[John350]

Today it was raining buckets. I drove about half a mile and suddenly all the lights in the dash cluster went out and all of the needles (tach, speedo, fuel and oil pressure) dropped to zero. The mileage indicator came (stayed) on (it had been on on the trip computer). The engine kept running and it drove like nothing was happening. I'm not sure what the gear indicator did. After 20 or 30 seconds, it flickered a couple of times then came back. The trip computer (miles, mileage, mph and time) reset as did the same display that is supposed to be only manually reset. This repeated two more times, minus the flickering, on a 1 mile trip. On the return trip I had my phone ready to record it, and nothing went wrong.

Should I worry? Should I try to scan it for codes?

TIA,
John

 

[Brian Cole]

Sounds like you might have gotten water in your front fuse box or one one of the connections. Take the cover off and check for water inside and dry it, if needed. Make sure it goes back on tightly. If it's wet use a rag and a hair dryer.

 

[John350]

When the rain stopped the temperature dropped from 50 to 10F

Checked for codes. There was something like C15000 - lost communication with instrument cluster. Several others related to steering column functions, specifically turn signals and gear selector module. Can't figure out how to view the log from the scanner .

I once said I never wanted to deal with a car with ignition points again, but I'm rethinking that...

 

[Witek_M]

What are you using to scan it?

 

[John350]

Autel AP200M

Figured it out, at least partially.

 

[Deplore]

Is your carpet wet? I believe one of the CAN bus voltage distributor is on the driver side sill where the IC CAN wire connects to it.

Is your headliner wet? Touch everything, see if its wet or not.

 

[John350]

If it was wet yesterday it'll be frozen solid today. High temp was 16F.

 

[Deplore]

Hmmm, that'll be difficult to find out.

Still, worth a try? Frozen carpet is different in feel compared to regular cold carpet.

 

[John350]

Where should I look? "Door sill" means up high to me, where I might step. Not my first choice for electronics.

 

[Vailcoyote]

As I always reply in situations where you get a laundry list of error codes and weird electrical issues - check your battery. If the voltage drops, this is the kind of thing that happens.

 

[Witek_M]

Autel AP200M

Figured it out, at least partially.

When Auto Scan is done 100% scroll bottom bar and hit report then save. In main screen hit Repair Reports, select report and email it to yourself. Post as an attachment.

 

[John350]

I have a report but I can't figure out how to mail it to myself. Data Logging -> Unsent It looks like it will mail it to someone like Mercedes. It is asking for a reason: "To provide an effective solution please describe your problem in details." That is where the screen shots came from.

I also can't find the (.txt) file anywhere on my phone.

 

[Witek_M]

I have a report but I can't figure out how to mail it to myself. Data Logging -> Unsent It looks like it will mail it to someone like Mercedes. It is asking for a reason: "To provide an effective solution please describe your problem in details." That is where the screen shots came from.

I also can't find the (.txt) file anywhere on my phone.

Reports are saved as PDF.

 

[Witek_M]

On my phone they are here:
This PC\Pixel 6 Pro\Internal shared storage\Android\data\com.autel.maxiap200.autelap\files\MaxiApScan\Data\PDF

 

[John350]

OK, mine's different. I don't have anything in reports except a demo. However, under ..\com.autel.maxiap200.autelap\files\MaxiApScan\Datalogging\Benz I found the text files, but they are not readable; they appear to be ascii representations of data files.

Maybe what I'm missing is the production of a report?

 

[Witek_M]

OK, mine's different. I don't have anything in reports except a demo. However, under ..\com.autel.maxiap200.autelap\files\MaxiApScan\Datalogging\Benz I found the text files, but they are not readable; they appear to be ascii representations of data files.

Maybe what I'm missing is the production of a report?

Sounds like you are not saving report.

 

[John350]

check your battery

New Odyssey battery in January of this year. (I checked; it's still there. )

Sounds like you are not saving report.

Probably not. 55+ years turning wrenches, on and off, and a MS in Computer Science, and I still feel like a dinosaur...

Is your carpet wet?

Not that I can tell. Also, no sun roof...

 

[Deplore]

Wait, you don't have a sunroof on a x204? That's rarer than hen's teeth. They were standard option.

Then perhaps I'd look at the windshield drain hoses. If not that, then the cluster could've just died? They do happen. Quality variance, bell curve, all that jazz.

 

[John350]

Wait, you don't have a sunroof on a x204?

Nope. It's a really stripped down example. I needed a car right now at the height of the used car shortage, and it was the most interesting car that met my needs that I could find, in my price range, in good shape. No backup camera or sensors, either...

That's rarer than hen's teeth.

No wonder I had to pay such a premium for it!