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Loose wire symptom after speed bumps

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by bwilson4web, Nov 17, 2013.

  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Saturday, I parked the car and tried to lock the doors with the fob. The car held a constant beep but would not lock the doors. They locked fine from the driver's door.

    Later as I was going over a speed bump, the car bleeped, the cabin light came on and off, and the display showed 'key found' in a period of 10 seconds. This speed bump anomaly happened twice later that day. Dark, I want to wait until dawn before getting serious into the debug.

    My first thought is a loose ground wire or 12V connector. The last work was the brake accumulator recall. If the technician did not torque down the ground connector, there would be high resistance leading to the key fob lock problem as well as the speed bump triggered reset.

    I also have a miniVCI so before doing any work, I'll use it to look for error codes. There are more than one connector that could be loose and having the codes could give us a clue if it happens again.

    Bob Wilson
     
  2. IMkenNY

    IMkenNY Im just being nosy

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    Sounds lift the lift gate isn't reading closed, check for any possible obstruction on the lift gate as well as all the doors.
     
  3. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    I can't rule it out but I took a short video:
    • "Power Steering", red light comes on first
    • "Triangle", yellow light flashes
    Now I can go back with the miniVCI and to a through check of the power steering controller.

    Bob Wilson
     
  4. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    Be sure to eliminate the liftback door latch being fully closed first. Your description is the classic symptom of the liftback latch not making the second latch.
     
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  5. Les_PL

    Les_PL Active Member

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    Carrying the winter tires to the workshop in the trunk... ;)
    BTW: is the key FOB in the same pocket as the mobile phone?
     
  6. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Sorry but the 'search' function is broken and I could not find more details using Google search with the site option. I need a little help on this one.

    I don't have a 'door open' alarm on the display. So when this happens, how do we diagnose and clear it?

    Thanks,
    Bob Wilson
     
  7. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    When this happened to me I had the exact same sequence of events as you and had just run over a speed bump. The last thing I had done was loaded a cooler of ice in the back. So I opened the hatch door and found the cooler of ice had slid against the door. I slammed the door closed and drove home without further issues.

    Later I tried closing the hatch door slowly and could feel two distinctive latches. I closed the hatch door lightly where the first latch was made but was only resting lightly on the second latch. I drove down the driveway and with the first bump I repeated the sequence of events again.

    I searched this on PC and found where several others had reported similar situations. The car does not report an open door as it should but it was explained that it was reporting a door being closed and attempting to lock (since the vehicle is moving) with the key inside! Not crystal clear messaging but this is how the car has been reported as behaving.
     
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