I got codes - 98 Sienna

OK folks, my check engine light came on and I would like to know what to do. 1998 Sienna, 190K miles. Overall reliable vehicle. This may be 2 separate issues that coincidentally occurred, or they may be related. Please help me sort this out, thanks. I plan to take this on a camping trip for a 2.5 hour drive Friday. Without it I cannot pull the trailer....

A short bit of history first. Son went to work and called saying that the car is dead there. There has been no indication of anything going wrong before that; this was a sudden event. It had no response to turning the key after sitting for maybe 2-3 hours. I arrived in the Jeep and jump started it. It was really dead - I had to let it sit there and suck juice from the Jeep for a while for it to turn fast enough (meaning do more than just clicking). Then it started up and seemed fine. I don't know why it went dead. I put it on a charger and it took a full charge according to the charger.

When Son drove it home from the park he says that the check engine light was now on at that point. Sienna seemed to drive OK coming home and for a next 12 mile round trip. Now I pulled the codes today and there are 2 of them as follows: First Code: PO155 Mod$10 O2 sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction Bank 2 sensor 1 Second code: PO155pd Mod$10 O2 sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction Bank 2 sensor 1 (same as first code but with that additional pd)

Then I pulled the "Freeze Data" (if this helps) Engine RPM 1508 Calc Load % 14.1 Coolant deg F 185 IATdeg F 95 LT FTRM1(%) 0.0 ST FTRM1(%) 5.5 LT FTRM2(%) 5.5 ST FTRM2(%) 3.1 Veh speed (mph) 45 Fuel sys 1: CLSD Fuel sys 2: CLSD

OK so here are my questions (If I should be posing other questions let me know):

1) What exactly do I need to do about this? 2) Is it easy enough for me (I am reasonably adept, but not a superstar)? 3) Can I go on the trip without doing it and what would be the consequences?

I have one afternoon to do it - tomorrow. Thanks for this help folks. Tomes

Reply to
Tomes
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1) If the battery is older than 5 years old, consider getting it replaced. Check the battery terminals to make sure the clamps are good and tight and free from corrosion. Check the electrolyte level in the battery. Are there any aftermarket items installed like remote starter, satellite radio, etc? I would deal with the battery before the trip. 2) The check engine light is probably not related to the dead battery, and a bad O2 sensor heater circuit will not leave you stranded if you do not deal with it before you go. Where are you going camping? I'll be up near Wild Rose, WI working on a climbing tower.

I am pretty sure that the "pd" on the second code has something to do with a pending code. Go to this web site:

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and under generation 4 Camry V6, look up the diagnostics section. It will take a long time to load, scroll down to the V6 engine and look up DTC P0155 to see how to check the O2 sensor with an ohm meter. Have a great weekend camping!

Reply to
Ray O

"Ray O" ...

Thanks Ray, much appreciated. I gotta get a pair of new front tires tomorrow so I will get the battery at the same time. I don't know how old it is, but it is likely old enough. Do they just up and go like that? It was not slowing up to that point. I did clean the terminals; the battery is 'sealed'; I do have aftermarket trailer power going to the battery, but that has not been an issue up to now. I was expecting to see some manner of alternator code, but it is not to be, so I guess that is OK.

So for 2), will I eventually need to replace something, like the O2 sensor? I am relieved that I ought to be OK for this weekend, that helps a lot. I just gotta keep the wife from seeing the light .

We are going to the Spring Gulch Folk Music Festival in eastern PA. We do that every year and it is a blast. We listen to the professionals play during the day until midnight and then play all night among ourselves. Performers: Patty Larkin, Richie Havens, Michael Braunfeld, Trout Fishing in America, Greg Greenway, Jan Krist and Jim Bizer, Girlyman, John Flynn, Juggernaut String Band, Kruno Spisic & The Gypsy Jazz Giants, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Nora Jean Bruso Blues Band, Slaid Cleaves, Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, The Holmes Brothers. Most of these I have never heard of, but that is one reason to go. I end up greatly expanding my musical horizons at these things, both in listening and in playing with folks. My personal faves on this list are Trout Fishing in America, Girlyman and Gandalf & the Slambovians. Great stuff. For me it is mostly a washtub bass weekend with perhaps a little bit of hammered dulcimer, but not much of that.

Thanks again, Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

One more thing here. My charger (Vector VEC088) has this 'alternator check' routine, where it measures a defined range of voltage that is available from the fully charged battery (done after charging it up). The engine is warmed and run for 20 minutes or so. Everything electrical possible is turned off and tested, and then all appliances are turned on for another check. The low load tested out OK. The high load resulted in 'fault'. Hmmm. I tried each 3 times with these results. Is this a good test of the alternator and does this indicate that I need a new one too? Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

In my experience, batteries will tend to go bad suddenly if the owner has something important coming up.

If the owner has a free weekend, the battery will be fine. ;-)

I always recommend that you check the sensor before replacing it, but most likely, the sensor heater (which is part of the O2 sensor) is bad. Bank 1 is the cylinder bank that contains cylinder #1. You must have been born under a lucky star, because I believe that Bank 2 is the cylinder bank facing the front of the van, and not the one facing the firewall. Bank 2 is a LOT easier to reach than Bank 1, and most of the time, the one that is harder to reach is the one that fails.

Sounds like a great time! Have a great trip and enjoy the tunes!

Reply to
Ray O

"Jeff Strickland" ...

Thanks Jeff, this is clear. I do appreciate this. I can explain the light to the wife with confidence if she sees it. Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

"Ray O" ...

Yep, I found a picture of it and it is indeed the easy one to get at.

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's right up there in front (says the guy who found it easy enough to change the rear spark plugs...).Lucky Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

Whenever the "check engine" light is illuminated it simply indicates the vehicles engine micro processor is operating beyond it's design parameters and thus is polluting. The "check engine" light has nothing to do the electrical system, fluids or their levels. Your problem could be as simple as corroded battery connections, not allowing it to recharge Take the vehicle to a competent technician to have the fault analyzed and corrected, WBMA

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

Actually, vehicles are always polluting when they are running. It is just that when the check engine light is on, they are likely to be polluting more than usual.

Jeff

Reply to
Robert Watson

I've never heard of the O2 sensor's purpose described this way, and while someone who is very familiar with the workings of the O2 sensor and the emissions feedback system might find fault with it, the analogy is very clear to me. Good job!

Reply to
Ray O

I don't know how your charger load tests the alternator so I can't really say whether the test is a good one or not. The normal procedure to test an alternator is to install an ammeter and place a very high resistance load on the alternator while reading how many amps the alternator produces to see if it is within the alternator's rating, and then full-fielding the alternator to see if it does the same thing. Unless you somehow programmed the charger with the alternator's output rating, it wouldn't know if it is good or not.

If you have a new battery installed, I would have the shop that installs the battery check the alternator and charging system out for you.

Reply to
Ray O

Batteries can go open cell and die like "Boom!" Now. No warning.

What exactly is this 'Trailer Power' battery hookup for?

If it's a charge line for a trailer mounted deep-cycle battery, you want a normally-open continuous duty solenoid (relay) under the hood on that charge line energized from the "Ignition" position, so it's only energized with the engine running and the alternator... alternating. ;-) And an inline circuit breaker.

You have to get the right solenoid from an RV Supply or ordered from a parts house - they look just like a fender-mount Ford starter solenoid, but it needs to be continuous duty rated. A starter solenoid isn't and it will overheat and die fast. A Bosch Cube Relay will work for a while, but they're rated at 20A or 30A and you're pushing the limits, where the solenoids are rated 70A to 100A.

You do NOT want to run the lights in the trailer overnight off a regular battery in the car, ever - that's "Deep Cycle" battery duty, and you'll kill a regular car starting battery real fast doing that.

6 to 18 deep cycles, and a starting battery is toast. And leaving the headlights on all nights counts against that lifetime score, too.

There is no "Alternator Code" set by the ECU, and it doesn't turn on the CEL. The signature "Alternator Code" on a Toyota is when the Charge, Brake and Temp lights all blink on and off at once. ;-)

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Thanks Ray. I will be putting in the battery myself (I get the tires/battery at BJs and while they put on the tires, that's about it). The manual for the charger does stress that it might not be for all cars, likely for the reasons you espouse. While I suspect that the charger alternator test routine does something like what you say, I really have no idea. For this weekend it will be day driving so I will run with minimal appliances on just in case. Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

Yep, I liked this too. Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

Thanks Bruce. The trailer power is to recharge the trailer battery while driving and it does that fine. I don't know if it has that solenoid, I will need to look at that. I also agree not to run stuff while the trailer is attached, and thanks for that too. It is not attached anyway at that point.

I have not seen the signature "Alternator Code" when the Charge, Brake and Temp lights all blink on and off at once, so I could be OK... Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

Jeff,

While your answers tend to be more relevant for BMW's than Toyotas, in my book, you get an A+ for effort and a B+ for content when trying to help people with their questions. Keep 'em coming!

Reply to
Ray O

"Tomes" ...

Well, we did the trip this weekend and all was fine. When I changed out the battery I let it sit for an hour 'unplugged' and the codes cleared, then the same ones came back. PO155 O2 sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction (and the pd one) I suppose I will just keep checking the codes once in a while (weekly? it is easy enough...) and see how this plays out. Thanks for the help folks, Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

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