ELECTRICAL WARNING TO ECODIESEL OWNERS: Shifter Controller Wiring Harness (Service Shifter error message)

Dynamic Overland said:

Hello everyone, i hope you are doing well... i wanted to share with you an experience that many of you at some point WILL run into, i have 3 ecodiesel friends that i hvae informed of the issue, all stated they saw. i will TRY and not make this a complaining session about the dealership.....

Please scroll to bottom for posted issue.

i will go through the general issue that came to be for myself and then on to what the dealership did to, NOT fix it, but otherwise change parts and guess.

PROBLEM - Issue occurs on dash cluster and message states "SERVICE SHIFTER"

HOW IT HAPPENS- driving at low and high speeds, mostly on moderately bumpy roads, bumps on freeways.

OTHER NOTES- no check engine is present, limp mode is not engaged (HOWEVER IT CAN BE) i can explain why.

Jeep Information - 2022 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon Ecodiesel issue occurred at approximately 10000 miles Current mileage is 21K


DEALERSHIP-
1. i went into the dealership, they stated the physical gear shifter needed replaced, so they replaced it.... drove off the lot and the issue was still present. turned around brought it back.

2. new ticket opened, the dealership stated the controller harness that went to the shifter needed replaced, they replaced it, issue STILL was present after i left the dealership, returned to dealership...

3. new ticket opened. they informed me "Dirt and mud" was on the waring harness under the car and they cleaned it they cant get the issue to reoccur, drove off the lot, surprise, wouldn't ya know.... issue still present.

4. i began to dig myself........ after a few youtube videos, searching, and searching, and searching..........i found that the issue had to do something with the transmission communication ... not the shifter itself......... i stumbled across a wiring diagram. (See below outlined in yellow) I traced the wiring harness back untill i found a little surprise.....

This is the harness to follow, it is located under the front passenger wheel well towards the cab of the vehicle. (TOP)

The Problem
the issue as shown is a heat shield located against the center cab of the vehicle entering from the passenger side wheel well. the factory heat shield is actually rubbing a hole through the protective jacketing of the wiring harness, i know you cant see from the photo provided, however there was copper showing in the orange wire shown. i did confirm its grounding out on the heatshield intermittently with a volt meter, hence why this seemed to trigger the "Service shifter" during vibrations while driving... there are some videos on youtube that show a gentleman showing you the exact path of the issue that he was having, (shown here) however his fix as well as the dealerships was to press a harness clip that was not attached to the chassis of the vehicle, my Jeep is a 2022 i believe his is a previous year. please note the location of this problem.... is an absolute problem...... a hand cant fit in the space, from any direction, top, bottom, side, there is 3 ways to gain access to this location and fix the issue the RIGHT way,
1. remove the engine (no im not joking)
2. remove the transmission (nope, not joking)
3. remove the full cab of the vehicle from the frame.... (again, no im not joking)
4. even then after the ENTIRE WIRING HARNESS for the vehicle is replaced, the issue may replicate if the heat shield is not addressed or a product is purchased that can withstand the heat and is abrasion proof.

Back to the dealership

so, with my discovery, i went BACK to the dealership....... I SHOWED THEMTHE ISSUE, where it was located, how it diagnosed it, the video and photos i took.... i provided them the 3 ways i know how to access this spot, after 4 techs came out, tested what i had stated, looked all over on accessibility, they came to the same conclusion of removing the 3 large components for accessibility and to replace the wiring harness ( note the dealer stated the harness is the entire harness for the vehicle, they weren't able to get the harness from the point of connection at the plug under wheel well to the plug at the transmission... forcing them to then replace all the electrical wiring harnesses.

Me at this point being frustrated at the fact i had to do all the work for the dealership, not to mention the lack of ability from them to perform basic troubleshooting methods and procedures, absolutely floors me.... currently i have no faith for them (the dealer) to perform such a task on my vehicle, after they mess up after performing such a task am i to be without a vehicle for months.... its not worth it....

I did, however come up with a solution ............... its the best i can come up with and can be a preventative measure to stop this from happening..... high temp RTV... yup, this isn't my way of fixing things, however im either stuck paying for this with a competent shop that has employees that know how to wipe there a** and breath the correct way with out having someone to show them how, or this RTV solution LOL...

i ended up getting some permitex 900 degree RTV and put some on the end of a flat head screwdriver, shoving a ton inside the wiring harness, and RTV'd the harness to the heatshield so it cant rub across it anymore. though i dont have photos of the work....... the purpose of this post is to inform everyone of what can occur and what could happen, i did check 3 other Eco diesels, they all started to fray the jacketing of the harness... some were at 9k miles some were at 17k-ish.

please note, there are other issues that if frayed or shorted this particular harness can cause some dangerous issues.... I have heard from the similar issues i have had from this particular harness but cant confirm the issues are - loss of power jeep will turn off while driving, loss of steering, dash cluster illuminates (Christmas tree affect)

I hope i got everything, and i apologize for any spelling errors..... let me know if you have any questions and i hope to help in any way possible OR see if anyone else can correlate their story to mine and hopefully provide some additional ideas to a solution.

Click to expand...

Dynamic Overland said:

Interesting!!!! This is actually th product I purchased to go around the new harness!
are you talking about the whole exhaust?? Cause just the DPF…… never the less I’m going to trace this out!

Click to expand...

1945gpw said:

I found unbolting the exhaust from just before the rear axle and removing sections of it from there making your way to the front to be the simplest for one person and no lift.

Click to expand...

Dynamic Overland said:

Dude…… I haven’t taken a peak yet, but you may be a god send lol

Did you perform the work or someone else?
Also how did you find out about this issue for you to make this repair?

Click to expand...

Dynamic Overland said:

Hello everyone, i hope you are doing well... i wanted to share with you an experience that many of you at some point WILL run into, i have 3 ecodiesel friends that i hvae informed of the issue, all stated they saw. i will TRY and not make this a complaining session about the dealership.....

Please scroll to bottom for posted issue.

i will go through the general issue that came to be for myself and then on to what the dealership did to, NOT fix it, but otherwise change parts and guess.

PROBLEM - Issue occurs on dash cluster and message states "SERVICE SHIFTER"

HOW IT HAPPENS- driving at low and high speeds, mostly on moderately bumpy roads, bumps on freeways.

OTHER NOTES- no check engine is present, limp mode is not engaged (HOWEVER IT CAN BE) i can explain why.

Jeep Information - 2022 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon Ecodiesel issue occurred at approximately 10000 miles Current mileage is 21K


DEALERSHIP-
1. i went into the dealership, they stated the physical gear shifter needed replaced, so they replaced it.... drove off the lot and the issue was still present. turned around brought it back.

2. new ticket opened, the dealership stated the controller harness that went to the shifter needed replaced, they replaced it, issue STILL was present after i left the dealership, returned to dealership...

3. new ticket opened. they informed me "Dirt and mud" was on the waring harness under the car and they cleaned it they cant get the issue to reoccur, drove off the lot, surprise, wouldn't ya know.... issue still present.

4. i began to dig myself........ after a few youtube videos, searching, and searching, and searching..........i found that the issue had to do something with the transmission communication ... not the shifter itself......... i stumbled across a wiring diagram. (See below outlined in yellow) I traced the wiring harness back untill i found a little surprise.....

This is the harness to follow, it is located under the front passenger wheel well towards the cab of the vehicle. (TOP)

The Problem
the issue as shown is a heat shield located against the center cab of the vehicle entering from the passenger side wheel well. the factory heat shield is actually rubbing a hole through the protective jacketing of the wiring harness, i know you cant see from the photo provided, however there was copper showing in the orange wire shown. i did confirm its grounding out on the heatshield intermittently with a volt meter, hence why this seemed to trigger the "Service shifter" during vibrations while driving... there are some videos on youtube that show a gentleman showing you the exact path of the issue that he was having, (shown here) however his fix as well as the dealerships was to press a harness clip that was not attached to the chassis of the vehicle, my Jeep is a 2022 i believe his is a previous year. please note the location of this problem.... is an absolute problem...... a hand cant fit in the space, from any direction, top, bottom, side, there is 3 ways to gain access to this location and fix the issue the RIGHT way,
1. remove the engine (no im not joking)
2. remove the transmission (nope, not joking)
3. remove the full cab of the vehicle from the frame.... (again, no im not joking)
4. even then after the ENTIRE WIRING HARNESS for the vehicle is replaced, the issue may replicate if the heat shield is not addressed or a product is purchased that can withstand the heat and is abrasion proof.

Back to the dealership

so, with my discovery, i went BACK to the dealership....... I SHOWED THEMTHE ISSUE, where it was located, how it diagnosed it, the video and photos i took.... i provided them the 3 ways i know how to access this spot, after 4 techs came out, tested what i had stated, looked all over on accessibility, they came to the same conclusion of removing the 3 large components for accessibility and to replace the wiring harness ( note the dealer stated the harness is the entire harness for the vehicle, they weren't able to get the harness from the point of connection at the plug under wheel well to the plug at the transmission... forcing them to then replace all the electrical wiring harnesses.

Me at this point being frustrated at the fact i had to do all the work for the dealership, not to mention the lack of ability from them to perform basic troubleshooting methods and procedures, absolutely floors me.... currently i have no faith for them (the dealer) to perform such a task on my vehicle, after they mess up after performing such a task am i to be without a vehicle for months.... its not worth it....

I did, however come up with a solution ............... its the best i can come up with and can be a preventative measure to stop this from happening..... high temp RTV... yup, this isn't my way of fixing things, however im either stuck paying for this with a competent shop that has employees that know how to wipe there a** and breath the correct way with out having someone to show them how, or this RTV solution LOL...

i ended up getting some permitex 900 degree RTV and put some on the end of a flat head screwdriver, shoving a ton inside the wiring harness, and RTV'd the harness to the heatshield so it cant rub across it anymore. though i dont have photos of the work....... the purpose of this post is to inform everyone of what can occur and what could happen, i did check 3 other Eco diesels, they all started to fray the jacketing of the harness... some were at 9k miles some were at 17k-ish.

please note, there are other issues that if frayed or shorted this particular harness can cause some dangerous issues.... I have heard from the similar issues i have had from this particular harness but cant confirm the issues are - loss of power jeep will turn off while driving, loss of steering, dash cluster illuminates (Christmas tree affect)

I hope i got everything, and i apologize for any spelling errors..... let me know if you have any questions and i hope to help in any way possible OR see if anyone else can correlate their story to mine and hopefully provide some additional ideas to a solution.

Click to expand...

Dynamic Overland said:

Hello everyone, i hope you are doing well... i wanted to share with you an experience that many of you at some point WILL run into, i have 3 ecodiesel friends that i hvae informed of the issue, all stated they saw. i will TRY and not make this a complaining session about the dealership.....

Please scroll to bottom for posted issue.

i will go through the general issue that came to be for myself and then on to what the dealership did to, NOT fix it, but otherwise change parts and guess.

PROBLEM - Issue occurs on dash cluster and message states "SERVICE SHIFTER"

HOW IT HAPPENS- driving at low and high speeds, mostly on moderately bumpy roads, bumps on freeways.

OTHER NOTES- no check engine is present, limp mode is not engaged (HOWEVER IT CAN BE) i can explain why.

Jeep Information - 2022 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon Ecodiesel issue occurred at approximately 10000 miles Current mileage is 21K


DEALERSHIP-
1. i went into the dealership, they stated the physical gear shifter needed replaced, so they replaced it.... drove off the lot and the issue was still present. turned around brought it back.

2. new ticket opened, the dealership stated the controller harness that went to the shifter needed replaced, they replaced it, issue STILL was present after i left the dealership, returned to dealership...

3. new ticket opened. they informed me "Dirt and mud" was on the waring harness under the car and they cleaned it they cant get the issue to reoccur, drove off the lot, surprise, wouldn't ya know.... issue still present.

4. i began to dig myself........ after a few youtube videos, searching, and searching, and searching..........i found that the issue had to do something with the transmission communication ... not the shifter itself......... i stumbled across a wiring diagram. (See below outlined in yellow) I traced the wiring harness back untill i found a little surprise.....

This is the harness to follow, it is located under the front passenger wheel well towards the cab of the vehicle. (TOP)

The Problem
the issue as shown is a heat shield located against the center cab of the vehicle entering from the passenger side wheel well. the factory heat shield is actually rubbing a hole through the protective jacketing of the wiring harness, i know you cant see from the photo provided, however there was copper showing in the orange wire shown. i did confirm its grounding out on the heatshield intermittently with a volt meter, hence why this seemed to trigger the "Service shifter" during vibrations while driving... there are some videos on youtube that show a gentleman showing you the exact path of the issue that he was having, (shown here) however his fix as well as the dealerships was to press a harness clip that was not attached to the chassis of the vehicle, my Jeep is a 2022 i believe his is a previous year. please note the location of this problem.... is an absolute problem...... a hand cant fit in the space, from any direction, top, bottom, side, there is 3 ways to gain access to this location and fix the issue the RIGHT way,
1. remove the engine (no im not joking)
2. remove the transmission (nope, not joking)
3. remove the full cab of the vehicle from the frame.... (again, no im not joking)
4. even then after the ENTIRE WIRING HARNESS for the vehicle is replaced, the issue may replicate if the heat shield is not addressed or a product is purchased that can withstand the heat and is abrasion proof.

Back to the dealership

so, with my discovery, i went BACK to the dealership....... I SHOWED THEMTHE ISSUE, where it was located, how it diagnosed it, the video and photos i took.... i provided them the 3 ways i know how to access this spot, after 4 techs came out, tested what i had stated, looked all over on accessibility, they came to the same conclusion of removing the 3 large components for accessibility and to replace the wiring harness ( note the dealer stated the harness is the entire harness for the vehicle, they weren't able to get the harness from the point of connection at the plug under wheel well to the plug at the transmission... forcing them to then replace all the electrical wiring harnesses.

Me at this point being frustrated at the fact i had to do all the work for the dealership, not to mention the lack of ability from them to perform basic troubleshooting methods and procedures, absolutely floors me.... currently i have no faith for them (the dealer) to perform such a task on my vehicle, after they mess up after performing such a task am i to be without a vehicle for months.... its not worth it....

I did, however come up with a solution ............... its the best i can come up with and can be a preventative measure to stop this from happening..... high temp RTV... yup, this isn't my way of fixing things, however im either stuck paying for this with a competent shop that has employees that know how to wipe there a** and breath the correct way with out having someone to show them how, or this RTV solution LOL...

i ended up getting some permitex 900 degree RTV and put some on the end of a flat head screwdriver, shoving a ton inside the wiring harness, and RTV'd the harness to the heatshield so it cant rub across it anymore. though i dont have photos of the work....... the purpose of this post is to inform everyone of what can occur and what could happen, i did check 3 other Eco diesels, they all started to fray the jacketing of the harness... some were at 9k miles some were at 17k-ish.

please note, there are other issues that if frayed or shorted this particular harness can cause some dangerous issues.... I have heard from the similar issues i have had from this particular harness but cant confirm the issues are - loss of power jeep will turn off while driving, loss of steering, dash cluster illuminates (Christmas tree affect)

I hope i got everything, and i apologize for any spelling errors..... let me know if you have any questions and i hope to help in any way possible OR see if anyone else can correlate their story to mine and hopefully provide some additional ideas to a solution.

Click to expand...

biodiesel said:

Is there a chance that Jeep remedied the issue by the time my Gladiator was built in December of 2023?

Click to expand...