Okay, so I was putting my car back together after a computer install.... Computers been in over a week, no problems, just finally getting around to reassembling... Anyway, I had the stereo playing while I was putting things back and ended up draining my battery. I gave her a quick jump, and things started getting funky from there. First I had No control of my windows, no heat/ac, and no blinkers. I did notice the moonroof still worked though. Checked all fuses found one blown, replaced it and got windows, gauges and heat/ac, blinkers... Took the car around the block, and the battery died, got it home and recharged overnight.

This morning, I have ABS and Check Engine Light on (TPS and Maint Req'd Light on too, but TPS needs to be reset, and I am due for an oil change)... On top of that, my moonroof will not open (tried resetting), Speedo not working (does swipe at startup, and all other gauges are fine), Doors act like car is not on (i.e. Dome light stays on when doors shut after car started and fades out like car is not running, Auto off headlights not working, Power cut to windows when car turned off (usually get 30secs to play with windows), No cruise control, No Seat Belt Chime

I've checked and rechecked all fuses, and the only one that seems like its connected to all would be the 120ALT...

I'm a little worried about the alternator, since the battery didn't seem to charge on its own, and the car died while running...

I'm more worried about having F'd my ECU, maybe I arched the battery and shorted something....

Oh, I'm just shy of 50k in '07 tC, so warranty isn't gonna help...

UPDATE: No battery problems as of yet since recharging over night. Disconnected battery to reset ECU, seems to have cleared CEL for now... NEVERMIND CEL is back....

ANY IDEAS???? GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

 

try new batt?

 

wow, thats a laundry list of issues you got there. i wish i could help out but im new to all of this ecu's and computers and junk in a car. never messed with one before.

my previous vehicle was a 68 chevy c-10 that i am rebuilding myself. when i replaced all of the electrical (19 pounds of wires) it was straight forward. positive and ground wires.

im too afraid for that to happen to me and i dont want to screw up my only working car, rebuilding the engine on the truck right now.

good luck with that bro

 

i will however throw in a guess, disconnect the battery for an hour to reset the systems. charge it outside of the car and connect it again once its fully recharged.

kinda like restarting a computer since its a computer on wheels.

 

Either you need a bigger batt or your alternator's failing.

The car draws power from the batt when starting the car. Once started main electrical source would be the alternator (the batt will just be a secondary/minimal output of electricity and at the same time minimally recharged by the alt). If the alt is busted, the car will def drain the battery out.

 

i'm not so worried about the alternator, no battery problems today...

Also, I did try disconnecting battery after I made first post, seems to have gotten rid of the CEL at least, but everything else is still messed up...

 

alternator seems like a simplistic answer, and it could be, but that would not be the answer to your other problems such as the moonroof, dome lights, speedo, etc.

you might have very well messed up the ECU since you checked ALL the fuses (engine bay and inside by driver's knee bag), but I am not sure.

You could run it to Pep Boys or Autozone or something and they could run a diagnostics? No sense of getting another battery if the one you have already is good.

 

I was gonna go to autozone for diagnostics, but I have gotten rid of the CEL for now.... if it comes back I will... SCRATCH THAT - its back on...

I'm gonna pull all the fuses again to check, but i'm leaning more and more toward ecu problems... Anyone know how to get to the ALT fuse, I think its screwed in... Is it possible to reflash the ECU to stock, maybe I wouldn't have to replace it??

CURRENT LIST OF SYMPTOMS

CEL
ABS light on
Speedo not working (swipes at startup, then nothing)
Auto-Off Headlights not working
Power to windows cut immediately after turning car off
Dome light stays on after car start then fades as if car not on
(Seems the doors don't know when the car is on?? If that makes sense)
Moonroof not working (no power?)
No Cruise Control
No Seatbelt Chime

 

First, diagnose your battery discharge issue. Put a voltmeter on it when its running and it should read approx 14 volts. If it is sitting down around 12, then you have a charging issue. Find that out first and then go from there.

 

Strange, I don't have power to my windows after turning off ignition either from day one. Never have disconnected my battery. Anyone know all the little tricks to turning on/off options? Like the one to disable the seatbelt chime?

 

Tested the battery while running, its at about 12v.... So no recharging???

Tested the alternator itself and got the same reading.... its actually about 11.96v...

 

yea that sounds like a bad alternator but would an alternator running at 12v stall the car?
when you tested the battery while running, was it under a load?
ac on, headlights, radiator fans?

 

The 12V you are reading is the battery voltage under a no charging scenario. The charge value has to be high enough to overcome the charging threshold, which is not happening if you are reading 12V. If it droops much at all from that, the car will stall. You ignition and injection is all electronic, so the system cant run without proper system voltage. Fix the charging issue first, then see what you have left.

 

Not under a load, nothing else was running....

The car has not actually stalled on me... yet. When I went around the block, the other day the car did not have enough power to make it up the hill to my house due to the low voltage

So you think I need to replace alternator, or what elso could be interfering with charging??

BTW, CEL came back on... Going to autozone tomorrow....

 

Charging while car is running 13.6V

While your car is running, is the battery light on?

 

Hmmm,

Something is blown. If the charger system is blown, could be why your car isn't charging, and could explain that the rest of whatever is wrong is not working. My bud blew the ECU charging system in his camary, also blew a bunch of the electronics as well because he put a 200AMP 120V current on his battery accidently.

 

Updated my list of symptoms above.... CEL is back, and realized I have no Cruise Control and No Seatbelt Warning Chimes

After posting my car hadn't actually stalled, it did stall about 30 mins later.... Left it for a few hours, and when I came back it started right up (no jump or charging necessary)....

Slept in today (I went to the bar last night to relieve some of the stress this is causing) and I'm at work now, so I have to wait till tomorrow to find out the codes for the CEL....

Does the ECU control the function of the alternator and/or the recharging system??

 

Okay, went to autozone yesterday... Found out that the CEL is P0500 - Vehicle Speed Sensor A Malfunction, which is prolly why the ABS light is on, and maybe why the speedo isn't working along with cruise control and seatbelt warning chime....

Battery still not charging, have to check all my grounds, connections, and fuses again....

 

Keep us updated when you have solved the problem. Good luck!

 

OK, so turns out all this - CEL, ABS light, Speedo/speed sensor, Auto-Off Headlights
Power to windows cut immediately after turning car off,Dome light stays on after car start, Moonroof, No Cruise Control, Seatbelt Chime - are tied to a 7.5 amp fuse #43 ECU-IG. Same fuse also controls multiport fuel injection (surprised i could even drive), recharging system, and cooling fan...

Strange thing is the fuse looked fine, but as soon as i replaced it, everything came back, battery charges...

Made me feel a lil handicapped , but thank god it was a 10 cent fuse and nothing worse!