Only a minute or two in, and i can say I have already seem something similar. There is probably a ground out that is re-routing power as a result through the 4 way flasher module, which is why it is flashing.
I would start by turning as many electrical accessories on as possible and see if all systems are affected. For example if the running lights flicker, the blower motor speed fluctuates, or the ac compressor cuts on and off you know it's something that affects the whole car, not just certain systems. That can help save a lot of time when determining what to look for.
I paused the video at 13:01 and all I can say is this is very similar to an issue Eric O. had on a 2019 Tahoe/Yukon that had a bad ground on the frame that had been corroded by salt. Apparently, you are providing a ground by changing positions with the transmission switchgear, etc. Seems like Steven King wrote a book about a car like this, but it was a 1958 Plymouth. Just goes to show you all cars have issues, even the ones that have a "T" on the front. Ivan, you are just facinated with the fact this car is behaving badly. I don't think I have seen you this excited in a long time. GREAT VIDEO!
Not an uncommon problem... I've heard service bulletins to check the body ground on older Ford trucks because the transmission ends up being the ground, this in turn eats away bearings when you drive and you keep getting repeat transmission failure.
Hey Ivan, we had a 2002 Aussie Ford in the workshop at one time. The Instrument cluster would go nuts with things flashing on & off, the temp gauge with a mind of it's own, tacho bouncing etc, very similar to what you have there. The problem only existed with the engine running, the car ran great with no apparent issues except a stall at idle sometimes. The problem turned out to be inductive spikes from the ignition coil pack, we changed the coil pack & everything was perfect once again. It did take some head scratching to work it out. This may not be related but it reminded me of this problem Ford.
That was a similar deal as the story that I was telling you about a while back when I diagnosed & repaired my great uncles stepdaughters Australian built 1997 Ford EL Falcon Futura which was powered by Ford Australias "Thriftpower" 4 litre inline six cylinder engine. It was intermittently doing exactly the same thing & the engine was stalling back in 2022,it eventually needed to be towed to where I can fix it which was at my dads house because every time she would place it into drive then the engine would stall out. I found out the problem was under the steering column which was where the main ignition feed to the engines ECU & ignition system as well as the rest of the cars electrics was connected to a crappy aftermarket engine immobilizer which was actually what was causing that "clickety click" sound & flashing lights on the dash as well as a stalled out engine. The first owner did a bit of a botched installation by running the main ignition switch feed directly through the immobilizer unit instead of a relay switched by the module which was 25 years old & the electrical connectors which were used in house wiring they used to join the wires. I just cut the main yellow/red ignition wires then added an extension piece to extend the length of the wire then I soldered both ends together as how Ford originally wired it up at the Broadmeadows factory in Victoria. So I totally bypassed the aftermarket engine immobilizer/car alarm then the car drove flawlessly, she has been driving the car for the last 2 years without any problems. So in the Avalon,if there's no additional modules such as the engine immobilizer then it's likely going to be the ECU which is faulty,I know that in my 2002 model Holden VY SS Commodore I had a faulty ABS module cause the air conditioning system not to work or cut out as well as making the instrument cluster go haywire. So it was messing around with the body control module,in the Holden Commodores that faulty ABS module was also known to cause other problems like causing the alternator to overcharge the battery, etc !
Ivan back in the 80s. Volvo had a similar problem with them Temp and Fuel gauges. In Volvo's case it was a voltage stabiliser fitted onto the rear of the dash panel. Replace it and it was cured. Only saying.
Hi Ivan, love your work. My theory is this: You have a voltage regulation problem of some sort at or after the alternator. The car doesn’t like anything over 12 volts, which is what should be regulated to the 12v components such as the dash. Seems like that relay is not getting regulated voltage of 12 volts between it and the alternator. Noticed no clicking happens when you have the car running just off 12 volts battery signal. This is the route I would take. Check the voltage regulator on the alternator, and then trace voltage from that point in between the wiring where it leads into that relay. It could be the alternator regulator is bad, the relay is bad, or some of the wiring in between is causing the voltage not to regulate down to 12 volts so the system is happy like it’s supposed to.
IVAN, YOU ARE THE MOST OBSERVANT DIAGNOSTICS TECHNICIAN I EVER SEEN IN THE BUSINESS. I LOVE THE WAY YOU ACCUMALTE YOUR FACTS AND PUT THEM IN AN APPROCH BASED ON FACTS AND WIRINGS DIAGRAMS. YOU MUST HAVE AN EXTRA SENSES; GOOD FOR YOU. THATS WHY THEY CONTACT YOU AND SEEK YOUR HELP. YOU ARE AMAZING WITH YOUR ENGINEERING BACKROUND AND DESIGN. THAK YOU IVAN.
Check the panel that the fuel pump plugs into. He stated the problem got worse when it rained. Plugged drain in the cowel may have water leaking into that area and its corroded.
This car reminds me of a GM vehicle that I had many years ago. All lights flashed when moving the gearshift lever and at various speeds. The only ground was through the gearshift cable and/or speedo cable. Good body ground, bad engine ground, replaced the bad negative battery cable, the shift cable and the Speedo cable as they were cooked from the current.
Guess it's time to pull a wiring diagram and see what's in common with that relay. I'm suspicious of the control side. Is it a power or ground issue that is in question or maybe a module. Can't wait for the next Video! Thanks for taking the time to post this one!
Very cool, i love the fact that you are excited by unusual problem cars. Eric and Bernie display a similar attitude. Its something i try to emulate when i am faced with a broken car, it puts you in the right frame of mind. Interestingly, looking at the diagrams, that looked to be the C/open relay you pulled. So the next logical step would be studying a wiring diagram to see whats connected to that relay. I am waiting impatiently for part 2. Thanks Ivan.
I bought a low mileage Corolla with an automatic transmission once that acted crazy. It turned out to be the speedometer. I pulled out the cluster and replaced only the speedometer with a junk yard replacement and it drove like a new car. Toyotas are a different breed.
Man this seems all too familiar with a 2010 Honda crv with a bad ignition coil striking the computer randomly. Problem only occurred while running with cel flicker and random stall and it drove perfect with no misfires before changing the coil. I was getting a pcm internal fault code and etc relay control code. PCM and throttle body was replaced and it ended up needing #4 ignition coil. At least I know now the car has good powers and grounds to the pcm and the complete etc relay control circuit! Your symptoms are a bit different because the relay going crazy for me was the etc relay (throttle body) Cool car Ivan!
Electronics can do very weird things when components interact...the symptoms on this Toyota were quite entertaining...flashing, buzzing, but drove so smoothly!!
Eric O did a similar video a couple years ago on a Chevy truck where the dashboard went ballistic. Solution: He installed a separate ground wire from engine block to chassis. My 04 Blazer did the same thing and the ground wire also fixed my run-away dashboard lights. Thanks Eric!
I suspect a compromised main body ground. The thick ground cable from the engine block to the battery is likely fine since the engine cranks normally. The fuel pump and other items ground through the body of the car, and by removing loads, the bad ground may be able to pass just enough current to work. I figure the problem will be located at the body ground wire where it attaches to the negative battery terminal.
My brain is yelling "BAD GROUNDS!" at me. This happens as much as "dirty air filter" and " blown Cap" happens when wathcing HVAC repair videos. I learned to check grounds when I was around 12 years old helping in an auto tranny shop. Im now 78.
Wiring diagram will be interesting to see what kind of power/ ground distribution this vehicle has, and what exactly powers up those relays. Can't say what my next step would be until I see a wiring diagram. Those older Toyotas can be very complex. Great job gathering evidence so far 👍. Looking forward to part 2.
Have a 07 Buick Allure, did almost same thing, 2 yrs ago. Pulled the ECM (has a casing ground). Aluminum body was corroded. Wire brushed it and all dash/radio/keyless start issues vanished.
Wiring diagram and see what controls that relay, and if it shares a power, say off a maxi fuse, with anything else. Same thing with the gnd. Does it share a common gnd. I'd have to start there. I think the trans code and coolant temp if true, may be separate issues. Who knows!?
A non-mechanic here. I would: 1) unplug temp sending unit and see if anything changes. 2) See if can recreate problem by simply hooking up the alternator at idle and disconnecting it. If the problem comes on and goes off with that change then I would write down the reading of every data point the scanner reports in both conditions and see where they are different, if at all. Odd that with the alternator unhooked it still changes symptoms with rpm increase. It feels like the engine computer is giving some bad commands when the system voltage is increased. Don't know if it is bad data going to computer or the computer simply malfunctioning. Could be a short or ground. Also not ruling out the Park light not illuminating as being related. This is a fun mystery.
Ivan, With the battery charger, you probably should be doing two tests: 1st with the charger grounded to the battery as you already have done, but secondly, ground the charger to the Engine block instead, so as to load the block ground the same way the Alternator does when producing power and see if you get any different behavior.
My money is on a cracked solder joint, and you make a “No Parts Required” repair. Also, I noticed an aftermarket radio……I like to quickly disconnect aftermarket accessories b4 diagnosing electrical gremlins. Just me.
Before we found OUR Gen2 Avalon in good shape, we had a 1994 VW Golf in which a normal-behaving electrical system happened about 1% of running time. Then came a 2000 Taurus that developed intermittent no-start due to corrosion on the mega-fuse combined with an internal circuit open in the fuel pump driver module. No problems in the now 22 year old Avalon, but then, its an XL, not the upscale XLS in this video, which has a load more electronic bells and whistles.
my brother once had an oldlate 60's dodge where the fuel gauge would only work if the headlights were off. when the lights were on the gauge would go to empty. there was a bad ground on the tank float.
As a pastor, these are not the typical ghosts and demons I exorcise but the way the car acted in the beginning I assumed the transmission was putting stress on a wiring harness that was compromised or corroded in some way and improving the connection.
I believe we have seen a couple of hints' The car doesn't like wet/damp conditions. Based on it's condition it is likely kept in a garage in WV, so it is usually dry on first start. At Pine Hollow it was outside, on the grass and early morning so likely much more damp than normal. This may have contributed to the initial start/stall condition. The owner also reported symptoms in wet conditions. The data we have so far also implicates the fuel pump circuit. Could be power on the fuel pump circuit, but more likely a ground for the fuel pump circuit. The battery charger test seems to have ruled out alternator ripple, but checking for ripple with the Pico will completely rule out alternator problems.
This reminds me of what had happened to my 2001 LeSabre, I replaced the BCM and it solved the problem I didn't even have it programmed, I plugged it in and it worked, that was two or three years ago and it's been fine ever since, mine didn't click but the door chimes would sound, if I shut the aftermarket stereo off everything went back to normal, it was somehow related to the interface i figured because i put two small home stereo speakers on the back seat and wired them directly to the stereo bypassing the cars wiring harness and no more problems after, then i got the bcm and it fixed everything.
"I fixed it, turn on this big switch here after you start the car... it adds 60 amps worth of electrical load through a space heater to bring voltage down."
First thing I would do is pull a fuel pump relay off a parts car at my local auto salvage yard and see if the problem goes away when using the other relay. I had one go bad many years ago on a 1980s car and I knew what it was because I didn't hear the fuel pump hum when the ignition was in the ON position.
love seeing you get excited over cars showing off SUPER weird behaviors but holy shit thats something that would make me leave the battery disconnected until its at the shop god knows what that electrical ghost would turn on.
At a guess, there was a big clue in the email. Maybe a red herring but cudtomer said a garage had cleaned the earth and it went away for a day. Could that be a coincidence ? Certainly acts like a bad earth, now I've had a guess can't wait to see the outcome.
Crazy case, Ivan! At a first glance it seems that there is a bad ground return somewhere, and main consumers modulate other modules / relays. Very curious to see how this goes :-)
Clicking fuel pump relay would account for the start stall. Now hanging on the notifications for part 2. Really cool yer...except for the owner lol 😒😒 !
Cadence is key here, Fuel pump surge?, damper diode on relays? Harmonics? Capacitors? Coils? can all create havoc, remember the engine noise thru the radio back in the day and resistor sparkplugs? Yep fun little puzzle you got here, Curious to see what "ripple" is on the line if any? and pump amp draw? Looking forward for the fix. I had a diode glitching out a Parker drive one time and that took me a day to find it. lol Have fun it Ivan, It's magic.lol
Definitely a weird one Ive! Could it be green crusties on a power/earth circuit somewhere? The rev-dependence is odd. Could that relate to varying alternator output thus supply voltage? Part 2 is gunna be interesting!
I had an older mazda rx7 that was going batty. Tracked it down to thr center instrument cluster that everything seemed to pass through that had a boat load of cold solder joints. Fixed, no parts required.
The anime great teacher onizuka made me always think of wanting a Cresta, "My Cresta!" Not really, I only buy used and not expensive/fancu, but any Toyota Sedan beyond a Corolla or Camry makes me remember the Cresta.
Nice one Ivan. I personally have the feeling that it must be a bad negative cable more like in the circuit of the fuel pump related also to the ECU circuits.
Ivan “this is the coolest thing ever “ customer NO, NO it isn’t 🤣
It’s always entertaining when it’s not your car that’s possessed
I would bet Ivan would buy this Car only because it is so cool and drive all day with the "Clikys"
I always laugh whenever Ivan or Eric O. says "Yes! It's broken!" When they are trying to diagnose an intermittent problem.
@@JDel709 And when they find it, "There's your problem, lady."
😂😂😂😂😂
The fact that the guy drove it three hours without putting his fist through that clicking annoyance is what amazes me the most....
Based on other Camry drivers, he must be blind. 😉
Doesn't it stop when the car is in "drive?"
The display says April 1. The car is just pranking you!😂
Plus April 1 was a Monday, not a Tuesday. That must be the problem.
It got a new job as a turn signal
@@lukerudolph1022 What year ? :-)
My thoughts exactly 😂
The display says Tue April 1. But April 1, 2024 was a Monday. The last time April 1 was a Tuesday was 2014. Very weird indeed.
Only a minute or two in, and i can say I have already seem something similar. There is probably a ground out that is re-routing power as a result through the 4 way flasher module, which is why it is flashing.
Interesting thought... The cadence is very similar to a turn signal! 🤔
I would start by turning as many electrical accessories on as possible and see if all systems are affected. For example if the running lights flicker, the blower motor speed fluctuates, or the ac compressor cuts on and off you know it's something that affects the whole car, not just certain systems. That can help save a lot of time when determining what to look for.
I paused the video at 13:01 and all I can say is this is very similar to an issue Eric O. had on a 2019 Tahoe/Yukon that had a bad ground on the frame that had been corroded by salt. Apparently, you are providing a ground by changing positions with the transmission switchgear, etc. Seems like Steven King wrote a book about a car like this, but it was a 1958 Plymouth. Just goes to show you all cars have issues, even the ones that have a "T" on the front. Ivan, you are just facinated with the fact this car is behaving badly. I don't think I have seen you this excited in a long time. GREAT VIDEO!
Not an uncommon problem... I've heard service bulletins to check the body ground on older Ford trucks because the transmission ends up being the ground, this in turn eats away bearings when you drive and you keep getting repeat transmission failure.
Christine?
But the only thing why isn’t it acting up when voltage is under 14v
Scotty wouldn't believe this if he didn't see it.
@@paulsz6194 You got it.
Every nightmarish symptom elicits a euphoric response from you. I love this channel and learning from your approach to life’s issues
Hey Ivan, we had a 2002 Aussie Ford in the workshop at one time.
The Instrument cluster would go nuts with things flashing on & off, the temp gauge with a mind of it's own, tacho bouncing etc, very similar to what you have there.
The problem only existed with the engine running, the car ran great with no apparent issues except a stall at idle sometimes.
The problem turned out to be inductive spikes from the ignition coil pack, we changed the coil pack & everything was perfect once again.
It did take some head scratching to work it out.
This may not be related but it reminded me of this problem Ford.
That was a similar deal as the story that I was telling you about a while back when I diagnosed & repaired my great uncles stepdaughters Australian built 1997 Ford EL Falcon Futura which was powered by Ford Australias "Thriftpower" 4 litre inline six cylinder engine.
It was intermittently doing exactly the same thing & the engine was stalling back in 2022,it eventually needed to be towed to where I can fix it which was at my dads house because every time she would place it into drive then the engine would stall out.
I found out the problem was under the steering column which was where the main ignition feed to the engines ECU & ignition system as well as the rest of the cars electrics was connected to a crappy aftermarket engine immobilizer which was actually what was causing that "clickety click" sound & flashing lights on the dash as well as a stalled out engine.
The first owner did a bit of a botched installation by running the main ignition switch feed directly through the immobilizer unit instead of a relay switched by the module which was 25 years old & the electrical connectors which were used in house wiring they used to join the wires.
I just cut the main yellow/red ignition wires then added an extension piece to extend the length of the wire then I soldered both ends together as how Ford originally wired it up at the Broadmeadows factory in Victoria.
So I totally bypassed the aftermarket engine immobilizer/car alarm then the car drove flawlessly, she has been driving the car for the last 2 years without any problems.
So in the Avalon,if there's no additional modules such as the engine immobilizer then it's likely going to be the ECU which is faulty,I know that in my 2002 model Holden VY SS Commodore I had a faulty ABS module cause the air conditioning system not to work or cut out as well as making the instrument cluster go haywire.
So it was messing around with the body control module,in the Holden Commodores that faulty ABS module was also known to cause other problems like causing the alternator to overcharge the battery, etc !
Ivan back in the 80s. Volvo had a similar problem with them Temp and Fuel gauges.
In Volvo's case it was a voltage stabiliser fitted onto the rear of the dash panel.
Replace it and it was cured.
Only saying.
I wondered if it was a voltage regulator too
I remember an aftermarket fuel pump relay that was incorrect causing a similar issue way back and replacing it with an OE relay fixed the issue
This is Ivan's "Top Best Thing" After Christmass!
Hi Ivan, love your work. My theory is this:
You have a voltage regulation problem of some sort at or after the alternator. The car doesn’t like anything over 12 volts, which is what should be regulated to the 12v components such as the dash. Seems like that relay is not getting regulated voltage of 12 volts between it and the alternator. Noticed no clicking happens when you have the car running just off 12 volts battery signal. This is the route I would take. Check the voltage regulator on the alternator, and then trace voltage from that point in between the wiring where it leads into that relay. It could be the alternator regulator is bad, the relay is bad, or some of the wiring in between is causing the voltage not to regulate down to 12 volts so the system is happy like it’s supposed to.
I've seen something like this before. It turned out to be a poor ground between engine and frame. It was grounding through the drivetrain.
IVAN,
YOU ARE THE MOST OBSERVANT DIAGNOSTICS TECHNICIAN I EVER SEEN IN THE BUSINESS. I LOVE THE WAY YOU ACCUMALTE YOUR FACTS AND PUT THEM
IN AN APPROCH BASED ON FACTS AND WIRINGS DIAGRAMS. YOU MUST HAVE AN EXTRA SENSES; GOOD FOR YOU.
THATS WHY THEY CONTACT YOU AND SEEK YOUR HELP.
YOU ARE AMAZING WITH YOUR ENGINEERING BACKROUND AND DESIGN. THAK YOU IVAN.
Check the panel that the fuel pump plugs into. He stated the problem got worse when it rained. Plugged drain in the cowel may have water leaking into that area and its corroded.
This car reminds me of a GM vehicle that I had many years ago. All lights flashed when moving the gearshift lever and at various speeds. The only ground was through the gearshift cable and/or speedo cable. Good body ground, bad engine ground, replaced the bad negative battery cable, the shift cable and the Speedo cable as they were cooked from the current.
Guess it's time to pull a wiring diagram and see what's in common with that relay. I'm suspicious of the control side. Is it a power or ground issue that is in question or maybe a module. Can't wait for the next Video! Thanks for taking the time to post this one!
I think of all boring Toyotas specifically, that era of Avalon was really decent. I Think Toyota nailed the formula for the Avalon back then.
This a good one Ivan! I can’t wait for part 2!
I see the dash date is April 1st - April Fool's Day ! Nice one Ivan !
I've still got like 90 min left in this saga but I'm gonna attempt a 1st quarter prediction of a failing relay with that clicking
Very cool, i love the fact that you are excited by unusual problem cars. Eric and Bernie display a similar attitude. Its something i try to emulate when i am faced with a broken car, it puts you in the right frame of mind. Interestingly, looking at the diagrams, that looked to be the C/open relay you pulled. So the next logical step would be studying a wiring diagram to see whats connected to that relay. I am waiting impatiently for part 2. Thanks Ivan.
I bought a low mileage Corolla with an automatic transmission once that acted crazy. It turned out to be the speedometer. I pulled out the cluster and replaced only the speedometer with a junk yard replacement and it drove like a new car. Toyotas are a different breed.
Wow, you don't see that every day! What a great case for your channel.
That dashboard is like a bad Eastern European disco club!!!
Man this seems all too familiar with a 2010 Honda crv with a bad ignition coil striking the computer randomly. Problem only occurred while running with cel flicker and random stall and it drove perfect with no misfires before changing the coil. I was getting a pcm internal fault code and etc relay control code. PCM and throttle body was replaced and it ended up needing #4 ignition coil. At least I know now the car has good powers and grounds to the pcm and the complete etc relay control circuit! Your symptoms are a bit different because the relay going crazy for me was the etc relay (throttle body) Cool car Ivan!
Electronics can do very weird things when components interact...the symptoms on this Toyota were quite entertaining...flashing, buzzing, but drove so smoothly!!
Wow I can't wait for the final diagnosis on this one!
Great video!! And I really enjoy all the fantastic input from the fans on similar issues and the experts out there. Thank you all!!
Throttle body on Toyotas do this too. No codes. Clean throttle body and recheck.
It's clicking at a rate that matches, The Who, Tommy, Christmas. It's singing that background vocal Tommy Tommy Tommy Tommy...
Eric O did a similar video a couple years ago on a Chevy truck where the dashboard went ballistic. Solution: He installed a separate ground wire from engine block to chassis. My 04 Blazer did the same thing and the ground wire also fixed my run-away dashboard lights. Thanks Eric!
Wow that is a Very Strange Electrical Issue Ivan,
Looking Forward to part 2
I suspect a compromised main body ground. The thick ground cable from the engine block to the battery is likely fine since the engine cranks normally. The fuel pump and other items ground through the body of the car, and by removing loads, the bad ground may be able to pass just enough current to work. I figure the problem will be located at the body ground wire where it attaches to the negative battery terminal.
To the analytical mind, this is content GOLD! The problem is unique, the symptoms Many! Get after it, Ivan, and rock this car's ghost! 👻👻👻
My brain is yelling "BAD GROUNDS!" at me. This happens as much as "dirty air filter" and " blown Cap" happens when wathcing HVAC repair videos. I learned to check grounds when I was around 12 years old helping in an auto tranny shop. Im now 78.
It's possible the prior shop did repair the problem, but the 20 years old motor mounts allowed things to move enough to break it again.
I want to know where to place my bet on when Ivan looses his finger nail!
In the beginning of the video The reason the problem improved when you put it in Drive is the RPM's lowered and put out less voltage
Wiring diagram will be interesting to see what kind of power/ ground distribution this vehicle has, and what exactly powers up those relays. Can't say what my next step would be until I see a wiring diagram. Those older Toyotas can be very complex. Great job gathering evidence so far 👍. Looking forward to part 2.
Switch contacts under the steering column have given such a behavior when the contacts get dusty.
Fuel pump collar loose . It destroyed by proxy the relay . Often the wrong tube type on fuel pump is used
Have a 07 Buick Allure, did almost same thing, 2 yrs ago. Pulled the ECM (has a casing ground). Aluminum body was corroded. Wire brushed it and all dash/radio/keyless start issues vanished.
Wiring diagram and see what controls that relay, and if it shares a power, say off a maxi fuse, with anything else. Same thing with the gnd. Does it share a common gnd. I'd have to start there. I think the trans code and coolant temp if true, may be separate issues. Who knows!?
i remember a steven king roman,she drove herself just after midnite😂🎉christine
My money is on a ground issue somewhere, locate clean and test every ground wire then start the diagnostic process if problems aren’t resolved
Right idea but wrong approach. We have to DIAGNOSE the problem BEFORE touching anything 😉
I'm not gonna be able to sleep until I've seen part 2 Ivan. I'd love to work with you on this one. !
Detective Ivan on the job!
This one's a real cliff-hanger.
A non-mechanic here. I would: 1) unplug temp sending unit and see if anything changes. 2) See if can recreate problem by simply hooking up the alternator at idle and disconnecting it. If the problem comes on and goes off with that change then I would write down the reading of every data point the scanner reports in both conditions and see where they are different, if at all. Odd that with the alternator unhooked it still changes symptoms with rpm increase. It feels like the engine computer is giving some bad commands when the system voltage is increased. Don't know if it is bad data going to computer or the computer simply malfunctioning. Could be a short or ground. Also not ruling out the Park light not illuminating as being related. This is a fun mystery.
Ivan, With the battery charger, you probably should be doing two tests: 1st with the charger grounded to the battery as you already have done, but secondly, ground the charger to the Engine block instead, so as to load the block ground the same way the Alternator does when producing power and see if you get any different behavior.
My money is on a cracked solder joint, and you make a “No Parts Required” repair.
Also, I noticed an aftermarket radio……I like to quickly disconnect aftermarket accessories b4 diagnosing electrical gremlins. Just me.
Sounds like water intrusion into a connector. The big question "Which one"
Before we found OUR Gen2 Avalon in good shape, we had a 1994 VW Golf in which a normal-behaving electrical system happened about 1% of running time. Then came a 2000 Taurus that developed intermittent no-start due to corrosion on the mega-fuse combined with an internal circuit open in the fuel pump driver module. No problems in the now 22 year old Avalon, but then, its an XL, not the upscale XLS in this video, which has a load more electronic bells and whistles.
Just started watching @ 4:30. If it is anything like many older Hyundai's my bet would be the BCM.
Another clue, customer stated rain also effects this condition. Possible water intrusion, corroded connectors... Hmm, may have to consult with Scotty.
my brother once had an oldlate 60's dodge where the fuel gauge would only work if the headlights were off. when the lights were on the gauge would go to empty. there was a bad ground on the tank float.
You need to sample the old 1943 cartoon of airplane gremlins. Bugs Bunny Falling Hare.
The fact that it is different and worse when it is raining makes me think bad/corroded connections.
As a pastor, these are not the typical ghosts and demons I exorcise but the way the car acted in the beginning I assumed the transmission was putting stress on a wiring harness that was compromised or corroded in some way and improving the connection.
I believe we have seen a couple of hints' The car doesn't like wet/damp conditions. Based on it's condition it is likely kept in a garage in WV, so it is usually dry on first start. At Pine Hollow it was outside, on the grass and early morning so likely much more damp than normal. This may have contributed to the initial start/stall condition. The owner also reported symptoms in wet conditions. The data we have so far also implicates the fuel pump circuit. Could be power on the fuel pump circuit, but more likely a ground for the fuel pump circuit. The battery charger test seems to have ruled out alternator ripple, but checking for ripple with the Pico will completely rule out alternator problems.
I like trying to guess as the vid plays. At 13.26 I'm wondering if the flickering is linked to the seatbelt reminder 😂
This reminds me of what had happened to my 2001 LeSabre, I replaced the BCM and it solved the problem I didn't even have it programmed, I plugged it in and it worked, that was two or three years ago and it's been fine ever since, mine didn't click but the door chimes would sound, if I shut the aftermarket stereo off everything went back to normal, it was somehow related to the interface i figured because i put two small home stereo speakers on the back seat and wired them directly to the stereo bypassing the cars wiring harness and no more problems after, then i got the bcm and it fixed everything.
I have seen some alternators fail from grease getting on the brushes would show high voltage old school 90s.
Engine to body ground issue. When it rains the complaint is a dead give away. Have seen this many times.
It’s showing signs of a switch mode voltage regulator failure somewhere. AKA likely bad caps, cracked solder joints, main relay, green crusties, etc.
"No aftermarkets on this car" radio
This has the feeling of something stupid, like the Subaru with the wonky junk coils, as the revs raise its like it’s over voltaging and causing havoc
Cliff hanger till part 2😱
Adjust the regulator to 13.2155 volts call it good ! LMAO great video
"I fixed it, turn on this big switch here after you start the car... it adds 60 amps worth of electrical load through a space heater to bring voltage down."
I'm 3 minutes in and my guess is alternator/alternator wiring harness.
First thing I would do is pull a fuel pump relay off a parts car at my local auto salvage yard and see if the problem goes away when using the other relay. I had one go bad many years ago on a 1980s car and I knew what it was because I didn't hear the fuel pump hum when the ignition was in the ON position.
My next step would to be to watch part 2 to see what you do.
That fault is wild. Love it. Can't wait for part 2 :D
love seeing you get excited over cars showing off SUPER weird behaviors but holy shit thats something that would make me leave the battery disconnected until its at the shop god knows what that electrical ghost would turn on.
I still think it’s the alternator output. If it’s noisy AF, then it could explain the erratic electronic behavior and relay flutter.
2004 has TSB on trans selenoid, reprogramming ECU
At a guess, there was a big clue in the email.
Maybe a red herring but cudtomer said a garage had cleaned the earth and it went away for a day.
Could that be a coincidence ?
Certainly acts like a bad earth, now I've had a guess can't wait to see the outcome.
Crazy case, Ivan! At a first glance it seems that there is a bad ground return somewhere, and main consumers modulate other modules / relays. Very curious to see how this goes :-)
Clicking fuel pump relay would account for the start stall. Now hanging on the notifications for part 2. Really cool yer...except for the owner lol 😒😒 !
The money light is on .. the money sound is on.
Fuel pump /sender? Fuel gauge and low fuel light clues. Thats my impression.
Cadence is key here, Fuel pump surge?, damper diode on relays? Harmonics? Capacitors? Coils? can all create havoc, remember the engine noise thru the radio back in the day and resistor sparkplugs? Yep fun little puzzle you got here, Curious to see what "ripple" is on the line if any? and pump amp draw? Looking forward for the fix. I had a diode glitching out a Parker drive one time and that took me a day to find it. lol Have fun it Ivan, It's magic.lol
Definitely a weird one Ive! Could it be green crusties on a power/earth circuit somewhere? The rev-dependence is odd. Could that relate to varying alternator output thus supply voltage? Part 2 is gunna be interesting!
I would look next for crustiest in the BCM/ECM connectors.
Rumor has it, the Avalons were too nice. Toyota discontinued it because they figured it was cutting into their Lexus sales.
the original owner must have loved going to the club to hear some serious techno lol 😂
I had an older mazda rx7 that was going batty. Tracked it down to thr center instrument cluster that everything seemed to pass through that had a boat load of cold solder joints. Fixed, no parts required.
knight rider 2 with all the flashing lights so much for that Toyota reliability
The anime great teacher onizuka made me always think of wanting a Cresta, "My Cresta!" Not really, I only buy used and not expensive/fancu, but any Toyota Sedan beyond a Corolla or Camry makes me remember the Cresta.
It’s like Deja’vu all over again.
7 minutes in and now I'd want to scope the data lines.
Reminds me of the Keenwoods in the 90s!
If you decide to change the alternator only apply OEM Toyota alternator.(see the car care nut)
The radio is aftermarket, maybe also check that.
Check to see if that is an original relay.
Me: "Oh, I wonder which relay is clicking?". 28 minutes later...
Start with the basics and work your way up. The scope may show some glitches. Sometimes grounds will do strange things.
Nice one Ivan. I personally have the feeling that it must be a bad negative cable more like in the circuit of the fuel pump related also to the ECU circuits.
Well this car is right up your diagnostic alley.. first i would check for a weak relay that is in the dash..