[cfabrizio62699]

Hello everyone! Let me start off by saying my name is Chris and also thank you for letting me be a part of this forum. I currently run an '06 3500, auto trans single wheel SLT quad cab. For the most part this truck has been very good to me, up until just recently... which I will get into shortly. As far as any mods go the previous owner has put just about every product BANKS makes for this and also put on some aftermarket LED's in. I have not put any modifications on, the only thing I've done is put plow connections on. I did however "modify" my low beams to run on the fog light switch because the was the easiest and cheapest thing to do at the time.

Now, my issue(s).....

I have no speedometer, no instrument panel lights, interior lights and I don't think the heating element is working either, at least I'm not seeing the dash light come in when starting.

So, here's what my dumbass did. While working on ball joints and brakes my stupid left the key on and killed both batteries! I threw the charger on overnight and, just for what I thought was good measure turned the charger over to the 200A start assist. Truck fired up like normal, got down the street and lost all electrical, volt gauge was almost in the basement.

I've load tested the batteries and I got a new alternator and everything seemed to work fine, as far as charging goes, but am left with the above mentioned issues.

After putting in the new alternator I DID have interior and panel lights, but my headlights would flash off & on at random and still had no speedo. It wasn't until we popped the TIPM cover that I lost interior and panel lights. We did find a loose connection running up to the aftermarket visor lights and put a better connection, my head lights haven't flickered since but everything else still doesn't work. I've also noticed that my fuel DTE is all retarded as well showing a significant distance reduction when compared to the fuel gauge.

Well, thats it, what happened, what I've done, what's been done before me. I know these are electrically temperamental but PLEASE if anyone has any info, some direction to point me in please do so, before I burn this MF in the driveway! I don't wanna do that cuz I don't have GAP insurance, but it's getting almost to where I'll take the loss!!

Thank you in advance for any help you can give.

Chris

ps.- sorry for the novel length post

 

[vreihen]

2006 is the first year of the CAN trucks with the TIPM. Tampering with the headlights is a recipe for disaster, as a gazillion threads here about people trying to do HID/LED retrofits can attest. It can be done with the proper ballast resistors, but the point is that plow headlights should be powered directly from the battery with a proper fuse, relay, and aux switch.

When the TIPM gets wonky, some people have had success rebooting it by disconnecting BOTH sets of battery terminals and shorting them together for 20-30 minutes to make the internal TIPM capacitors discharge. After you hook the batteries back up, turn the key on and let it sit in the "run" position for 30-60 seconds. Turn it off for a few seconds, then back on to start the truck and see if everything is working again.

If that fails, remember that diesel fuel doesn't make a good accelerant if you decide to torch it.....

 

[cfabrizio62699]

Ok I'll try it right now. The lowbeam band-aid has been like that for over a year now and has never given me issues. It was only until the whole battery kill/alt change that I've been having these problems. I'll post results in a bit. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[cfabrizio62699]

didn't work

 

[vreihen]

My next suggestion is to unplug the aftermarket visor light(s). After that, maybe pull the TIPM (it comes out really easy) and re-seat the gazillion connectors underneath. Maybe your action of removing the cover caused one of the connectors on the bottom to lose a contact from dirt/corrosion/rodentia? ('Tis the season for rodentia damage in many parts of the country.)

I believe that all of the accessories that aren't working are signaled over the CAN bus, and lord knows that online automotive forums are full of posts about stereo installing butchers taking an ancient test probe light to the CAN bus and frying things. One scan tool manufacturer that I know even threw a simple CAN bus tester into their product box because mechanics kept frying OBD-II interfaces when stereo installers would tie +12V to the CAN bus when wiring an aftermarket radio.

I'm not sure if it applies to 2006, but you may be able to hold down the trip reset button and turn the key on to trigger an instrument cluster self-check, where it will sweep all of the gauge needles to show that they work and then display error codes for you to Google. Simple check to show that the speedo is actually working mechanically before you dig any deeper.....

 

[evildiesel]

Sounds like all your issues have to do with the cluster because like the TIPM, a lot of functions run thru the cluster first.

Try the cluster test. With the key off, hold down the odometer button. While holding it down then the key to on. You’ll see the cluster light all the lights up and gauges start to sweep. Let go of the odo button. Pay attention. Make sure all the lights on the cluster turn on and the gauges all sweep the same. It’ll at least point u in the right direction for cluster issues.

Other then that a capable scanner is a VERY good investment for these trucks. They run on computers so u should have a computer to fix it. A capable scanner can get into the tipm and check for codes in there and activate functions to see if it’s the signal that’s bad or the function itself.

 

[cfabrizio62699]

Did the cluster check, here are my codes:


S 113
264
C 447
Hr5311

All gauges swept right from the start except the tach, after a couple seconds it moved.

All lights came on except ABS, CEL, service 4WD, airbag light, H2O in fuel, and element light.

Referenced the codes and it looks like these don't exist OR I'm reading wrong but that's what my dash says.

 

[vreihen]

Per this thread, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the first three are software versions and the 4th value is the total running hours (5311 hours):

https://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/07-5-09-3rd-gen-6-7-liter-general-discussion/262197-can-anybody-tell-me-what-these-codes-mean.html

Since the needles moved, I'm going to consider the mechanics of the cluster OK for now.

Have you tried the key trick yet from the above thread (takes 5 times on my truck) to pull any engine fault codes? That should verify at least some CAN communication functionality from the cluster.....

 

[cfabrizio62699]

I have tried, but only turned the key 3 times. Just tried again after reading your reply. Tried 5 times, got nothing either time.

 

[vreihen]

I'll verify that it works in my truck tomorrow morning.....

 

[QMFB]

Start your truck and let it run / drive it for a bit, then try the 3 key code check.

 

[cfabrizio62699]

QMFB- I will try it when I get home. I haven't run it since I tried the TIPM reset.

 

[twildman]

Couple of questions:

You said it has basically all Banks stuff on it, does it have a tuner?

Also, you mentioned the plow connections, of which I can take a SWAG at it and say you live where there is snow, so are the roads salted? If so, and if not so, I would check my grounds to the body and clean them and make sure they are not corroded as that can wreak havoc on any type of troubleshooting, and could very well be the issue.