RTH....Trans, VSC, ABS Problems

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pman

pman

10 Year 15 Year
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Jun 5, 2008
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Georgia Tech/Alpharetta
So I have a bit of a mystery to solve for our 2000 LX

Yesterday drove to home depot to pick up some stuff with a relatives little utility trailer. When trying to leave home depot, started the truck and the VSC/TRAC VSC OFF, ABS lights came on and the Transmission gear selector locked.

Debated what to do for a few minutes then decided to use the selector override and drive the truck home, ditch the trailer, and take it to the dealership. Left it there overnight since they were already closed.

They checked the codes and such and discovered a blown fuse, they replaced the fuse, but it immediately blew the new fuse. They dug some more and found a loose wire at the brake pedal switch. They fixed the wire, replaced the fuse and everything was fine.


So today we need to go to home depot.....again...with the trailer.......and the same thing happened again.....the lights coming on and the selector locking up......so clearly its the trailer. Or is it? the plot thickens here.....


Over the past two or three years, I have noticed that when I lock the center (this is rare for our 2000), every thing works as it should, until I unlock the center.....then the VSC OFF and VSC/TRAC and ABS lights stay on. Despite the diff lock indicator going off and the diff actually unlocking. I have always been able to correct this by turning the car off and restarting.....but I always kept those gremlins in mind.


So my question for yall is.......WTF is wrong with this thing and where do i start looking? :confused:
 
Yes, but

1) I dont see anything wrong with the utility trailer wiring

2) We have used the same utility trailer a few times before without any isssues.

3) Our boat trailer, which has alot more lights and gets dunked in the lake, has never caused a problem
 
^ X2

But, also look also at the lights on the utility trailer. I have seen several that the wiring to the tail light is pinched between the light housing and the trailer. Eventually, this can cause a short to ground. I had a trailer that did just this after I had owned it for 3 years ... I never noticed the wiring issue until I started blowing fuses.
 
Mmm, blown fuse.
My VSC lights are on as well after having tried to connect a Scangauge.
 
So its definetly not the trailer causing the problem. I hooked it up to my 2001 and went for a drive, lights on, turn signals, breaks, sat in traffic.....not a single problem.

So next step is checking out the wiring on the vehicle it self for a short or something
 
Finally got this figured out...

Turns out that the 5-pin wiring harness we had added a few years ago has developed a short of some sort. Oddly enough, it only causes a problem when a trailer is hooked up through the 4-pin connector (OEM) that was left on the truck when the 5-pin was installed.

Regardless, I am going to rip it all out and install a fused isolater thing from etrailer.com


The CDL thing remains a mystery for now.....:meh:
 
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