Welcome to SCoA. With a little more backstory on your 451 like model year, miles and age of 12 volt battery I’m sure we can give you some direction…

 

Thank you. I added that information to the original post just now. I appreciate any help.

 

Almost all batteries that I've ever seen have a date code on them. If you've got an OE battery in there, then if you look closely at the top of the negative terminal, you will see the year and week of the battery.

Len

 

I found the battery date 10/2020 and added that information to the original post above. Thank you!

 

Get it load tested to be safe.(been there before)

also if you don’t mind lifting the seat(it’s under the drivers seat) you can check the ground there for the tcm) I think the relay is in the Sam unit(I’d have to check to be sure)

My blue 08 did like this a few times and I thought it was due to the battery so I replaced it but unfortunately it didn’t help and I had to replace the actuator not long after(I’m thinking it was getting dry of lube)
It would stick like yours is doing and replacing the actuator fixed it.
I got mine on Amazon for around 100 bucks.
It’s not hard to replace just disconnect the battery before you do it else it will take a bit of time to relearn the clutch bite(takes a couple drive cycles but it shifts smooth)

 

Hey The Big E - That's some good feedback. I think I will get the battery load tested. The ground under the seat LOOKED okay the other day but I didn't do a wiggle test. I guess I'll take another look.

• Is there any thing I should watch out for when disconnecting or reconnecting the car battery?
• are the aftermarket clutch actuators good? they're a lot less expensive...

 

Trust me it would be worth it.
I say that as my silver smart started to do some weird stuff(like my passenger low beam flickering during gear changes) and making the high beam shutters(I did a retrofit of bi led projectors in it) also act up(this I could hear the relay) with nothing being done.(actually caught this on video once) last time I drove it(trust me it’s not fun driving in rain and having your headlights act up)
So I load tested the battery and sure enough it was weak.
Any time a electrical issue crops up always check the battery as the Sam unit in these cars is very particular about it (the Sam unit is the fuse box you see under the dash and it is where the relay the tcm code is referring to is at)

the tcm ground should be ok as long as it’s bolt is properly tightened and the contact area is clean with no corrosion.

mine looks the same as the oem one I took off and functions the same aside from being a bit quicker(I can tell in the shifts) time will tell how well it holds up though(hopefully it does as I don’t feel like doing it again soon at least till I fully recover as I was in major pain when I put it on the car but needed it done as I had lost one car (due me wrecking it)and didn’t need to be down another due to that)
I’d have to look on Amazon to see if they have a warranty on it or not(I think it was a two year warranty if it did)

 

Hey the Big E, Thanks again. Is there any particulars or anything unusual to the procedure for
removing and installing the battery? This 2014 is actually the most electronics dependent car I've driven, so I'm just trying to be thorough that I don't accidentally botch something. Paul

 

No not really just make sure you put a cap over the negative post while working with the positive cable and make sure when you install the new one that the terminals are tight.

 

I got the battery load tested. Its fine. Currently, not throwing codes and working properly. But I have no doubt that the clutch actuator will act up again before long.

 

You best order one before it gets you out and gets you stranded.
Mine did it twice (thankfully both times I was able to get in a turn lane and out of traffic)
First time it corrected itself but the second time I had to get help from a nice couple who pushed the car off the road and into a parking lot for me(this had been after my wreck so I was in no shape to push the car myself)
It’s not hard to replace it either.(I did it even with the pain I was in from my wreck)

 

The problem will almost certainly return. But is the problem with the clutch actuator itself or the electrical signal that triggers the actuator? It'd be a shame to swap out a part that was in good working order, only to have the problem continue. I wonder if the next step might be to remove the actuator, inspect, clean, and grease. Thanks for your thoughts on my car's problem.

 

Checking Xentry, the voltage at the TCM needs to be from 12-14 volts. If it is, Xentry runs a test to toggle the N10//10K9 automatic transmission relay which should click.

As others have stated, battery and connections should be checked. It might be a good idea to pull the driver’s seat out and clean the TCM connectors and grounds. Before pulling the seat, pull the battery negative and don’t reconnect without the seat connectors reconnected. If the power is applied with seat disconnected, an error will be generated that will need to be reset with a high performance scan tool or MB Star diagnostic.

 

Vadsoom-
1. thanks for the advice on cleaning the connectors under the seat. What's a good product for cleaning electrical connectors?
2. is there a way to check the voltage the TCM without Xentry?
3. is Xentry available to the public?

 

Power to the TCM is on pins 1 and 3. Red/blue wires. Grounds are brown wires on pins 2 and 4. You could hook up a meter, reconnect the seat wires and put the negative battery terminal back on.

I like DeOxIt D5 contact cleaner/deoxidizer.

Xentry isn’t generally available, but you can buy aftermarket Star diagnostic tools that have it. It’s PC based software and won’t communicate without a multiplexer. Unfortunate it’s not inexpensive.

Power to the TCM is fed from a relay in the SAM on connector C4, pin 2. The coil’s ground path is completed from the TCM back to the SAM on a blue wire from the TCM connector 17 back to the SAM connector C2 pin 7.

 

"Power to the TCM is on pins 1 and 3. Red/blue wires." So I need to measure 12-14 volts on Pin 1 and then 12-14 volts on pin 3 also? ... And if that voltage WERE low... then which component or components would we suspect were not working correctly? ... And if the voltage WAS correct, which components might we suspect? Thank you.

 

"Power to the TCM is on pins 1 and 3. Red/blue wires." So I need to measure 12-14 volts on Pin 1 and then 12-14 volts on pin 3 also? ... And if that voltage WERE low... then which component or components would we suspect were not working correctly? ... And if the voltage WAS correct, which components might we suspect? Thank you.

Power is on both pins 1 and 3. MB doubled them up, probably to handle a higher current across 2 wires. The fuse is 40 amps so it airs sense to use two 12 gauge wires instead of one 8 gauge for THHN. You should see the same voltage on both wires referenced to ground.

The ground point for the TCM is just a few inches away on a stud with a 10mm nut. You should see both brown wires going to the same ground point.

 

Okay cool, I understand all that and it makes sense.
1. If I don't see 12-14 volts there then what's the next step?
2. If I do see 12-14 volts there then whats the next step?

 

If there isn’t the proper voltage then the Sam unit has to be checked for bad connections or will have to have a relay in it replaced.
If there is voltage then it’s either tcm or the actuator.(trust me the tcm is best gotten used as they aren’t cheap new just make sure you get the same part number)
Still wouldn’t hurt to check the wiring to be safe.

 

If you have the correct voltages, I would think that rules the battery, fuses and the relay in the SAM.

I would think the next test would be to clean the connections on the TCM, Shift actuator, and shift motor. There’s no guarantee that you still might have a hardware failure.

Are there any other fault codes?

 

Okay, that's great. Easy to understand. Sound logic.
My codes :
1. P0886 TCM Power Relay Control Circuit Low
2. N15/6 (P0886) Relay N10/10K9 (automate manual transmission relay) does not switch
3. There was one more code that I can't find right now unfortunately. It was something to the effect of a "clutch protection" code.

But I never have gotten a "clutch actuator not functioning correctly" code. From what you see would you think the problem is on the electrical side more than you'd think it was on the mechanical side (clutch actuator)?

Unfortunately, the car has been working perfectly for the past two days so my ability to troubleshoot has been temporarily halted. I don't see any point in taking out the seat and measuring voltages until I'm seeing codes again. Hopefully that will be soon. You know what I mean.

 

Yes, the P0886 indicates the power supply to the TCM has a short circuit to ground. The fault is generated if the contacts in the relay don’t relay close when the ignition is turned on. The TCM generates the code and sends it to the SAM through CANBUS.

When you turn the ignition on, you should hear a click in the relay A10/10k9 relay (in the SAM). The TCM turns it on through the blue wire on out of the TCM from a signal output on terminal 27.

If I were troubleshooting, I would see if that line is connecting to ground when the ignition switch is turned to “on.”

If it doesn’t, it’s either fuse 30, a wire is open, or the TCU isn’t triggering properly. It could still be a wiring problem, but that’s where I would look first.

If it’s always grounded (doesn’t switch) there’s probably a problem in the TCU that’s preventing it from working and probably mean a replacement TCU is needed. If that’s the case, the replacement will need to be coded to match the VIN using a Star diagnostic tools

If the line is pulled low when the ignition is on, it would make lead me think the TCU is ok and the relay in the SAM could be faulty. I would want to check the whole circuit path by looking for the grounding of the blue wire on SAM, connector C2 pin 7. That verifies the circuit path is working and points to the relay.

Does this help?

 

This is the issue I’m having, I removed the SAM and today when checking, all looks good and clean, it could be the relay, but overall, the SAM looks in great condition.
I replaced the actuator and got the car to drive a mile maybe two, after that turned off and would not turn back on.
getting the three bars and not able to retract the gear system.
Either the relay is bad or a wire is bad.
Anyone near central TX that can assist??

 

"If I were troubleshooting, I would see if that line is connecting to ground when the ignition switch is turned to “on.”" Does that mean check for continuity btwn ground and terminal 27? Did i understand that correctly? If so -- i dont quite understand where terminal 27 is...i don't quite understand what terminals are in this context actually... but i haven't had a chance to really look at the wiring diagram.

 

No, it’ll take some fiddling.

First, make sure fuses 8, 12, 19, 24, and 30 are good. Don’t just look at them, do a continuity test. If they are all good…

Drop the SAM. It’s hinged and has a release to sewing it down and can be pushed up and off the hinge.

Find a positive battery connection that’s always on and Leave your meter’s red (positive) probe on that power connection. You can use the ground stud that’s on the firewall near where your left foot would be when you’re driving as the negative (black probe) meter connection. There’s a 10mm nut on the ground stud and a few brown wires tied to it. You should be reading around 12 volts on the meter.

Don’t disconnect anything from the SAM.

Next, Locate connector C2 (N11/2) (it’s an 8-conductor connector towards middle on the side that’s normally facing up and has a single row of flat pins). Pin 7 should have a blue wire. Connect your negative meter lead to this pin. With the ignition off, you should read 0 volts.

When the key is turned the the “on” position, you should hear a relay click and be reading about 12 volts. Try starting the car and shifting to see if the TCM is triggering the signal on the blue wire.

For clarification during the test, your meter’s red lead should be on a constant 12-volt source and the negative should be on the blue wire on connector C2 (N11/2) pin 7

If there is no switching (zero to 12 volts with the ignition on) and when shifting, it would lead me to believe the TCM is faulty, (it’s not a 100% certainty because I don’t know what the logic in the TCM does internally and I can’t know what other signals your car may be experiencing). All I can tell you is that with the ignition on and the TCM working, there should be switching on the blue wire.

If it’s switching properly, listen for the relay N10/10r9. You should hear it clicking (I know it’s tough to hear with all of the other sounds the car is making). I don’t have internal schematics for the TCM or SAM, but it should be possible to trace the circuit in the SAM and replace the relay of it is indeed faulty.

Alternatively, a Star diagnostic can check all this stuff without the fiddling of soil can find someone with access to one that can have a look.

Am I being descriptive enough?

 

Yeah, you really spelled it out VERY clearly there. Thank you! I'm going to go ahead and run through this stuff tomorrow on the car. The car is currently functioning correctly (no codes) so I wouldn't expect to learn much but it will at least get me ready for when things malfunction. If it was decided that the N19/10k9 relay needs to be replaced, is it possible to do so without disconnecting the entire SAM? If so it might be a cheap shortcut to just go ahead and replace the relay ahead of waiting for it to fail again. I do notice its INSIDE the SAM so maybe the whole thing has to come out?

 

Technically, the SAM has “no user serviceable” parts inside because everything is soldered in place, but someone skilled could probably swap a relay if they were careful. It would definitely need to come out for service. The ribbon cables are fragile and don’t deal with multiple flexing well.

 

ok understood. yes, I remember now that the relays are soldered in place.

 

Yeah that’s why I said in my previous post that they was internal to the Sam.
On mine there are only three relays that you can replace the rest are in the sam unit.
I have a spare Sam if you need pics quick but they should be easy to find online.
If it acts up again(which it likely will but hopefully not) let us know.
I don’t mind providing pics if you need them to help out.

 

Thanks Big E, I have some pics if the SAM and the relay positions i downloaded from another thread

 

Ah ok.
Hopefully you can figure out what’s causing the issue.
I’d put my money on the tcm if it acts up again.(yes you can get used ones just make sure you match the number on the old one with the new one.