Baby ///M3

I recently had my 03' SC430's battery replaced by AAA and to my surprise, the guy actually put a 700 CCA battery on my SC430 as opposed to the recommended 580 CCA unit. Not to mention that the size of the battery was wrong as well.

Stupid me for not recognizing this on the spot. Anyway, after the service was performed two yellow lights came up. VSC off and VSC lights. I drove the car to my mechanic and was told that it was the oxygen sensor, which I promptly replaced. This got rid of the lights but they're only gone when I start the vehicle. As soon as I shift into D and move the car, the lights come back on again.

My mechanic is now telling me that my yaw control sensor needs to be replaced and it could be the battery that's causing the problem. I contacted AAA and their mechanic is telling me that the lights do not have anything to do with the wrong battery size.

Can the lights be triggered by the wrong battery size?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Jon

UnSub

12 volts is 12 volts. The only difference is the cranking amps, which is actually better and will not cause a problem. If the mechanic changed the oxygen sensor to correct a problem with the vsc, I would go somewhere else. It would not hurt to get a second opinion anyway.
You should have had the check engine light illuminated if you had a bad oxygen sensor.

robertrios

iTrader: (11)

Yea i agree, no way the battery would cause this problem. Alot of people are running optimas on their cars with much more CCA than stock which is actually better for the car.

JohnnyCake

UnSub said it perfectly: 12v is 12v.

It sounds like you need to do the "VSC jumper trick." Check out these two threads:

VSC Jumper trick thread #1

VSC Jumper trick thread #2

Baby ///M3

Sorry for mis-stating some information. After the battery was installed three lights came up, check engine, VSC off and VSC lights. My mechanic then replaced my oxygen sensor and the check engine light went away. However, the other two remained as soon as I start up the car and put it in drive.

Thanks for the wonderful tips! I am going to get myself an insulated wire and do the VSC jumper trick to see if it helps.

Jon

Baby ///M3

The VSC jumper trick has to be one of the top 3 most valuable answers I've seen all over the automotive forums I've ever visited.

Thank you all for contributing this information, as I've literally saved myself a couple thousands of dollars for getting my yaw sensor replaced. All it took was a piece of $0.11 insulated wire from ACE, reading the instructions for 10 seconds and 5 minutes of my time to get it fixed!

Now the question is, if the VSC light does go away does it mean that my car is okay? How did the VSC light come about in the first place? Was the the check engine light that prompted my mechanic to replace my oxygen sensor after the battery was installed? Or was it the scanner that my mechanic used that caused the VSC lights to remain?

Jon

VVTiBob

The sensor probably went bad. They do from time to time. There are four O2 sensors in the exhaust system and are there to monitor the temperature of the exhaust to reduce emissions. One before and one after the catalytic converter. Drivers side is bank 1 with sensors 1 and 2. Passenger side is Bank 2 with same numbering.

There are a number of things that can trip the VSC warning light to be lit on the dash. The battery is one of them, but you did find the reset procedure. Other problem sources can be the Yaw Senor, wheel speed sensors and the ABS system. The car has an extensive diagnostic system, both general and proprietary codes which are called DTC and can be pulled from the car's obd-II port with a "reader". Your mechanic most likely did this and got the generic P0135 DTC error code (this one is for bank 1 sensor 1) indicating the sensor was not sending information about the exhaust temperature to the car's computer. The computer uses the reading to make adjustments to throttle's air fuel ratios as well as timing adjustments to keep emissions withing acceptable parameters.

JohnnyCake

I accept VISA, MasterCard, and American Express.

Baby ///M3

Thanks again guys! I really appreciate it.

Johnny Cake: Nope can't give out my credit card info here but you're welcome to stop by for beer if you're ever in town. Just give me a holler!