phileas_fogg
10-24-2023, 06:31 PM
This past couple of weeks, I've had a problem where the push button on my 2015-era Digital Guard Dawg system has not had any effect.
Background: To start the car, I swipe the magnetic key, keep my foot off the brake, get a tone & the push button perimeter lights up, and the gauges swipe. I've activated the ACCESSORY circuit. Leaving my foot off the brake, I push the button again and the fuel pump runs for 5 seconds, and the Holley hand held turns on. I'm now in RUN. Press and hold the brake pedal, push the button, and the engine fires right. up. To shut down the car, I press and hold the brake pedal, push the button, and the engine shuts off.
First occurrence: Car starts normally, I go for a drive, and when done I pulled into the garage, pressed the brake & then the button, and the car continued to run. Held the brake and pushed the button several times before giving up & pulling the wire off the ignition coil (don't judge too harshly; I was spooked). After the really cool spark display & engine stopped, I swiped the digital key, get the expected tone, and the push button worked as it should (cycled from ACC to RUN to OFF with no brake pedal pressed), and I chalked this anomaly up to a single event upset.
Push button worked exactly as expected for a handful of drives.
A few days later, I get into the car for a drive, push the button and get the expected tone, but nothing happens. I disconnect the battery, then reconnect, and the car operates exactly as it should for another handful of drives.
Several days later, I start the car, drive to the gas station, stop, fill up, restart, and go for a drive. When I get home, I can't shut off the engine. This time I stalled the engine. But I can see from my Holley hand held unit, the ECU thinks the engine is still running. So I disconnect the battery and as expected the ECU shuts down. Reconnect the battery, and as I'm wiggling the connector onto the post, the fan comes on, but not the handheld (as if the "key" were in the ACCESSORY position). Disconnect the battery again. Reconnect, and this time the fan comes on & the hand held lights up (as if the "key" were in the RUN position). Disconnect and go into the house. The sequence of "key" modes is what I would get by pushing the DGD button with my foot off the brake.
Right now I'd say its a 50/50 chance of the push button working as it should on a drive.
My questions to the fellow Digital Guard Dawg owners is, "Has this happened to you? If so, what was the root cause?"
John
P.S. I've checked the easy-to-get-to simple stuff. The ground and brake light switch connections appear to be solid. My next step is to get under the dash & hope for a loose connection to one of the DGD boxes, but I'm betting there's no smoking gun. If I can't find anything obvious, I'm going to replace the DGD with a conventional ignition switch and drive for a few months to see if the problem goes away.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=191542&d=1698191533
Background: To start the car, I swipe the magnetic key, keep my foot off the brake, get a tone & the push button perimeter lights up, and the gauges swipe. I've activated the ACCESSORY circuit. Leaving my foot off the brake, I push the button again and the fuel pump runs for 5 seconds, and the Holley hand held turns on. I'm now in RUN. Press and hold the brake pedal, push the button, and the engine fires right. up. To shut down the car, I press and hold the brake pedal, push the button, and the engine shuts off.
First occurrence: Car starts normally, I go for a drive, and when done I pulled into the garage, pressed the brake & then the button, and the car continued to run. Held the brake and pushed the button several times before giving up & pulling the wire off the ignition coil (don't judge too harshly; I was spooked). After the really cool spark display & engine stopped, I swiped the digital key, get the expected tone, and the push button worked as it should (cycled from ACC to RUN to OFF with no brake pedal pressed), and I chalked this anomaly up to a single event upset.
Push button worked exactly as expected for a handful of drives.
A few days later, I get into the car for a drive, push the button and get the expected tone, but nothing happens. I disconnect the battery, then reconnect, and the car operates exactly as it should for another handful of drives.
Several days later, I start the car, drive to the gas station, stop, fill up, restart, and go for a drive. When I get home, I can't shut off the engine. This time I stalled the engine. But I can see from my Holley hand held unit, the ECU thinks the engine is still running. So I disconnect the battery and as expected the ECU shuts down. Reconnect the battery, and as I'm wiggling the connector onto the post, the fan comes on, but not the handheld (as if the "key" were in the ACCESSORY position). Disconnect the battery again. Reconnect, and this time the fan comes on & the hand held lights up (as if the "key" were in the RUN position). Disconnect and go into the house. The sequence of "key" modes is what I would get by pushing the DGD button with my foot off the brake.
Right now I'd say its a 50/50 chance of the push button working as it should on a drive.
My questions to the fellow Digital Guard Dawg owners is, "Has this happened to you? If so, what was the root cause?"
John
P.S. I've checked the easy-to-get-to simple stuff. The ground and brake light switch connections appear to be solid. My next step is to get under the dash & hope for a loose connection to one of the DGD boxes, but I'm betting there's no smoking gun. If I can't find anything obvious, I'm going to replace the DGD with a conventional ignition switch and drive for a few months to see if the problem goes away.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=191542&d=1698191533