2021 Gladiator PCM failure

[ugm84]

Have owned my 2021 Willys Gladiator Ecodiesel for 6 months, approx 6700 miles. Started getting a Charging System callout in the MOPAR vehicle health report. ESS system was not operational as well.

Had the ESS system issue a little over a month ago, but the dealer tested and said it was ok.

Now I am back in and the service writer informs me that the PCM is not operating properly. Sometimes overcharging, or at times not controlling the alternator at all.

Just got word that there were 0 PCM's in LA, 0 PCM's in Vegas and they are special ordering one from Detroit with a lead time of a week to 10 days, (I'm in San Diego). On top of the week it has been in the shop.

Not sure how widespread this issue may be, but putting out there as a data point for the community. I'll update as information becomes available.

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[ShadowsPapa]

Sometimes I miss those days where if you had charging system issues you could simply wire up a MOPAR voltage regulator and be on your way.
If the PCM of my 4.0 system ever stops regulating, that's exactly what I'll do. Takes minutes and costs the price of an after-market MOPAR regulator from the 70s.

As far as others - seems to me that in the last 2 or 3 days someone else said they got charging system alerts in their report. OR - maybe that was you.

I'm not getting those reports emailed to me any more - it stopped in March and can't figure it out. I preferred the email each month. Was sort of handy.

 

[gregdreambig]

i hope I don't have a PCM issue. I've had my '21 ecodiesel since march have over 16,500 miles on it. two months ago my vehicle health report noted the "charging system" as a high alert. Took it to the dealer and they said it wasn't showing any codes. Then again last week it showed up in the VHR. Scheduled an appointment and took it in today for an oil change and tire rotation and had them check the charging system again.

They looked into it and they think it might be that the battery isn't handling all the "accessories". I don't have that many accessories.

- Two KC Gravity Pro 6 lights 1.67A each
- Auxbeam headlights 2.1A on low beam 5.1A on high beams
- Rock Slide Engineering slider steps (can't find watts/amp draw)
- Midland MXT275 (15W system) 1.25A
- Badlands 12k Winch (has inline kill switch so it doesn't stay on constantly)

if I added the amp draw correctly it would be between 7 - 12ish AMPS

Doesn't seem like it would be enough to have issues, but i'm not an electrical guy.....

 

[ShadowsPapa]

i hope I don't have a PCM issue. I've had my '21 ecodiesel since march have over 16,500 miles on it. two months ago my vehicle health report noted the "charging system" as a high alert. Took it to the dealer and they said it wasn't showing any codes. Then again last week it showed up in the VHR. Scheduled an appointment and took it in today for an oil change and tire rotation and had them check the charging system again.

They looked into it and they think it might be that the battery isn't handling all the "accessories". I don't have that many accessories.

- Two KC Gravity Pro 6 lights 1.67A each
- Auxbeam headlights 2.1A on low beam 5.1A on high beams
- Rock Slide Engineering slider steps (can't find watts/amp draw)
- Midland MXT275 (15W system) 1.25A
- Badlands 12k Winch (has inline kill switch so it doesn't stay on constantly)

if I added the amp draw correctly it would be between 7 - 12ish AMPS

Doesn't seem like it would be enough to have issues, but i'm not an electrical guy.....

Uh, the battery does not support the accessories, etc. - the ALTERNATOR does. The battery could have no capacity - as long as the alternator works, it can crank out 180-240 amps (depending on the model of the JT)
You can turn on every single accessory you have, and plug in some other things, and as long as the alternator is working - it will handle it all.
The battery is a buffer, to start the engine and get things going, from there, the alternator matches the load to keep voltage constant.

 

[gregdreambig]

Well crazy! Would it be crazy to have to replace an alternator this early?? Would this be covered under warranty or is it a normal wear and tear item?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Well crazy! Would it be crazy to have to replace an alternator this early?? Would this be covered under warranty or is it a normal wear and tear item?

Watch the voltage - use the gauge in the cluster and keep an eye on it. As long as the gauge reads 12.7 or higher, it's fine.
The lowest mine has been is 12.7 on a long trip, highway speeds, hot weather. Otherwise it typically runs 13.6 to around 14 volts.
A fully charged battery is about 12.6 volts - so as long as the system voltage stays above that, it's not drawing the battery down.

It's really easy to test the alternator - even a parts store can put a load on the system and watch the voltage.

An alternator should last well over 100,000 miles with ease unless grossly over-loaded.

 

[ugm84]

Got my Jeep back earlier this week. The report from the dealer found:

Intermitant slow response from ASD Power to PCM Circuit K51. Found intermitant open on ASD circuit under fuse box to the right side. PCM was still intermitant, likely due to the open in the ASD circuit. Replaced PCM module. Continued testing found charging still low. Replaced IBS sensor and warrantied both batteries. All systems responding normally.

So in the shop for almost 2 weeks. Keeping track and monitoring everything. Hoping this is the exception and not the rule for my Gladiator.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Got my Jeep back earlier this week. The report from the dealer found:

Intermitant slow response from ASD Power to PCM Circuit K51. Found intermitant open on ASD circuit under fuse box to the right side. PCM was still intermitant, likely due to the open in the ASD circuit. Replaced PCM module. Continued testing found charging still low. Replaced IBS sensor and warrantied both batteries. All systems responding normally.

So in the shop for almost 2 weeks. Keeping track and monitoring everything. Hoping this is the exception and not the rule for my Gladiator.

Wow, talk about multiple issues complicating things. IBS has caused a few issues - sometimes just cleaning up connections has worked. It was probably telling the system "all things are go, carry on" when in fact they were not.
You had an intermittent open, IBS sensor (bad, or perhaps just connection issues) and both batteries - the latter happened to my wife's 2018 Jeep - and the dealership said they had seen a lot of bad batteries come through.
You can scroll to the volt meter in the middle of your cluster, or, if you have the right radio with off road pages, use the gauges in that to monitor voltages for a while.
Anything 12.7 to 14.6 seems to be normal. That's the range I've seen on mine - and others - and there's a TSB that says "that's normal".
As long as it gets no lower than the 12.7.................

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