My wife (yes I know) parked the truck in the garage the other night and for some reason left the key turned on in the ignition which I found the next morning because I heard a hum when I went into the garage which was coming from under the hood. Anyway, the batteries wouldn't turn the engine over so I put it on the charger for a bit.
1st question....what would be running with the key in the on position that would cause the batteries to drain and would it cause any damage?
2nd question.... the check engine light is now on. What would be the reason for this and how do I clear the light off or check a code without a reader?
I guess if I had a 3rd question, it would be why do I let her drive the truck.

 

if you cycle the key on and off 3 times to display the codes, what does the odometer say? im going to guess its the computers, dash module, guages, fan etc that sucked it dry, i have done it to mine and it didnt seem to mind too bad after i charged it,

 

Any auto parts store will read and clear the codes for free.

 

Oh, and by the way, if the wifey drives truck from now on please ask that she hand you the keys to that precious work of art that is the Cummins !!!!!!

 

with key in "run" position, all the modules are "awake" and when they are awake, they are draining the battery. I would imagine you have low voltage codes and some "U" codes. U codes are for communication, when power got below threshold, there started to be communication issues (setting a "U" code). charge up the batteries, go to local parts store and have them pull the codes. you should be fine but keep an eye on the batteries, they are not designed to be pulled down that far and survive very often.

 

Thanks for the info and suggestions. I don't know of any parts store around here that will pull or clear codes but I'll look around. As for the batteries, if they need replacing, the cost comes out of the old lady's entertainment budget.

 

Years back I discovered that money taken from my wifes budget usally wound up costing me a lot more.

 

Oh yeah, X2

 

yup. cause she will start complainin and you will pay whatever it takes to make her happy. lol

 

As my father used to say "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody going to be happy"!

 

I threw a charge into the batteries enough to start the engine up and during the course of the days driving, the check engine light went out. Life is good and the wife wins a reprieve.
By the way, why isn't my sig coming up on these posts?

 

Did you ask the wife?

 

Glad you have no lasting problems from the dead batteries...

Sig only shows on your first post to a Thread...