serious! (2 Viewers)
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You need to start pulling off interior panels and look for water intrusion. Start with the kick panels and door sill scuff plates.
Sounds like either one of the many ground wires is loose or animal damage to some key wiring. Time to start searching.
Did it rain prior to the incidents, or did you wash the car?
When the dash starts entertaining you with a multitude of error lights, more often than not it is moisture that has ingressed into your wiring harness connectors, as KLF already stated. These are located behind the foot panels in the front, mostly on the right side of the vehicle. Tell-tale sign is moisture or green oxidization on the pins when you pull apart the harnesses.
Often This is due to the sunroof drains being clogged.
When the dash starts entertaining you with a multitude of error lights, more often than not it is moisture that has ingressed into your wiring harness connectors, as KLF already stated. These are located behind the foot panels in the front, mostly on the right side of the vehicle. Tell-tale sign is moisture or green oxidization on the pins when you pull apart the harnesses.
Often This is due to the sunroof drains being clogged.
Check your gas cap? This exact kind of stuff seems to happen to the GX460's if the gas cap is loose.
No, seriously.
No, seriously.
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- #8
You guys are spot on. My girl drives this car and is only here on the weekends. It's here this weekend so I can dive in. It's an interstate battery and it's OLD so I'll get that checked and replaced easily. How hard is it to get those panels off on the right side. My mechanic ran a full diagnostic and said the EXACT same thing about the gateway module harness plugs. Yes it rained so hard lately that I saw Noah floating by with two of everything. We have lots of trees that can clog up the drains. She even admitted once she left the sunroof open and it rained right into the interior and probably flooded the sunroof rails. I suspect water intrusion for sure. Any advice of how to take apart the panels covering the gateway module. I have never taken those panels off before so I'm not sure where to start. The help here is phenomenal. Thank you all and thanks in advance for more help on the takedown tomorrow.
This post has some steps. No pictures though. But he whole thread has lots of good information..and could also possibly be your problem.
Leak
Yesterday while my girlfriend was driving she was told by a friend, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, that there is rain intrusion in the car. Apparently there is a drip coming from the area underneath the glove box. She said that a drip was very slow while the rain outside was...
forum.ih8mud.com
Here's more of an explanation with some pictures.
Those kick panels are clipped in, don't remember if there's a screw but they should pop out.
forum.ih8mud.com
Those kick panels are clipped in, don't remember if there's a screw but they should pop out.
Are your Windows, Locks, Keyless Entry, Radios Not Working? Check Engine Light? 4Lo Flashing?
Symptom List: -Windows randomly going down on their own -Window controls not working -No radio volume, volume changes not shown on screen -Locks not working -Keyless entry not working -Check engine light -Exclamation point light -4Lo light flashing like a mad-man -Trac Off light -Other dash...
forum.ih8mud.com
bloc
SILVER Star
No screw. I’ll get a video later today.Here's more of an explanation with some pictures.
Those kick panels are clipped in, don't remember if there's a screw but they should pop out.
Are your Windows, Locks, Keyless Entry, Radios Not Working? Check Engine Light? 4Lo Flashing?
Symptom List: -Windows randomly going down on their own -Window controls not working -No radio volume, volume changes not shown on screen -Locks not working -Keyless entry not working -Check engine light -Exclamation point light -4Lo light flashing like a mad-man -Trac Off light -Other dash...
bloc
SILVER Star
To add to the above, if you need to get into the harness connector and inspect for corrosion there is a 10mm nut to remove to get the kick panel trim off. But for simply checking for water, it's super quick and easy to remove the sill trim.
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I'm new to the forum and I am blown away by the support. UPDATE. I started at Interstate Battery when they opened this morning and confirmed the battery checked out. It was above spec and still in full replacement warranty period. The tech cleaned up the terminal and treated them. I can mark that off. Now I'm about to study all of the above posts/videos and dive into find that suspected water intrusion at the gateway module. I want to clear the sunroof drain tubes as well. I can't thank all of you enough. I am so confident that I can fix this myself, I had a new set of tires installed already. I WILL restore this 200 Series with the help of all of the friendly people here. Keep those cards and letters coming in folks. It's a great help. THANK YOU!
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- #14
That's so much easier than I thought. Thanks for this video. I'm going out now to do it.
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- #15
Houston, we have a problem. Likely a water intrusion problem although I see no evidence of dampness currently. Please see in the pictures evidence of a short and that at some point could have been caused by water intrusion. A few pins (see close up) are not green and just looked toasted a bit.
I have cleared a clogged sunroof drain on the front right. Then my girl admitted being caught by off guard by a pop up, heavy downpour WITH THE SUNROOF OPEN for 30 minutes!
That’s about the time this problem started . I really hope that was the cause of the water ingress so I’m not looking for more leaks, Maybe unrelated but I found a crack in the passenger side mirror cap. I have ordered a replacement. She works as a nurse and the parking garage is like Bumper Cars at the Stare Fair.
I removed the harness plugs (see pics) and see damage on a few pins on both plugs. My mechanic said use contact cleaner followed by a light coating of WD-40. I was thinking of buying some CRC 2-26 plastic safe electrical lubricant spray.
I don’t want to screw this up could someone here please direct me in a layman‘s step-by-step instructions of what I should do next. Do I use a toothbrush? Do I use contact cleaner? Would the CRC be better than WD-40?
I have cleared a clogged sunroof drain on the front right. Then my girl admitted being caught by off guard by a pop up, heavy downpour WITH THE SUNROOF OPEN for 30 minutes!
That’s about the time this problem started . I really hope that was the cause of the water ingress so I’m not looking for more leaks, Maybe unrelated but I found a crack in the passenger side mirror cap. I have ordered a replacement. She works as a nurse and the parking garage is like Bumper Cars at the Stare Fair. I removed the harness plugs (see pics) and see damage on a few pins on both plugs. My mechanic said use contact cleaner followed by a light coating of WD-40. I was thinking of buying some CRC 2-26 plastic safe electrical lubricant spray.
I don’t want to screw this up could someone here please direct me in a layman‘s step-by-step instructions of what I should do next. Do I use a toothbrush? Do I use contact cleaner? Would the CRC be better than WD-40?
I had almost no success with any of the commercial cleaning sprays and wanted to try this but you may beat me to it. In my opinion the vinegar and salt thing may just work. You can put it a ways down your remedy list but I definitely would have it on my list.
I’d start with some CRC and go from there.
Once it’s all cleaned up, some dielectric grease would be a good idea to help ward off additional corrosion.
Once it’s all cleaned up, some dielectric grease would be a good idea to help ward off additional corrosion.
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- #18
I'm a CRC fanboy. I used the contact cleaner. and everything "looks" better. I only had a toothbrush and that would not get into the male plug at all. For anyone reading this in the future, I would recommend a painter's brush to get into the small spaces. For future treatment I only put the dielectric grease around the outside of the connectors to help with any future ingress of water. I was not confident on how to use the grease otherwise. This issue is so intermittent and that's a hard problem to troubleshoot much less correct. Time will tell if my efforts have corrected the problem. How common is it that the gateway module itself would be bad?
99% you've fixed your problem. Good job on the sunroof drains, that should work for a while.
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- #20
I was hopeful that you were correct but alas the problem has returned after about a week. My GF can unhook the battery and it goes away for another day or so. I got to get her safe somehow as she travels in a Tri state area as a nurse. Maybe I need to try and clean the plugs again this time with a small painters brush to get into the smaller spaces. Does anyone have any other possible next steps for me to take?
