I don’t think I mentioned that I replaced the truck’s two batteries a couple of months ago. The truck was not starting reliably and both batteries were over 10 years old. They didn’t owe me anything.
But the replacement batteries had less power than the old ones – 650 cold cranking amps rather than 850. I figured that the lower power rating would not be significant for a truck is never in cold weather and is rarely used. After I installed the new batteries I found that the cranking was somewhat more sluggish, but the truck started right up. Good enough.
But 2 days later it once again would not start. Wouldn’t even turn over. Worse, when I turned the ignition the dashboard went completely dark – total electrical failure. But I was able to get it started with a jump from the Toyota. I bought a new jumper cable and a trickle charger and was confident that if I left the truck on the charger it would start reliably.
Nope. Wouldn’t start again after being on the trickle charger, despite the device that monitors the health of the truck reporting that the batteries were fully charged. Hmmm… time for some investigation.
So after a month of trial-and-error I have pretty much figured it out. It appears that there are 3 problems:
- The starter relay. This part, located in the fuse box, is responsible for taking a low-voltage signal from the ignition switch and activating the high-voltage circuit to the starter. This part seemed to be working intermittently. When I switched it with an identical part on a different circuit the starting behavior became much more predictable. I got a new part (about $15) and fixed this particular problem.
- The ignition switch. It seems that it sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. But I have found that if I turn the switch and nothing happens, I just try again and it works. This should be fixed eventually but it is a relatively minor part of the problem.
- The leaky circuit. Even after identifying the other two problems it was obvious that something was draining the batteries when the truck was sitting idle. So I started pulling fuses and watching for a change in the rate the battery drained. I started with the few 30A fuses, then the 20A fuses. No change. There were a lot of 15A circuits so I pulled 5 of them. No change. Then another 5 (replacing the fuses after finding no change, of course). Still draining. Then another 5. Hmmm… no drain. So, one by one, I tested those 5 circuits. I finally identified the problem: the ECMRPV circuit. I don’t know exactly what that is, but it is one of the two ECM (electronic control module) circuits. The “brains” of the truck. So it appears that some brain surgery will be required. I doubt that I can do it myself, so another trip to the shop will probably be needed.
Frankly, I am not totally sure that the last two problems are not the same problem – the ECM. But I will need to fix the ECM problem and then see if there is still an ignition switch problem
*sigh* I am putting a lot of money into a vehicle that I rarely use. But as long as I have the RV I need the truck.
The $900 (mis)adventure
Marlene and I have booked a 25-night cruise from Tampa FL to Anchorage AK in Aprill 2025. This will be the most expensive cruise we have ever taken together – over $2,500 each. This is because it is on the Norwegian Jade rather than a Carnival ship where we both get major discounts. But we felt the expense was justified because it is still not expensive in absolute terms – just about $100 per day – and because the itinerary is amazing – 15 ports, including some in Columbia, Panama and Costa Rica as well as some good Mexican and Canadian ports and both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Had to do it.
Anyway, we need to get it all paid by December. We are going to make several payments. We agreed that we would each pay $900 in July. No problem, right? We had the money. I am responsible for the payments so Marlene gave me $900. I just had to pay via Visa then get the money into my checking account to pay the Visa bill.
So… how to get her money into my checking account in Massachusetts? There are no branches of my bank anywhere in Florida. But Zelle works everywhere, right?
Plan A: Use Zelle to transfer the money from Marlene’s bank to mine
That would have been simple but, unfortunately, Marlene’s bank doesn’t support Zelle.
Plan B: Use CashApp.
We both have CashApp and have transferred money between us before. She successfully transferred the money to my CashApp, I linked my CashApp to my checking account and tried to move the money. That was declined by my bank on Thursday. Why? No idea and I wouldn’t be able to ask the bank until Friday. I needed the money deposited by Monday. Couldn’t wait to try again.
Plan C: Buy a money order and remotely deposit it into my account
I purchased the money order at Walmart, no problem. But as I endorsed the back I saw a little notice: Not for Mobile Deposit. Huh? I tried to deposit it and, not surprisingly, the deposit was declined.
Plan D: Cash the money order, deposit the cash in Marlene’s checking account and have her write a check
You are probably thinking “why didn’t she just write a check to start?” Indeed, that would have been the best plan, except that it seemed so old school. Why deal with a check when cash transfer was instantaneous? Obviously, cash transfers are not always instantaneous.
Anyway, the flaw in Plan D was that Walmart, where I had purchased the money order just 90 minutes before, was unable to cash the money order. Why? They couldn’t say. Just that the third-party check cashing service had some problem with my ID or the money order. Calling Walmart headquarters did not help. The best they could offer was a refund in 10 days.
Plan E: Cash the money order at a Western Union office
It is a Western Union money order so they should be able to cash it, right? If anyone had my $900 at this point it was Western Union. But this, too, failed, due to the prior attempt to cash it at Walmart. I would have to wait 48 hours to try again. Oh, by the way, the fee for cashing the money order – to get back my $900 that they had held for just a couple of hours – would be $55. Unbelievable. The fee for cashing it at Walmart was just $4. Highway robbery. No thanks, Western Union.
So 5 plans, 5 failures. I gave up and sold some stock. I am hoping that money gets into my checking account by Monday. If not, I will have to pay less than my total Visa bill and will incur at least $30 in interest. But I still have hope that the money will be there by Monday.
That is Plan F. I won’t know until Monday if it succeeds.
I will wait 10 days to get the refund on the money order. Then I will deposit it in Marlene’s checking account, she will transfer it to my CashApp and then move it to my checking account. I believe I fixed the CashApp problem. It was due to CashApp having *2* ways to link to a checking account: (1) routing number and account number and (2) debit card number. It seems to default to debit card number – and doesn’t offer the option to use the routing/account number. My debit card number was an old card that had expired months ago. I was not even aware that it was linked to my CashApp. Anyway, I have corrected that.
But that begs the question: why, when processing a withdrawal request, does CashApp solicit a routing/account number and then not use it?
Frustrating.
UPDATE: The stock was sold on Thursday but the money did not appear in my checking account until early Tuesday, about 6 hours too late to avoid interest charges on my Visa. So Plan F, like all the other plans, was a failure.