C1175, C1297, C1222, C1296: Traction control sensors; the beginning

Not that RCA.

Root cause.  The next few posts will be about root cause analysis disguised as automobile repair. Properly doing an RCA means identifying the problem, understanding it well and then fixing it.

For those in engineering fields, RCA, root cause analysis, has deep office-politics ramifications: doing an RCA for most below average engineering groups (half of the engineering groups fall below the average!) means somebody will be blamed for things not working at at risk of losing a chunk of their annual bonus.  Fingers will get pointed.  And people will scurry to avoid the RCA fickle finger of fate.  All of this is too bad, because when we learn the root cause of something, it presents the easiest way to fix the problem with the most certainty the same issue won't return.  Turns out, the real world is a bit more messy.

Battery of problems

As noted, several times, my battery has died after letting the car sit unstarted, for shorter and shorter intervals.  Usually, after a jump and a nice drive later, all of the electrons were back in their proper place.  This time, I wasn't so lucky, and after a few 30-minute drives home, the battery didn't hold a charge overnight.  Something was wrong.

Did I have a parasitic drain on an otherwise good battery due to dodgy wiring in my Ford?  Or, did my battery have one terminal in the grave?  I found out, somewhat inclusively, but not before disabling my wipers.