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Repair connector under dash issues with pedal position sensor P2138

1.6K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  co88dy  
#1 ·
I am having issue with my pedal position sensor. Pedal seems to just stop working when driving lately. Sometimes it will cut in and out if I hold it down, but then it eventually fails with error P2138 (Pedal Sensor Switch D/E voltage correlation. Have replaced the pedal and the pigtail to the pedal sensor already, but neither resolved it.

I hooked up my scanner today on the side of the road when it broke again and Accelerator Pedal Position E does not meaningfully rise when the pedal is pressed (it does when the truck is working). A seems to be fine. While shaking some wires under the dash I found a large connector with a grey clip on it, and noticed that when I move it around I could get the sensor reading to come back correctly or break again.

In my searching I believe this is a C210 connector. I was planning to go through each wire and try to find which one is the culprit, but could not find a good wiring diagram to help pinpoint the correct wire in the connector. I believe I have it narrowed down to 1 of 3 wires though. Secondly I was wondering if it is possible to reseat a wire in this connector. I disconnected it, but could not figure out how to take it apart to see if I can check the actual terminations (is this reasonable/possible), or should I consider replacing the whole harness?

I also have some codes around P0193 (fuel rail pressure sensor), P06A6 (Sensor Reference Voltage A Circuit), and P0335 Crankshaft Position Sensor A.

I am thinking these are all related probably to 5V Vref, not sure the pedal is the issue for all of these or not yet, but wanted to start with it because I can duplicate the issue with it. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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#4 · (Edited)
The APP shares a VREF leg with the FRP and CKP sensors (which you also have codes for) and and several other sensors. The P06F6 code indicates a fault with that VREF circuit which is shared from within the PCM. If you look at the wiring diagram it could confuse you because the APP has dedicated circuits with no external splices in the harness. Just thought I would point that out in case diagnosis gets deep. You need to identify exactly which APP circuit is causing the problem though - it does not necessarily have to be the VREF circuit. An open circuit should not affect other sensors but a short to ground or another relevant circuit will. The last time I toiled with similar codes the root cause was the CKP sensor wire (which was not properly secured to the engine front cover) had rubbed through on the serpentine belt causing VREF to short to signal return. That one literally took down the other sensors causing a no-start concern...

The fact that you discovered the fault can be duplicated by moving connector C210 is a nice lucky break. I definitely recommend testing/monitoring the affected circuits using an ohm meter and focus your attention to the harness and that connector. Sometimes it comes down to pin fit - the female terminal inside the connector becomes loose causing intermittent continuity. This is usually caused by vibration when connectors and harnesses are not properly secured. If you determine this is the root cause the terminal pins can be replaced individually. You could also cut the affected circuit and bypass the connector with an overlay. (not my favorite way to repair bad connections but I have seen it done)

Use the wiring diagrams Kaakau620 provided you. Be sure to disconnect the batteries when measuring resistance.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the advise. I will get back after it again when I finish work today. Great idea on the overlay if I can find the specific wire to APP causing the fault I think I will just bypass the connected at least for troubleshooting.

As a side note when I move the C210 to a point I see the APP sensors outputting reliably the fault for APP clears, but the FRP, and CKP, VREF A, have not cleared since I started having issues.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the help on this. I thought bypassing C210 worked, but after driving about 10 miles and hitting a bump gas pedal died again. After this the pedal would never work at all. With My Scan tool I could see Accelerator position E was always now at 0. After spending the day shaking the harness from C1232B I was having no luck. I decided to cut the 3 APP2 wires (29, 63, and 66) one at a time at the PCM connector. I started with 66 APP2 VREF, after cutting I confirmed 5v coming from PCM. I ran an overlay all the way to the pedal. Everything started working again, and all FRP, CKP, and Circuit A voltage errors cleared, which has not happened since the issue first came up. I am guessing this wire was either shorted to ground or another circuit somewhere in the harness causing the code. I buttoned up the overlay nicely and and will just keep the overlay as the permanent fix.