Wierd Starting Issue

[Ethan Hunt]

About a week ago I got into my truck proceeded to start it up. I noticed this message on the information screen saying something about "HDC Fault". The truck fired up but I could tell that it didnt start as easily as it normally did. The truck stayed in this mode until I shut it off and restarted it.

A few days later my truck did the same thing but it wouldnt start. I took the key out and tried it again. After trying this 3 or 4 times it finally started. I will say that I dont get the "HDC Fault" all the time this happens. Just sometimes

My truck has close to 60k miles on it and after doing a little research I decided to get the battery replaced. Only to have the problem return the next day.

The frustrating thing is that this doesnt happen all time. Sometimes it will start right up.

I'm going to take my truck in to the dealer before I leave on vacation but I was curious has anyone else experienced the same issues? If so what was the fix.

I'm now leaning towards it being a bad ground somewhere or ignition issue.

 

[umbertob]

Get the alternator checked.

 

[Ethan Hunt]

Get the alternator checked.

Hmm...I would think that if it was the alternator that the truck wouldnt even run. But I will have them look into that as well.

 

[umbertob]

Not necessarily, a bad alternator could also attempt to overcharge the battery and cause similar symptoms at startup, since the electronics in the LR3 are extremely sensitive to voltage and tend to throw faults if the juice is just a little too low or just a little too high. If the generator overcharges the battery that's actually worse in your case, as it could quickly "fry" the new one you just purchased relatively quickly.

If you have a digital DC meter you can try a quick, unscientific test on the battery. With the engine not running, when you put the leads on each pole of a properly charged battery you should read somewhere around 12.5 / 12.6V. With the engine running at idle, and the alternator doing its job, that number should spike up to around 13.5 / 14V (my RRS regularly reads 12.5 and 13.7 volts, respectively.) If the numbers you get are much higher, or much lower, chances are your alternator is malfunctioning.

Poor grounding or loose battery junction box connections somewhere (or something draining the battery while the engine is off) can also be the issue for your intermittent ignition problems, as you suspect. But over on the RRS forum we have had some instances of people replacing the battery only to eventually find out that the alternator was the cause of their startup problems, so it's worth checking.

 

[Ethan Hunt]

Not necessarily, a bad alternator could also attempt to overcharge the battery and cause similar symptoms at startup, since the electronics in the LR3 are extremely sensitive to voltage and tend to throw faults if the juice is just a little too low or just a little too high. If the generator overcharges the battery that's actually worse in your case, as it could quickly "fry" the new one you just purchased relatively quickly.

If you have a digital DC meter you can try a quick, unscientific test on the battery. With the engine not running, when you put the leads on each pole of a properly charged battery you should read somewhere around 12.5 / 12.6V. With the engine running at idle, and the alternator doing its job, that number should spike up to around 13.5 / 14V (my RRS regularly reads 12.5 and 13.7 volts, respectively.) If the numbers you get are much higher, or much lower, chances are your alternator is malfunctioning.

Poor grounding or loose battery junction box connections somewhere (or something draining the battery while the engine is off) can also be the issue for your intermittent ignition problems, as you suspect. But over on the RRS forum we have had some instances of people replacing the battery only to eventually find out that the alternator was the cause of their startup problems, so it's worth checking.

Thank you very much for taking time to help me. I will be sure to have them check the alternator and report back what the issue was. I am extremely grateful for your help.

 

[jimbiram]

Here is another strange possible answer to your problem. If you park your LR3 outdoors in an area where there are rats and other vermin known to reside in the area, you may have had some wiring chewed on by those critters. I have had this happen 3 times now, and every time, I get the same HDC Fault message on startup. It is probably creating either a minor short, or something like that, tripping the computer. Have them look around behind the engine up top, or in the area under the battery. Perhaps a longshot in your case, but it is sounding like something related to wiring or connections at this point.

 

[Ethan Hunt]

Here is another strange possible answer to your problem. If you park your LR3 outdoors in an area where there are rats and other vermin known to reside in the area, you may have had some wiring chewed on by those critters. I have had this happen 3 times now, and every time, I get the same HDC Fault message on startup. It is probably creating either a minor short, or something like that, tripping the computer. Have them look around behind the engine up top, or in the area under the battery. Perhaps a longshot in your case, but it is sounding like something related to wiring or connections at this point.

Thanks for your suggestion. I will be sure to have them look at that.

 

[umbertob]

Here there are rats and other vermin known to reside in the area, I have had this happen 3 times now.

Hey Jim, you gotta move outta there man!

 

[jimbiram]

Hey Jim, you gotta move outta there man!

No kidding!

 

[Ethan Hunt]

After replacing the battery and the problem still occuring we found out that the actual problem was the starter motor. I have been driving for 3 days straight and none of the described problems have returned after replacing the starter motor. Hopefully this can help someone if they have the same problems.