Possible Explanations for the Malfunction Lights I'm Getting on Cold Starts?

yea, u need a new battery soon. its my opinion also to get a deep cycle one. has your rear wiper done the one pass at start up yet ?
 
This evening, I swapped my battery for a known-good battery of a slightly different form factor. As expected, after the battery swap, all of the codes cleared and all of the CEL/trac/abs lights went out. I was only able to drive ~5 miles with the known-good battery because I wasn't able to bolt it down due to its slightly different form factor. I realize this most likely wasn't enough miles to determine if the the problem would persist with the good battery battery...

Either way, I put my battery back in and took it for a ~15 mile spin. No lights, no problems, speedo works fine. How long on average does it take for the computer to recognize a fault after a reset?
 
I had a dead battery not too long ago. When I got a jump start, the voltage was really low and I got blinking VSC/ABS/etc lights when the engine fired. Another thread on this board pointed towards low voltage/bad battery causing that issue. After replacing the battery, no issues.
 
suggest you to get a diehard pm1 at sears. order it online and go to retailmenot.com for cupon code, then do store pick up , this will save close to 30 bucks from the stores price. that was a while back when i did this.
 
This evening, I swapped my battery for a known-good battery of a slightly different form factor. As expected, after the battery swap, all of the codes cleared and all of the CEL/trac/abs lights went out. I was only able to drive ~5 miles with the known-good battery because I wasn't able to bolt it down due to its slightly different form factor. I realize this most likely wasn't enough miles to determine if the the problem would persist with the good battery battery...

Either way, I put my battery back in and took it for a ~15 mile spin. No lights, no problems, speedo works fine. How long on average does it take for the computer to recognize a fault after a reset?

Depends on the fault and/or system

i.e. ABS is a single trip logic with a constant testing cycle, this means if you broke an ABS wire and fixed it; the Skid Control ECU would see it the moment the vehicle started rolling and cleared the light (a History DTC would be stored for additional diagnostic purposes, but this does not affect [you] the operator.)

While a MIL is set from a 2 trip logic standpoint (1 trip is pending, second is current,) and is based on what tests the vehicle runs (i.e. misfire counter, EVAP test, Catalytic Converter efficiency) which means the test may take longer to run (an EVAP test depending on driving habits may run once a week) and then the system wants to see that said test has passed multiple times before clearing the light.

Long story short, get the DTCs, use a scantool to clear the codes and/or disconnect the battery for 10minutes for a cheap way to clear the memory of the vehicle.

If you haven't read this there's some good stuff in this thread:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/151487-check-engine-trac-vsc-read-me.html

(Also next time if you get the DTCs first it helps a ton with diagnosis. :) )
 
I finally found an Advance Auto that was able to read my ABS codes. Here they are:

  • C0205: Left Front Wheel Speed Sensor Signal Malfunction
  • C1223: Malfunction in Antilock Brake System Control System
  • C1224: Open or Short Circuit in NE Signal Circuit
  • C1236: Metal Stick to Speed Sensor (Front Left)
  • C1241: Low Battery Positive Voltage or Abnormally High Battery Positive Voltage

Given this info, I'm going to go check out my front left sensor.

Edit: I pulled the front left sensor and cleaned it off. While doing this, I noticed there was a decent amount of corrosion around the pins. Cleaned it all out with contact cleaner and fine-tipped dental brushes. After hooking everything back up, all warning lights went away. I'm hoping this is the true fix to my problem, but only time will tell.
 
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guess am gonna do the same thing, my truck has been sitting for 2weeks, and still fired up on the first attempt!....i dont think a battery going south would fire right up after sitting for 2weeks.

someone with a known good battery should please test the voltage dip while cranking so we can compare notes.
 
guess am gonna do the same thing, my truck has been sitting for 2weeks, and still fired up on the first attempt!....i dont think a battery going south would fire right up after sitting for 2weeks.

someone with a known good battery should please test the voltage dip while cranking so we can compare notes.

If you can get someone to pull your ABS codes, it'll really help narrow down the possible causes of issue. Sure helped me figure out what was going on.
 
Well my scangauge reads 11.9 when the engine cranks. But I do use dual batteries and I know it's not much of a help compared to guys with just 1.
 
so the problem still shows up intermittently, but if i turn off the car and turn on the car again, all the codes disappear
SO i grab a code reader, here are the codes i got...9 of them!, though the abs dtc wasnt illuminated when i pulled the codes
, well had a brake booster failure last year which i changed out with a used unit, so am guessing that explains the slew of units there....i erased them all, and would them hook up the code reader and see which ones come again

C0200
C0205
C1202
C1223
C1241
C1253
C1256
U0124
U0126

THE U codes are a bit strange, as the code reader couldnt tell me what they mean...will search on google and see what comes up
 
OK , so i start the car today and the dash lights up as usual, abs/slip indicator/vsc lights on.
hook up the scanner and pull only 2 codes

C0200

C1223

right front wheel sensor problem and abs system malfunction.
intend to remove the tire and check the right wheel sensor, guess its dirty or the cable has cut....
stay tuned
 
so these 2 codes kept popping up after 1 or 2 days after clearing them, C0200

C1223, so i knew something was wrong...i took off the right front tire and tried backing off the sensor, no dice..the bolt looked like an allen key or something, then i remebered that 2yrs ago when the mechanic worked on my control arm, he didnt route the abs cable properly and it ended up rubbing upon the tire, and shorting out 1 of the inner cables in the harness and resulted to my having the dash lit with abs/vsc lights .

so i peeled the covering and spliced and joined the cables, the lights on my dash disappaered, fast forward today, i checked the splice, twas still holding up strong, i decided to peel out the insulating tape and discovered that the white inner cable had pulled out and wasnt joined anymore. i joined another cable to it and tapped everything up...will observe for a few days and report back.

read up somewhere that the abs harness doesnt like being spliced andjoined...due to differences in resistivity/conductivity........so i intend buying another abs sensor+harness whenever the lights come on again

qucik question; the bolt holding the abs sensor..is it an allen bolt/..what size?..any special tricks in loosening it?
 
so these 2 codes kept popping up after 1 or 2 days after clearing them, C0200

C1223, so i knew something was wrong...i took off the right front tire and tried backing off the sensor, no dice..the bolt looked like an allen key or something, then i remebered that 2yrs ago when the mechanic worked on my control arm, he didnt route the abs cable properly and it ended up rubbing upon the tire, and shorting out 1 of the inner cables in the harness and resulted to my having the dash lit with abs/vsc lights .

so i peeled the covering and spliced and joined the cables, the lights on my dash disappaered, fast forward today, i checked the splice, twas still holding up strong, i decided to peel out the insulating tape and discovered that the white inner cable had pulled out and wasnt joined anymore. i joined another cable to it and tapped everything up...will observe for a few days and report back.

read up somewhere that the abs harness doesnt like being spliced andjoined...due to differences in resistivity/conductivity........so i intend buying another abs sensor+harness whenever the lights come on again

qucik question; the bolt holding the abs sensor..is it an allen bolt/..what size?..any special tricks in loosening it?

Splicing the ABS cable probably does affect the sensor signal to some degree, but one of mine is spliced and I haven't had any issues with it for over a year now. So I wouldn't worry about that too much (unless the lights come on again obviously).

The sensor itself is fastened in with an allen bolt. I didn't have any issues when removing it, but it may or may not be different for 4WDs. Can't remember which size hex key is correct.
 

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