I killed my whole bus!

[TeacherJoe]

Help! I moved the chassis batteries from one bay to another, and in doing so I made a spark by accident with the lead from my solar trickle charger. As a result I get the error code "no eng" with the key on, and "icu 140" when it cranks but doesn't start.

2005 Thomas FS 65, Cat C7.

Any input is appreciated.

Joe

[peteg59]

Can't help you unfortunately, but this is a prime example of how delicate the electronics actually are on those 04-up busses.

My buddy bypassed the radiator temp sensor on his 06 Chrysler mini van, and somehow roached the ECU in a micro second. A costly, $400 mistake.

Hopefully this is not where you are now. Best of luck to you in troubleshooting and repairing your bus...

[TheHubbardBus]

I don't really understand what you did in enough detail to have a guess as to what you might have fried, and even if I did I still probably wouldn't know enough about your bus to give solid advice. But if I were you, my first step would probably be to just check every fuse that might in any way be related to the engine, starting system, or ecu.

[Danjo]

Start checking fuses. Take a picture before you start for reference. Needle nose pliers help a lot.

[TeacherJoe]

Thanks. I hope it’s just a fuse.

Joe

[TheHubbardBus]

Originally Posted by Danjo

Needle nose pliers help a lot.

With blade-style automotive fuses, it's a lot faster & easier to use a multi-meter with a continuity / diode test function. No removal required, just touch the probes to the two exposed contacts on the back of the fuse and listen for the beep.

Of course the pliers are a great help if/when you need to replace one. If the OP's lucky, he will.

[Danjo]

[QUOTE=TheHubbardBus;336425]With blade-style automotive fuses, it's a lot faster & easier to use a multi-meter with a continuity / diode test function. No removal required, just touch the probes to the two exposed contacts on the back of the fuse and listen for the beep.[/QUOTE

Yes, true. And also you won’t misplace a fuse like um, someone on this forum

[TheHubbardBus]

Originally Posted by Danjo

Yes, true. And also you won’t misplace a fuse like um, someone on this forum

You may, however, test the wrong fuse and spend a couple wasted hours chasing a non-existent problem based on the result like... someone else on this forum

[Danjo]

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

You may, however, test the wrong fuse and spend a couple wasted hours chasing a non-existent problem based on the result like... someone else on this forum

Days. A couple wasted days :/

[TheHubbardBus]

Originally Posted by Danjo

Days. A couple wasted days :/

LOL. OK. You win this one.

[cadillackid]

no ENG on a friehgtliner means that the J1939 module for the engine didnt show up on the network when the cluster boosted up.. ICU140 is just the cluster displaying its own ID... the ECM likely isnt booting..



ive seen this on a friend's bus and it ended up being the ECM BAT fuse... make sure you didnt miss any wires when you move the batteries or place what was once a positive accessoriy wire onto a negative terminal ..


check your Chassis fuses.. some ofthe freightliners have multiple fuse panels.. one for the body stuff (bus heaters, lights, doors, etc) and another for the chassis fuses and circuit breakers.. thats where you will find your ECM fuses.. or may be called ECU...



its pretty tough to destroy a truck computer, they are pretty hearty beasts..



-Christopher

[TeacherJoe]

All fuses looked good except for one 25a which I swapped out. Still same error. I do see this relay that is not properly seated. I can’t get it to sit flush. Is that possibly a problem?

Joe

[Danjo]

Hi Joe,

I don’t own one of these buses. I’m only doing Internet research for you.

Have you checked all your cable connections? I see based on a couple posts that there’s a primary wire right off the battery just for the ECU.

Here’s a YouTube video of that

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xmcu8crPjQg

[TeacherJoe]

Originally Posted by Danjo

Hi Joe,

I don’t own one of these buses. I’m only doing Internet research for you.

Have you checked all your cable connections? I see based on a couple posts that there’s a primary wire right off the battery just for the ECU.

Here’s a YouTube video of that

Thanks Danjo. I checked the connections that were externally visible and they looked good. There is, however, a bundle of positive accessory wiring at the batteries. That’s my next move: open that up.

Joe

[HazMatt]

Phor phuque's sake! Photo document before touching a thing!!!

Originally Posted by TeacherJoe

Thanks Danjo. I checked the connections that were externally visible and they looked good. There is, however, a bundle of positive accessory wiring at the batteries. That’s my next move: open that up.

Joe

[TeacherJoe]

Originally Posted by HazMatt

Phor phuque's sake! Photo document before touching a thing!!!

Joe

[HazMatt]

Good lad.
+2

[BlackJohn]

Originally Posted by TeacherJoe

All fuses looked good except for one 25a which I swapped out. Still same error. I do see this relay that is not properly seated. I can’t get it to sit flush. Is that possibly a problem?

Joe

That does look problematic Joe. Try squeezing with channelocks. The coil won't be getting power to close the contacts of the relay so no current flow.
No idea what that relay does though but it isn't right like that.


John

[david.dgeorge07]

That’s not good! I hope you get it sorted without too much trouble. As others have said it sounds like the ECM either isn’t getting power or is fried.

Hopefully a bad fuse is the answer.

If not you may be able to pull the ECM and take it to a CAT shop for testing. I think it is kind of above the starter on the side of the engine block.

Personally I doubt this has anything to do with it being an ‘05.

[david.dgeorge07]

Are you sure you’ve checked all the fuses? Mine has a lot of places to find them...