Pass power sliding door not working - hanging black cable, and parasitic battery draw

curls · Nov 23, 2016

Hi folks,

My wife's 2007 Odyssey EX has an issue that has caused a dead battery in the past two days. 5 days ago, she sent me a message letting me know the passenger side sliding door wouldn't open with the interior switch or exterior handle. She then turned off the Power Doors switch on the dash, and was able to open the door manually. However, upon closing it, she A: noticed a black cable was very loose (which I've determined is the cable which pulls the door forward to close it), and B: The "door open" alarm beeps would occur even in manual mode when the door appeared "closed".

So yesterday in the freezing cold and dark, I inspected it briefly, and have determined that indeed the cable that runs in front of the C-pillar and loops back towards the back of the door, is loose. On the "good" door, this cable stays taught - I'm guessing it gets pulled through the motor by the other cable? So, am I looking at a broken/burnt sliding door motor? Or a broken/disconnected 'other' cable?

What about the battery drain - would a door that's closed but maybe the power door motor is drawing current, kill the battery? It was 3 days since she last drove the van and the battery was totally dead.

Also on that note, I had a small 6A charger on the battery last night, under the hood with the hood partially open (safety latch still secured). Battery was charging fine, and then at 1:30am and again at 3:00am, the alarm started going off!!!!! No doors were open, and she swears she unlocked the van after the first time to ensure it wouldn't be armed and trip again (which it did - I'm sure our neighbours love us today). (Factory Honda anti-theft, nothing aftermarket). Is this related?

Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
Eric

John Clark · Nov 23, 2016

Many threads and posts here about this very problem. The dead door and battery drain is caused by a failed switch in the rear door latch assembly that latches and pulls the door in to fully close it. Either the switch is bad or the mechanical latching mechanism is hanging up and not activating the switch properly. You'll need to remove the rear door latch and either clean, lube, and check it or replace it.

There are four different switches in the rear door latch. The full latch switch, half latch switch, ratchet switch, and base position switch. If I had to venture a guess I'd say the base position switch is most likely the problem.

Alarm going off for no reason can happen when the battery gets low. Your battery may not be holding a charge very well anymore.

The cable being loose might be a separate problem or it might be just from manually opening and closing it.

curls · Nov 23, 2016

I think it is a mechanical problem, John. The 'good' door retracts the cable even in manual mode, whereas the 'bad' door appears to have the cable seized/stuck somewhere inside the van between C-pillar and the motor itself. It's definitely not normal and is also getting caught on the various latches, etc... whereas it should stay in the metal track about mid-high on the door.

The alarm may be related if it's a flaky switch/sensor. As it was connected to a charger at 6A, I was able to operate the power door, radio, etc... as it was getting power right from the charger. For it to happen 5-6 hours later is very odd. The battery is only 2 years old and recently had the terminals cleaned - shouldn't be the issue.

Lastly, the door was only ever opened/closed manually maybe once a year, and only a half-dozen times this week as a result of this issue.

John Clark · Nov 23, 2016

Well, then you may have two problems with the door. I can guarantee that if you have a battery drain of around .3 or .4 amps on the sliding door fuse then it's surely a problem in the rear door latch switches. Even if the motor is failed, the rear latches should be in the proper location and will not cause a battery drain. The battery drain is a VERY common failure mode caused by the switches in the rear latch.

Also, just because a battery is only 2 years old doesn't mean it's good. I'd have it load checked to be sure.

curls · Nov 23, 2016

I'll check battery draw tonight after work. Pulling the #7 fuse and seeing the draw greatly reduced is the way to isolate this, correct?

John Clark · Nov 23, 2016

Yes. Also, it's possible you may even have a B-CAN DTC stored in the computer for it. You could jump the MCIC socket (the 07
WAZ-001010A is just a jumper) and see if you get any codes on the gauge display. See below:

cybersaga · Nov 23, 2016

If you have one, a 6mm combination wrench works well to jumper those pins to read the codes. You just stick it in that socket under the pins and it'll stay there, connecting the two pins.

About the cable: if it's hanging any more than an inch below where it should be, then it's probably snapped somewhere. I have replaced that cable without replacing the whole motor assembly. It's not easy work, but it's doable for a whole lot cheaper than replacing the whole motor assembly. I wrote up the instructions here: http://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-20...orums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/257625-automatic-sliding-door-cable-replacement.html

I also recorded a video about it recently because someone broke my door again and I had to go back in there. I just still have to edit the video. But it's coming soon.

John Clark · Nov 23, 2016

Yeah, there's a good chance it's broken. However, a broken cable won't cause battery drain. I've read about people cutting the cables because they were tired of the power doors causing problems like battery drain. Unfortunately, turning off the switch and cutting the cables doesn't fix the battery drain problem either.

Most likely the reason the cable snapped is that the rear center roller bearings are shot. Those should be replaced. Here's a good video on center roller replacement:

And here's a good video on slide motor repair:

cybersaga · Nov 23, 2016

Oh yeah, I agree. There are (at least) two separate problems.

curls · Nov 23, 2016

OK, so I got to electrical testing just now. I get an immediate 1 amp draw for 5 seconds, then it drops to 0.5 amp for another 5 seconds, and then finally it settles at 0.03 amps. I think that's very very small. (ammeter set to 10ADC, read between negative battery terminal and ground wire).
I then did the same test with the power door fuse pulled on the passenger side. The results were identical.

With the cable situation, it's definitely broken. I couldn't see if last night in the dark but today I noticed a few feet of it hanging near the back of the door.

Lastly, the door will no longer open. After opening and closing it a few times to check battery draw, it's stuck shut, seemingly at the rear latch. Ugh. How can I get this open?

I wouldn't care if the door was manual only, but now I'm in a jam as it won't even open due to an electronic latch (??).

John Clark · Nov 23, 2016

Well, then the battery drain is either being caused by something else (AC clutch is also very common) or the switch(es) is/are intermittently working as they should. If the cable is broken the power door probably isn't going to work in any direction, regardless of the switches in the rear door latch.

As for it being stuck, did you try removing that fuse again? You might also try disconnecting the battery and see if anything will reset. A lot of things have to happen for the doors to work. When you neglect it and let multiple problems pile on it can get more difficult.

curls · Nov 23, 2016

The AC clutch relay was changed a few months ago.
Is 0.03 amps a normal draw?
I'm leaving towards a sketchy sensor as well. Ignoring the power feature, I in theory should be able to fix the door by disabling power to the motor that opens and closes the door, and fixing the sensor that may be causing battery drain, right?
What does the dash switch disable - just the open /close motor?

cybersaga · Nov 23, 2016

curls said:
What does the dash switch disable - just the open /close motor?

Basically. It also disengages a clutch inside the motor so that you aren't turning the motor when you manually move the doors. Makes moving the doors a bit easier on your arms. That is, if the cable isn't busted

These are all the fuses associated with the power doors. Some are specific to one side or the other (the one on the passenger side fuse box is for the passenger side, for example). I just can't remember what all of them are for.

Driver's under dash: 7, 13, 21
Passenger under dash: 8
Auxiliary under-hood (behind the main fuse box): 2, 3

I do know that the ones under the hood are for the motors themselves. But if you pull the rest for a minute or two, it should reset everything. Might save you from disconnecting the battery and losing your radio stations

cybersaga · Nov 23, 2016

This is what the manual says about resetting everything:

Rehoming the Doors
If the power sliding door control unit has lost power for any reason (battery disconnected, etc.), the doors must-be re-homed before they will
work properly. The power sliding door control unit must relearn the door's home position so it can use the revolution sensor to keep track of
the door's position when ft is moving.
1. Erase the power sliding door DTCs by removing the No. 7 fuse from the under-dash fuse/relay box.
2. Turn off the Main switch for th© doors. Make sure the ignition switch is In LOCK (0).
3. Fully close the power sliding door manually (the control unit must see the full latch switch and the ratchet switch closed at the same-time).
4. Turn the Ignition switch to ON (II), Turn on the Main switch.
5. Test the door operation with the power sliding door switch, the remote transmitter, and the door handles.

Resetting the Power Sliding Door Control Unit
If the battery, terminal is disconnected or No. 7 (7.5 A) fuse in the driver's under-dash fuse/relay box is removed while the power sliding door is operating, the power sliding door will not be able to be opened or closed automatically until it is reset To reset the system, fully close the sliding door manually. Once the battery terminals are reconnected or No. 7 (7,5 A) fuse in the driver's under-dash fuse/relay box is replaced, the power sliding door system w ill automatically reset. Make sure the power sliding door operates properly.

John Clark · Nov 23, 2016

Remember that everything is computer controlled. So, in theory, if you unplug the connector to the sliding door module(s) you will also stop the draw. I would recommend having a look at the wiring diagram if you're going to do anything like that.

BBB Industries - TSB's & Wiring Diagrams

Just to give you an idea of how complicated the doors are there are 11 pages in the service manual just for the system description. That's before even getting into any diagnostic or repair of the systems.

curls · Nov 24, 2016

My head hurts.

What I'll do tonight is the reset procedure that cybersaga presented above your post. At least that way I hope the door will unlatch and latch properly (provided no sensor is acting-up at the time) so we can use the door in manual mode for now.

cybersaga · Nov 28, 2016

I've added a video to my thread about replacing the cable for the door: http://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-20...orums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/257625-automatic-sliding-door-cable-replacement.html

curls · Jan 23, 2017

I plan to try and do more diagnosis on this on Wed/Thur of this week (currently about to snow 5-7" so I'm not doing it today LOL).
I have since replaced the battery with a new one, and it's working great.
I have not put the interior 7.5A fuses back in.
Passenger rear sliding door still not operational - cannot open it manually - seems like the latch is stuck closed.
Haven't tried anything else since November as I didn't want to mess with re-introducing battery drain in the middle of winter (on an apparently weak battery, pre-replacement).

pappy · Jan 23, 2017

change those center rollers, they get worn about 150k for me. Im getting the midnight alarm going off too. Disconnected the hood latch sensor and niw is less frequent. The akarm goes off once in a while now. I think the rear hatch has a sensor too. Will disconnect that soon.

Kyodai · Jan 24, 2017

I can't speak to the battery drain problem, but as for the drooping cable, I recently had the same problem. The rear cable drooped about 4 or 5 inches when I slid open the door. Coincidentally, each time I opened the door and just as the droop started to happen, the door became quite difficult to slide. Significantly, the forward and rear cables moved as the door moved, albeit with the droop, so it was apparent that neither of the cables were broken. So I disassembled the interior panels and removed the motor assemble to try figure out what was causing the problem. It turned out that there was tremendous friction between the plastic coating of the cable and the interior of the cable sheath that runs from the pulley to the motor. I applied a very light oil to the inside of the sheath which then allowed the cable to move freely. After reassembling everything, the drooping was gone and the door worked flawlessly.

So, if neither of the cables appears to be broken, lubricating the sheathing may solve your problem.

Dave

Pass power sliding door not working - hanging black cable, and parasitic battery draw

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