Did the Dealer Screw Up My Car?

[cheepnis]

I bought my 2001 I-30 early last year with about 10 months left on the warranty. The car was basically perfect. I did notice that the sunroof was stopping after about 2 inches of travel, and I had to manually move it into the closed position which was tricky, and once I thought it was closed but I got a little rain in the cabin.

So I took it to the dealer and they gave me a sweet G-35x to drive while the I-30 was being fixed. I ended up having the car for over a week! They had said they couldn't get the parts they needed right away, first it was a motor that took 2 days, then a harness, and then something else that I forget.

So I get the car back and everything seems fine but I start to notice some things are different. In short, there are a bunch of things that are always on, instead of only when the key is in on/acc position. The headlights and the Windows/Sunroof among them.

My battery went dead but the guy at the auto parts store tested it and it is fine, and my charging system is fine.

Is there something that is draining my battery as a result of the above mentioned things being "on" but not in use (like, I didn't leave the lights on)?

Is there something simple that I should check/change/switch to get these things back to being only "on" when the ignition key is in/on?

THanks, Your own dealer rants are welcome.
-T

[Nahkapohjola]

Originally Posted by cheepnis

...Is there something that is draining my battery ...
-T

Measure drain amps: Take batt cable off - connect via multimeter (amps scale) - get reading. Should not exceed 0.05A. If reading is more, pull/reinsert fuse after fuse until the culprit is found... Then figure out why/what is wrong in that circuit.

How bad alt drains the batt, see page 23, link below

[cheepnis]

Thanks (Walt?) for the advice, I was planning on doing that, now I have a number to shoot for (as soon as I get my meter back from a friend on monday).

I saw on your page (13) a reference to a data link and IGN controlled logic.

"Passenger door window PCB's have IGN controlled logic DATA LINE supply from driver side PCB - no IGN controlled +12V. As driver pushes his door button, the PCB sends data signal to that passenger door. Passenger door receiver PCB directs its door motor power up/down depending on the received DATA. Applied voltage direction to motor defines movement direction (up or down)."

Might there be a simple explanation as to why If he switches are always hot, the Data Link is not IGN controlled at this point?

Perhaps I don't understand whats happening here?

Sorry to sound so ignorant but, what does PCB stand for?

Thank you so much for educating us on this type stuff.
-Tim

[Nahkapohjola]

Door ctrl data link: the issue is that the door wirings are NOT always hot. Pwr is deliverd only simultaneously when ctrl data command is given. One of the implications of this structure [stupid] is that the driver circuit signals are really weak: rain /moisture will kill the data lines easily. The further away from sender (from driver door pcb) the longer the signal line and the weaker the signal. This means that rear door will die first when problem is moisture or oxidation. (pcb = printed circuit board)

(I have not traced this with the oscilloscope nor do I have caught any info about the actual signals ... as any repair will be done by swapping modules, I think that is enough. However, when swapping does not hlp, then evaluating the harness is must. Hope I'll get time to update the info)