Park brake & fuel cap errors

[bbyer]

Hard Reset Instructions

In brief, to start the hard reset process, open the hood but close all doors and let your 3 go to sleep - no radio display etc and no key in the ignition. This will take a couple of minutes and do not open any doors until the reset is completed. (I find that it is often a good idea to have the drivers door window rolled down and the key in my pocket whenever fooling about the vehicle.)

Disconnect the ground battery terminal from the main starting battery.
Disconnect the positive battery terminal from the main starting battery.

(I assume that you only have one battery in your 3. If not, disconnect the others as well and leave them disconnected until after all is done.)

Connect the negative cable to the positive cable. (NOT the battery.) You will need a short length, (a foot or so), of light gauge, (14 to 18 gauge AWG, insulated stranded copper), wire to span between the battery cable ends as there is not enough slack in the positive and negative battery cables for the ends to touch each other.

Hold all together for about a minute or more, as you are discharging memory modules within the engine computer and elsewhere. Then it is suggested you just let all sit disconnected for say ten minutes prior to commencing to put the battery cable ends back on the battery posts per the following.

Reattach positive terminal to the main starting battery positive post.
Reattach negative terminal to the main starting battery negative post.

Start engine and hopefully no or fewer warning lights.
Reset time on the radio - note that the station presets are still there as not everything is erased. Nothing much else needs resetting either.

You can now connect up the other batteries if you have a multiple battery setup.

This is a link to a thread in disco3 re the hard reset procedure.

http://www.**************/forum/topic19547.html

Replace the **** with disco3 co uk and insert a . in each of the two spaces.

This is a link to a thread on Disco3Club re the hard reset procedure.

http://www.disco3club.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=3374

 

[Bostonian]

Houm & bbyer - thanks, I appreciate the advice.

 

[Houm_WA]

This was a good re-read! I'd forgotten about connecting them for so long...

 

[Bostonian]

Update: It was the brake switch. After installation, all errors cleared themselves without the hard reset.

Interesting side note: Probably common sense but worth mentioning. The night before I picked up the part I decided to pull the fuses associated with the errors on the dash (conveniently matched up with pictures on the inside of the fuse box). All errors cleared after doing this (but came back because I still had the bad switch installed). I guess this is an easier alternative to the hard reset.

 

[bbyer]

Park Brake error is unusual.

I appreciate the info that a bad brake light switch resulted in Park Brake related messages. Usually one gets HDC not Available, Tranny Sick, or Cruise Control not Available; the Parking Brake message, that is a new one to me not that I know everything; the 3 continues to be a teacher.

The hard reset procedure only clears or erases some of the nasty messages and turns lights off that were on; it does not stop new messages from displaying or the lights from coming back on - the hard reset is just an eraser, not a problem solver.

Those brake light switch and related ABS circuits really are a source of spurious trouble messages. For once, at least the 3 still runs, and it is not like Toyota where the thing has to hauled off to the dealer.

 

[Bostonian]

While I would have preferred to not have had the glitch to deal with, I agree - I'd rather be able to fix it myself (with everyone's sage advice from this board) versus bringing it into the dealership. Now that that's behind me, my radio decided to not put any audio out and I got a 'CD Error'. This is all a story for another time - the issue resolved itself. She sure is a fussy old brute of a truck.