Just like the title says, I'm having this problem with my xtype 200 miles after I fixed my P0171 and P0174 fault codes. It doesn't come up all the time, only sometimes, and if I turn off the car, it goes away. What's happening is the abs light comes on and the dtc not available comes up on the heads up lcd screen. I tried to throw my scanner on there and only got the P1000 code which is because I've deleted a couple codes in the past. What I have always noticed is that whenever my car needs a jump because the battery is dead, it comes up with the dtc not available and the abs light turns on because the system doesn't have enough voltage to turn on those systems. I was wondering if this could be the issue with the notorious battery cables or if there is something else I should check out here.

As always, thanks for your responses and help.

 

disguay, it is sounding like it. I would say if you can, see what sort of voltage drop you are getting across the battery leads. If you are getting anything even near 1 VDC (ideally should be under 0.5 VDC) with a heavy load on the system, then the cables are starting to go. See what you have at that point.

 

Ok, thanks for your input thermo! I just needed a second opinion on it and a way to test them! I'll post back up with my results to help out other members.

 

I found this problem and its proposed solution rather interesting as the 'notorious battery cable problem' is not well known/common thing over here in UK. Perhaps you could explain the background please, Thermo. Is it a cable connector-to-cable issue rather than the cable itself?
Looking at Disguay's problem, the difficulties created by low battery voltage are well known, (even over here!) but in this case, where there seem to be a history of jump lead starts, surely that is suggesting that a u/s battery is the fundamental cause of the trouble? Or an excessive quiescent current drain?
Incidentally, Thermo, I too come from a Naval background, but from the more civilised world of frigates and destroyers rather than sludgemarines!!! (No offence intended - well not much anyway!) Used to enjoy working in company with the US Navy!

 

astromorg, the "notorious battery cable problem" is a large problem with the xtype vehicles as the leads of the battery cables get corroded at the body and the battery and because of this corrosion, they create a lot of resistance. When there is a high draw on the battery (lets say I have my amp for my subwoofers all the way up, I'm rolling down my windows, and I have my lights on) the corrosion creates so much resistance that power cannot reach all of the necessary systems and as a result you get the "dtc not available message" and other faults. I have not been able to test if this is what is causing this problem in my specific vehicle, yet that is why the battery cables could be the culprit in this specific case.

 

disguay, testing the cables is easy. Get yourself a multimeter. When testing the positive battery, put the red lead on the lead post of the battery (not on the clamp) and the black lead on the large bolt at the starter. It may be advisable to use a set of alligator clips to clip on to the post of of the starter so you only have to worry about the one lead with the engine running. If you can get a second person to help you, you can apply an instantaneous large load by simply starting the car. If doing this, an analog meter is better as it will give a more timely response during changing conditions. If you exceed 1.00 VDC, then replacing the wire is a must (atleast a good cleaning and then recheck).

With the negative cable, you want the red lead on a bare bolt on either the body of the car or on the engine itself. The black lead will get placed against the lead portion of the negative battery post (not on the clamp). Check to see if you are getting less than 1.00 VDC. If no, then that cable is bad.

Like I mentioned before, I tend to use the standard of 0.5 VDC based on the size of the wire and indications that the wiring is starting to go. Readings between 0.5 and 1.00 VDC are not necessarily bad, but they are not good either. It is just telling you that in the near future you will have another repair to make.

Astromorg, when it comes to the battery cables, part of it is that some of the states here in the US still use salt on the roads to remove the ice and whatnot. When it comes to electrical, this plays hell with the wiring. Due to the large wire and its ability to wick in lots of water/salt, this leads to lots of cable issues. The salt eats the wiring and makes a large gauge wire effectively smaller, leading to large voltage/power losses (think of it like trying to fill a swimming pool with a straw).

As for being a submariner (sludgemariner as you call me), we all know what floats. LMAO. Ah, the beauty of military men. We may give each other a hard time, but in the time of need, we have no fear that the other has their back. I did a lot of time on what you guys call the Vanguard Class subs. Here in the US they are Tridents. Essentially the same boat other than you guys use different atmospheric equipment and you only use 16 tubes where I am used to 24. Not to mention I have seen more crosshairs on corks than I care to admit to. Nothing like being told that the cork can't find you and they want you to launch a flare to give them an idea of where you are. You tell them that you would not recommend that and they tell you to launch it anyways. When the flare gets launched, it flies right over their bow because you are so close to them. Gotten called more names doing that then I care to admit to. Admirals get really pissed and write nasty letters. C'est la vie. Good old days of war games.

 

Right, got all that, thank you both! Final supplementary questions (I hope!). Went out and gave mine a quick examination; didn't get to the earth/ground point under the battery box, but all the cables are enclosed in plastic conduit and every connector that is easily visible is sealed to the conduit with heat shrink; result is there are no cable ends exposed to the elements. Now years at sea mean I know salt water can get just about anywhere, but was this sealing of the ends a later (Mine's 2005) improvement to prevent corrosion or does it just get in anyway?

 

astromorg, normally you can see the results of the water intrusion where the connector meets the wiring (gets sucked in where the wire protrudes through the end of the crimped connection that is left exposed) or like with the battery terminals, where the rubber butts up against the wiring insulation, a crack can form there and let the water in. But, like you have experienced, once you get water inside of something, it all goes to hell very quickly.