Serious Driveability Issues After Wiring Damage

DonnonGT · Post by **DonnonGT** » 16 Oct 2018, 18:16

Hello. I have a 2004 Volvo S60 T5. Until a couple of weeks ago, it was a great running car, with no issues or trouble codes.

I went out to eat one night and bumped the curb at the front of the parking place. The curb hit the front of the crossmember, but didn't hit very hard. I turned the car off and went inside. When I came back out, the engine would crank, but not start, so I called a tow truck. When he was loading it, I notice a wire bundle hanging down in front of the crossmember that had some pretty obvious crush damage. I am going to attach a couple pictures of the wires.

The bundle hanging down was a plastic loom with eight wires in it, twisted into two strands of four wires each. All had suffered damage. Some had been completely severed, as you can see in the pics. The damaged wires were definitely in contact with each other and the steel crossmember. The wires were damaged in two places each, about a foot apart. I spliced the damaged wires, replacing the middle sections of each wire with fresh wire. I'm sure I got everything joined back up to the correct wires.

When I was done, the car started, but it was very hard to get it started. The car almost immediately threw the following codes:

P0113 - Intake air temperature sensor circuit high input.

P0238 - Turbocharger/supercharger boost sensor A circuit high.

P0236 - Turbocharger/supercharger boost sensor A circuit range / performance.

P0643 - Sensor reference voltage "A" circuit high.

P0118 - Engine coolant temperature sensor circuit high voltage.

P0103 - Mass or volume air flow A circuit high input.

There are also some serious driveability problems as well:

The car is very hard to start. It is necessary to pump the gas pedal to get it running.

The cooling fan remains on and at highest speed the entire time the car is on.

There is no gear indicator letter being display on the dash, only a '-'.

The car shifts into gear very hard.

Once in gear, the engine has to rev to 2,500 - 3,000rpm to get the car moving, as if the transmission was slipping.

The transmission appears to be up and down-shifting, but the passing gear function does not function.

The car stays running once it is started, but it has no power and the turbo isn't producing any boost.

I checked live data and also noticed a few related bits of info:

Coolant -40. (Open or shorted circuit, I'm guessing)

IAT -40. (Same as above)

ST FTRM 1 -24.2 (This fuel trim issue is probably just an artifact of the other stuff going on.)

Obviously, the wires shorting did some damage. I'm wondering if it is likely that the ECM and TCM were damaged, or if the various affected sensors, solenoids and such would be the more likely victims? Are the various components and modules sensitive enough that changes in the resistance of the wires connecting them, do to the soldiered splices, could affect their performance?

If I have to replace the ECM/TCM and I send them in to someone to repair, will it be necessary to have a dealership reprogram them when I get them back?

I would greatly appreciate any advice or input any of you have on this mess. Thanks in advance.

Post by **abscate** » 16 Oct 2018, 18:19

Disconnect the battery and splice solder these back together and you will be fine.

Look up NASA splice if you have enough slack. Remember heat shrink and a loom to protect when done.

DonnonGT · Post by **DonnonGT** » 16 Oct 2018, 18:22

abscate wrote: ↑16 Oct 2018, 18:19 Disconnect the battery and splice solder these back together and you will be fine.

Look up NASA splice if you have enough slack. Remember heat shrink and a loom to protect when done.

I did disconnect the battery and splice them. The car would not start at all before. After I repaired the wires the car now runs, but with all the problems I outlined above. The wires shorting caused some secondary damage. I am just trying to determine where.

Post by **abscate** » 16 Oct 2018, 18:29

Sorry Don, I read but did not comprehend.

That’s a tough one. If you can find a wiring diagram and post I’ll try to sort out some thoughts

DonnonGT · Post by **DonnonGT** » 16 Oct 2018, 18:36

abscate wrote: ↑16 Oct 2018, 18:29 Sorry Don, I read but did not comprehend.

That’s a tough one. If you can find a wiring diagram and post I’ll try to sort out some thoughts

What I am afraid of is that the shorts did some damage in the ECM and probably the TCM. Although, if all the sensors, modules and such now throwing codes are damaged, they will probably cost as much to replace as a repaired/remanufactured TCM & ECM.
What a PITA.

Anyway, I appreciate your input.

Post by **abscate** » 16 Oct 2018, 18:37

Did you clear all the codes and see what comes back?

DonnonGT · Post by **DonnonGT** » 16 Oct 2018, 18:42

abscate wrote: ↑16 Oct 2018, 18:37 Did you clear all the codes and see what comes back?

Yep. They all came Back in less than five minutes.

Post by **mrbrian200** » 17 Oct 2018, 10:04

The list of codes present and circumstances I'm thinking it may have shorted the +5v reference voltage to either ground or +B and damaged the 5v regulator circuit inside the ECM. I'm not sure how well protected the ECM is against dead shorts on that. If you have a voltmeter, probe the brown wire at the coolant sensor to ground and see if it's +5v or not.
I believe I've heard of another case where the +5v reference voltage got accidentally shorted which damaged the ECM. This is something xemodex should be able to either rework or transfer the ECU programming to another good ECU.

DonnonGT · Post by **DonnonGT** » 17 Oct 2018, 10:53

mrbrian200 wrote: ↑17 Oct 2018, 10:04 The list of codes present and circumstances I'm thinking it may have shorted the +5v reference voltage to either ground or +B and damaged the 5v regulator circuit inside the ECM. I'm not sure how well protected the ECM is against dead shorts on that. If you have a voltmeter, probe the brown wire at the coolant sensor to ground and see if it's +5v or not.
I believe I've heard of another case where the +5v reference voltage got accidentally shorted which damaged the ECM. This is something xemodex should be able to either rework or transfer the ECU programming to another good ECU.

Hello. I appreciate your input. Do you know if damage to the ECM alone could cause the transmission issues, including the missing gear indicator letter displayed on the dash? Thanks again.

DonnonGT · Post by **DonnonGT** » 17 Oct 2018, 13:35

mrbrian200 wrote: ↑17 Oct 2018, 10:04 The list of codes present and circumstances I'm thinking it may have shorted the +5v reference voltage to either ground or +B and damaged the 5v regulator circuit inside the ECM. I'm not sure how well protected the ECM is against dead shorts on that. If you have a voltmeter, probe the brown wire at the coolant sensor to ground and see if it's +5v or not.
I believe I've heard of another case where the +5v reference voltage got accidentally shorted which damaged the ECM. This is something xemodex should be able to either rework or transfer the ECU programming to another good ECU.

I tested the coolant temperature sensor. The voltage on the brown/black wire was 3.59v. The reading on the second wire was 1.84v. The resistance across the two terminals of the sensor was 1.45k ohms with the car cold, on a 48°F day.

The info I have is that the brown/black wire should be at 5v and the second wire at .1v. The sensor seems healthy, but something upstream of it is screwed up.