Car in Limp mode... No CEL
 

OK, so out of nowhere yesterday my car went into limp mode (ABS and traction lights on all the time). I came home, disconnected battery, limp mode cleared. I used the car again today, Limp mode came back. I tried searching codes with Torque, no CEL codes.

The last modification I did to the car was rear fog light. While installing it, I noticed a cable that runs behind the bumper. I know I moved that cable a bit to install the kit as the fog light cable goes through a grommet that contained that bumper cable.

When I came home today with the car in Limp mode, I went ahead and tried moving that cable to see if it was loose or something. Plugs were connected and everything seemed normal. I then turned the car on, and the lights were gone without disconnecting the battery.

If I were a betting man, I'd say that cable is either security sensor for the Limited BRZ, or a cable for airbag system sensor to detect when you are in an accident.

Anyone has any idea? Am I correct in assumptions on the bumper cable? Would there be any reason for the cable to be able to put the car in Limp mode?

Any and all help is appreciated!

Sent from my HTC One XL using Tapatalk 2

Time to bust out the wiring diagram.

This?

my bet is on abs sensor wire got pulled ...somehow?

pull DTC while its a christmas tree?

Weird.... I had that same problem earlier today after i installed the rear fog also. I turned off the car when i saw it and then turned it back on and haven't seen it again since.

I pulled DTC and no codes :(

DING DING DING!!


Thank you so much. It is that one!! And now I'm sure it has to do with it, because the first time it went to limp mode, I have the key in the car but the yellow key light on the dash kept flashing, and even with the yellow dash key light flashing, the car turned on and drove, but in Limp mode.


@F n' A Automotive look at this thread. The Limited BRZ has a wire running down the gronmet that needs to be removed and for some reason apparently that cable is very sensitive!

Thanks for bringing it to our attention. Surely you don't mean to actually remove the wire from the car though lol. What exactly did you have to do with this wire? When we did the install on the Limited BRZ tester we had, we didn't have any problems, but we were sure to unplug the battery before the install, and I think that could have had something to do with it.

LMAO!! Yes, didn't mean to say remove the cable. I meant that cable runs through the grommet and that grommet is the one that needs to be removed to pass the kit cable up through the back of the bumper.

Last night I moved the cable a bit, to see if it changed anything and then turned the car on and the lights did not come on.

I don't know if I need to tape it good to insulate it, I don't know if I need to secure it good to the chassis...

Wait, so on your BRZ, there is a wire running through that grommet on the lower part of your trunk? On the Limited BRZ we did, there is no wire there at all. If you can, get a clear picture of the grommet and wire and post it on here. That will help us resolve this problem and prevent it from future installs by customers.

Remember, before installing our kits, you must unplug your battery for a solid 5 minutes just to be sure that there is no power retention at all that could keep the codes on when you reattach the battery.

Thanks.

Oh yes, I did unplug the battery. I will be able to take pics tomorrow. The BRZ you did was most probably a Premium, as the key antenna cable (which is the one that runs through the grommet) is only for the Limited BRZ Push Start.

(I had sent an email with all feedback for installation on Saturday when I did my install and mentioned this)

No, we did this on a Limited BRZ (I'm positive), it has Navi and push to start, it's a good buddy of mines BRZ. I guess I just didn't understand what you were saying in the email, because this BRZ doesn't have that wire. It's really weird.

Another thing, we sold like 10 other kits to BRZ's (granted, idk if they were limited or not) and none of them got back to me about this problem happening. I see that it also occurred with @johnb831, but he says his only happened once and now it went away. Is it going to appear again? I can't answer that, nor am I saying you guys did anything wrong. It's just really weird that the Limited BRZ we worked on did not have that extra wire for some reason.

In the meantime, try re-checking the connection of that wire to wherever it goes and also, try securing it a little better.

Hmmm, some clear pictures will help a lot.

Thanks.

I wish I could take pics but I'm at work and won't be home until 7 pm. In Orbital Ellipses Diagram, you see where H3 is located? Follow that H3 cable up and you will see the diagram has the grommet. That is the grommet I used. I re-read the supplied instructions and they do point to that Grommet there. I tried looking around and there was no other grommet in that area.

Just for the record, I am not mad, not blaming you guys or anything like that. I am super happy with the kit and would buy it again if I had to do it all over. I'm just trying to bring it to attention so that other people are aware of it and to try and single out why did the limp mode came on and how to avoid it :w00t:

Hahahha it's all good man! No blaming or anything going on from either end either lol. I read that diagram and see where it goes to and everything, it just sucks that the car we worked on didn't have it and theres no limited BRZ's that I can get in our shop to take a look. Pictures will help, but that still won't put the problem in front of me to work on it, to try and fix it, which sucks. So the best bet will be, take pics and when your free to work on it, call me (you should have my number), and we'll try to figure it out over the phone.

Thanks