Like George and Mike said, either could be a problem. The weak battery does cause problems even if the vehicle starts just fine. Jump starting a car and letting it run does not charge the battery. The alternator is used to maintain voltage in the system not recharge the battery. The battery in a car is used to start the car, it then runs off of the alternator. 

One other thing you can do is a wiggle test. Literally grab the wiring harnesses and wiggle them while watching for any other lights to come on or those to go off. That would indicate a bad wire with in the harness. A bad wire does not have to be broken either, could just be corroded even if the coating is intact. 

Many problems can be caused by something seemingly unrelated. I had my traction control off and stabilitrac off trigger at seemingly random times. I changed my steering angle sensor and alignment (whcih is the culprit the majority of the time) after about 2 months and several hundred dollars in parts it turned out that the fuel pump was weak. 

Also just to note that in todays cars there is no single computer. There are about a dozen of them in some cars. Engine control module, trans control module, fuel control module, body control module, etc., etc. They will also put these in places that do not seem logical. Ford puts the fuel control module on the frame rail near the rear bumper, exposed to the elements and if you live in a place the gets snow you can imagine what the salt on the roads do to them. 

When checking the fuses on cars or trucks do not just check the fuses that are said to go to the widget that is failing, check ALL the fuses. Like i said a seemingly unrelated component could very well be the culprit. Ford, again, some models the transmission with not shift with out a working compass. 

I would highly suggest that anyone who owns a car or truck and wants to do their own maintenance invest in a good code reader at a minimum. You do not need the Snap-on $3000 scanner with internet connection but also do not get that $20 Harbor freight one either. The one i have at home cost me about $150 but does a bit more than just read and clear codes. When i was still "tweesting wrainches" as my cousin would say, the very first things you do are check and recharge the battery if need, pull the codes, clear the codes and see what comes back. Just becuase there is no lights on does not mean there are no codes either. 

 

And Frosty's corollary,  Nothing solves electrical problems like a hammer.

Frosty The Lucky.

20 hours ago, George N. M. said:

Sounds to me, and I'm no mechanic or motorhead, to be something connected with the central electronics/computer.  The problems are in too many circuits.

You probably needed a new battery anyway.

G

It did need a new battery and I'm glad I replaced it. While delving into the manual, I found out the truck has a system called BMS Battery Management System. It's function is to monitor the battery and if it is getting weak it starts turning off systems that are not critical so the engine and transmission will still function and not strand you in the middle of nowhere.

It takes a minimum of 8 hours once a new battery is installed, for it to start restoring stuff it turned off and other systems need to be started by preforming weird actions. About the only thing I won't have to do is chant like a witch doctor.

One of the funniest is, I have to turn the hazard warning lights on and off rapidly three times. To reset the tire pressure monitor, starting with the left front tire let the air out until the horn blows once then move to the next tire and repeat, has to be in a certain order until all four tires blow the horn. Then air all of them up to the proper pressure in reverse order.

I didn't get to the power door locks or air conditioner instructions when Debi said it is going to the dealership service dept tomorrow morning. I said yes dear with a big grin. She is such a smart girl and one reason I married her 44 years ago.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

  I usually unplug/disconnect batteries on disfunctional electronics, and shout Ala Peanut Butter Sandwiches at them, then plug them back in after a few minutes.  Some times you have to get aggressive though.

Do you wave a magic frog feather want over them too?

Thanks for the morning laugh Scott.

Frosty The Lucky.

This morning bright and early I went to the Veterans Memorial in Westville to put take down all the flags that My VFW post had put out prior to the Fourth of July, when I got there I started retrieving the US flag’s first to keep them in a separate area then the Armed Forces flags, 

when I got to the armed forces flags I discovered that two had been stolen… the US Army and US Air Force flags were gone… I’m so angry this morning I can’t see straight…

we have a large memorial with steel pipe fence all the way around it and steel pipe sockets welded at angles to display all the flags, it takes some force to install and remove the flags from those sockets, 

the memorial stones were left untouched and our main flagpole is a big commercial one that has a locked door to access the lowering mechanism thankfully so nobody can ever mess with that, 

it’s just the perimeter flags that were in the sockets that are accessible

That really stinks Billy, too many people today don't think they have any investment in America so they don't have respect for those who make it safe to speak our minds and enjoy the freedom that makes America THE place to live. Unfortunately you can't make things fool proof, fools are too clever.

Be well Brother, some of us have a clue.

Frosty The Lucky.

Billy, you are not alone as far as being angry. Debi & I share your anger, her with some comment's that are not allowed to be posted.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

  There's some despicable folks out there.

I've run into some very odd justifications from folk who have been caught stealing.  It often boils down to something like, "Well, I wanted it and didn't have it and because I've had a hard life (abused, poor, etc.) I deserve it more.  So, it's OK to take it."  It's an odd sort of entitlement than can justify about anything.

Oh, and it is OK to take anything from someone who is "rich."  "Rich" being defined by someone who has a dollar more than you do.

Back when I was a prosecutor I saw a fair number of shop lifting cases.  Some were just that some one had a impulse and gave into temptation.  I was pretty understanding with those.  But some people saw shoplifting just as another form of shopping.  I had a lot less sense of humor with those.  And what really fired me up was when someone was using their kids as part of the scheme.  In those cases I invariably would not offer a plea deal and would ask and usually get jail time after a guilty plea or after a trial.

There are a lot of people who do not have an internal moral compass to tell them what is right and wrong.  It's all about them.

This is why we have to have laws, to provide consequences for people who don't know right from wrong or don't care about anyone but themselves.  Traffic laws are a good example.  Most folk would drive in a reasonable and prudent manner because they don't want to hurt themselves or anyone else.  But we have speed limits and stop signs, etc. because of the small percentage of people who should put the pedal to the metal and to hell with anyone else.  "Let those losers look out for themselves."

Sadly,

George

While I don't disagree with anything you said George I have a little different take on laws. I see them as rules to live by. Rule 1, if you want to live somewhere you have to communicate, speak the language. #2. you have to know where things are and how to get there, a map, whether in your head, on paper or on the ground. And so on. Humans are social creatures and the majority want to get along. To do so they need social guidelines, rules and laws. One being more serious and with consequences, beyond being socially exiled. 

The thing is, we learn the rules from others in a society and if there is a near complete social breakdown, even for a brief time it teaches a number of people to use their own rules or those of a smaller group.

Back to what George said. Birds of a feather flock together, law abiding folk hang with each other, the criminals hang together. A prosecutor is only going to see the bad guys professionally. Most attorneys almost never litigate a case before a judge let alone in front of a jury. 

Me on the other hand stopped associating with people with "flexible" ideas of ownership or legal. It "ALLOWS" me have a more positive opinion of most people. Unfortunately it gets me burned more often than I'd like. Not so much anymore, I've learned a couple tricks, I trust someone with things I can afford to lose or go bad so all my burns don't rise to the level of boo boo. I also get to see the expression on a persons face when they ask for a loan or the use of a thing and I respond with, "You never paid me back the last time or didn't return x." I really cherish it when they ask in the presence of others to apply peer pressure. I LOVE making idiot plans backfire. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty, your view of society and the need for laws reminds me on the beginning of Thomas Paine's Common Sense where he explains that laws are needed for a larger functioning society and limited government is a necessary evil.

 

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/147/147-h/147-h.htm

 

 

One of the more aptly titled things I had to read in jr. high school. The less governments do the more smoothly things run. Exceptions acknowledged.

Frosty The Lucky.

23 hours ago, Frosty said:

That really stinks Billy

Yes… yes it does… 

23 hours ago, Irondragon Forge ClayWorks said:

her with some comment's that are not allowed to be posted.

yeah I had quite a few choice words to say about it myself!

21 hours ago, George N. M. said:

Well, I wanted it and didn't have it and because I've had a hard life (abused, poor, etc.) I deserve it more

That’s what I don’t understand, it’s not like they stole anything conceivably useful, like seriously what possible gain could You get from two armed forces flags stolen from a memorial?

you can’t eat them, you can’t sell them, you can’t wear them, you can’t drive them, why would anyone take something like that?

They can’t even display them now because I’ve got the entire town up in arms over this, as well as people across the county, 

My guess is it was either some little hooligans who where board and thought it would be funny, or It was some spun out looser who just stole to steal… 

On the other hand there was a lot of people in town over the last few days, for the celebration, and then the fireworks show and then there was a car show and a cruise night, so there’s really no telling, a lot of people who aren’t actually from Westville were in and around the town so it may not have even been a local 

Billy, my guess is that they were stolen for decor, to hang on a wall or throw over a couch, similarly to why people steal traffic and road signs.

In my neighborhood there is a Bill Nye Road, named after a 19th century humorist (sort of an early Will Rogers) who lived in Laramie for awhile and published the local newspaper.  Because of the fame of Bill Nye the Science Guy the road signs occasionally go missing and our little road district has to replace them.  They've had to weld the nuts holding the signs to the posts to discourage thieves.

Or, it just could have been for no other reason than they could.  Simple vandalism, like throwing a rock through a window for the fun of hearing it break.

There are jerks everywhere.  Lots of flag poles in public places have secured halyards to prevent theft or vandalism.

G

TW, that angers me as well. 

As the legendary Merle Haggard once said  "walking on the fightin' side of me". 

Today I angered the apiary small gods and found their wrath to be swift and painful. I don't think I've ever been stung so much since the first time I robbed a hive without the benefit of a bee suit. My girls are making honey like nobody's business, especially for the first year of split hives; I may have to start using deeps as honey supers, but they're pissy as hell.

They got in my suit and I took three to the wrist, two or three per ankle, two on the back of my thigh, one in the lower back, and then a random assortment of stings through the bloody bee suit. And the ones that didn't sting tickled like crazy. That sounds real funny until you're trying to move a 90 lbs deep with maybe 20,000 plus bees in it and you almost drop it because several somethings tickled the back of your knees.

Hey everybody, Nobody's in Deep trouble. . . AGAIN!

Sorry, but I couldn't resist even though I'm grateful for having to learn a new word. 

Bummer about the stings, I'm not allergic like Deb but I started really swelling up so avoid them. Unlike Deb who goes into her STING ME dance if one flies past. Our local stinger bugs are yellow jackets, they used to be called meat bees but that's been a long time since I heard that. Normally they are insectivores but will eat any flesh. Flies only try to lay eggs in a carcass once if the meat bees are on it before they get eaten too. 

These yellow jackets seem to nest anywhere from large paper nests in trees to hollow logs, in the organic overburden and burrowed into banks. Happily they're not particularly aggressive unless provoked say by dropping a tree on the nest.

Frosty The Lucky.

Heard recently that bee stings can be helpful against lyme disease. Not like I'd think you have it but it cant be all that bad just in case as long as you arent life threateeningly allergic. 

No Lyme's disease here, we don't have ticks that aren't imported from outside. It'd be all over the news if there was a case. We don't have flees, snakes or lizards either. I miss lizards.

Our yellow jackets aren't bees, they're some kind of hornet and have a hornet's sting though it isn't as potent as most hornets and wasps. Bad enough to avoid though.

I'm always amazed when it turns out something generally bad turns out to be a miracle cure for something else. Now if somebody would just discover something besides feeding trout to do with mosquitoes!

On the subject of mosquito bites. If you have fireweed growing near you, dabbing the sap from the stalk on mosquito bites takes the itch and swelling away in seconds. It's a trick I learned from a no fooling Old Indian as in Alaskan Native but he called himself an Indian so I do to.

It doesn't work for no see ums, white socks or other insect bites I've had a chance to try it on. <Sigh> Thanks again my Elder friend.

Frosty The Lucky.

Fireweed burns though, doesn't it? Reminds me of using jewelweed on poison ivy. I've always been immune to poison oak/ivy/sumac, which means I used to find out I'd been exposed by giving it to everyone else. Makes you very popular. My grandmother used to put campho phenique on everything that itched us. Worked about as well as anything else.

I was a bit skeptical of the Lyme; most apitoxin therapies either give temporary relief from pain or work through the placebo effect and hokum but I went hunting and found some cool articles at the NIH. Nifty.

I'm normally not affected by the venom much as the season goes on, but I guess I got enough yesterday to overwhelm things. Not feeling sick or anything, but my right arm looks like a fat guy's from the hand to the elbow and I may have to put on cowboy boots to go out; my left ankle ain't bending much and I'm having trouble getting shoes on.

If you want, I'll message you on how to get rid of every yellowjacket and carnivorous nest in a few hundred yards of you. Works a treat and doesn't kill my bees.

Had to look up fireweed. I dont think I've seen that here in sw Pennsylvania. 

Apparently the young shoots are edible and comparable to asparagus. The flowers and leaves are also edible. Young leaves can be eaten like spinach and could also be used to make a tea. 

Always love learning something new. Thanks Frosty. 

Jewelweed is good to rub on if you get poison ivy, haven't tried it on mosquito or bug bites. We always had fun popping jewelweed seed pods as kids. Never knew it was good to combat poison ivy back then when it would have been very useful. 

"Burns" is a broad term but I'll try. If dried you can burn fireweed, it is not recognized as a fire hazard while growing even dead, it is not an irritant and in fact the sap is very soothing and takes the sting out of mosquito bites.

It was named "Fireweed" because it is the first plant to sprout after a fire or the ground is cleared. The name is a translation of the Native American from many different nations where fireweed grows.

I expect I have details wrong, I'm answering from memory but those are the essence.

Frosty The Lucky.

6 hours ago, Nobody Special said:

using jewelweed on poison ivy.

That is an old timey thing there. My granddad taught me that when i was but a wee lad. Jewelweed also grows in the same conditions as poison ivy, find one and you will find the other. 

I had to fix a window on the old house once, one in the attic. That involved getting up on a ladder. As i went to drive in the first nail i discovered, the hard way mind you, that yellow jackets had decided to make a nest at the roof peak. I got a good 10 or 12 hits before i could get down. 

Since i have not been in the shop a lot lately i have taken up mead making. I knew honey was a bit pricey but when you are buying 5# or 10# at a time, wow that stuff is expensive. 

Nobody, i have to ask, do you know of meadowfoam honey? I just heard of it recently and from what i understand it tastes like marsh mellows. We mostly have clover, wildflower, or apple blossom honey in these parts. Not a fan of clover honey, it has a bit of a bitter aftertaste to me. 

9 hours ago, Nobody Special said:

If you want, I'll message you on how to get rid of every yellowjacket and carnivorous nest in a few hundred yards of you. Works a treat and doesn't kill my bees.

I'd like to know the recipe for this miracle, I've sprayed a few yellow jacket nests around the house but still see a ton of them flying around the front lawn. And with a little one running around in the grass I don't need her getting stung by them just for running past.