Terrastar Electrical fault

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by bscar0, Oct 1, 2020.

  1. bscar0

    bscar0 Bobtail Member

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    2014 International Terrastar shuttle bus with the Maxxforce 7 and Allison 1000.

    the motor starts and runs great. the shifter is stuck in park but can bypass by disengaging the shift lock solenoid at the column shifter with my finger to get it in gear. the guages will not cycle on startup but the lights come on so the cluster getting power. abs light is on and brake pressure light is on. display reads electrical fault and there is a constant beeping noise that will not stop. also the rocker switches under the AC controls for the bus door, map light, interior lights, fan, rear ac, rear heat are not lighting up nor are they operational. checked the body control module at drivers kick panel and getting 12v to the supply and getting 12v to the pins at the connectors.

    Bad body control module? bad cluster? is there a way i can test the body control module and guage cluster to tell if its bad for sure? HELP!!!!!!
     
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  3. Heavyd

    Heavyd Road Train Member

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    At the red plug on the body control module, (J3), unplug it, and check for power when the key is on at A1 for accessory power and A16 for ignition power. J2 pin E is cab ground. J5, tan connector, E16 is chassis ground. Check those too.
     
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  4. bscar0

    bscar0 Bobtail Member

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    UPDATE: the BCM is good. read on another thread that the 100amp mega fuses under the hood can cause that issue, replaced both and one of them split in two when i loosened the first nut and now i finally have power to all of the rocker switches.

    ... still have the constant beeping, guages are not working but are lit up, brake pressure light, abs light, truck still stuck in park unless i bypass the shift lock solenoid.

    before i could hear a sort of mechanical sound the entire time my foot was on the brake before i start the truck. now i hear it the entire time the key is on the on position before starting the engine. almost sounds like a pump priming but pretty sure it has something to do with the brakes.
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2020
  5. Heavyd

    Heavyd Road Train Member

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    The pump noise you hear is the booster backup pump for the power brakes. It is normal to hear this noise key on engine off or key off and brake pedal applied. It is a safety back up when the engine is not running to provide power brakes. When the engine is running, does the tach show any engine rpm?
     
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  6. bscar0

    bscar0 Bobtail Member

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    is the booster backup pump supposed to run the entire time the key is in the on position or shut off at some point? none of the guages cycle or respond at all other than when i turn the key on the needles all move up about 1/8 of an inch then never move again. when i first bought the truck it was having all of the issues i stated at the begining of this thread and the first time i drove it the guages started working properly for about 10 minutes then went right back down and ive never seen them work since.
     
  7. Heavyd

    Heavyd Road Train Member

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    Yes, the booster pump will run continuously until the engine is started. I would say you have a datalink problem. Either a wire problem with the 1939 datalink or a module is corrupted.
     
  8. bscar0

    bscar0 Bobtail Member

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    datalink is new to me. do i need to start chasing down wires and modules looking for rubthrough? are the wires im looking for coming out of the 2 connectors on the cluster?
     
  9. Heavyd

    Heavyd Road Train Member

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    Yes. Datalink wiring is twisted pairs of yellow and green and run all over the truck and connect all the modules. Very hard to troubleshoot and pinpoint. Looking for rubbed spots is a good start. Check over the engine from the ECM to the firewall on both sides, down along to the transmission. Most problems are outside of the cab.
     
  10. Inderjit

    Inderjit Heavy Load Member

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    The first thing I would do is disconnect the batteries for a couple minutes and reconnect them.
    International uses a private J1939 data-link between the instruments and body controller and their switch modules and remote power modules. You really need to scan it as it could save you a lot of troubleshooting time.
    I recently replaced a body controller because the pin that powered the shift solenoid lock was dead.
     
  11. bscar0

    bscar0 Bobtail Member

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    finally found the issue! traced down the datalink wires with and ohm meter checking resistance and found that I had 0 resistance on the engine side of the 1702 connector coming out of the firewall so I knew it had to be between that connector and the ECM. after looking everywhere for the terminating resistor I found it directly under the master cylinder and had to get to it from under the truck. the terminating resistor was completely missing. I found another terminating resistor behind the HVAC controls in the dash when I took it apart so I used that resistor where the one was missing to see if my cluster would come back on and it did so I have a new resistor coming by mail and should have it Monday. thanks for all your help HeavyD and hopefully this thread will help someone else in the future.
     
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