22 jeep gladiator electrical problems

[09hcrrt]

So my 22 eco diesel gladiator has some serious electrical problems that seem to come and go. It started with a service transmission alert on the dash and then all hell broke loose with the gauges and the power steering goes in and out along with it going into some sort of limp mode where it only goes like 20 mph and won’t shift. It also slammed into park when I was coming to a stop. This has happened a few time so I got it towed to the dealer and they can’t seem to track the problem down. It’s been there 4 times for the same issue and a total of 44 days and counting. They do have a star case open and I’ve been in contact with jeep wave but they are not much help. I feel this is a huge safety issue with this thing and I honestly don’t want to even drive the thing. Anyone have a similar problem or any help from jeep on this?

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[RoamingGladiator]

I don't know if this applies to the Penstars... @ShadowsPapa may be able to comment on this. There's a transmission harness that gets burned up by the EGR due to poor cabling and tie-downs on the EcoDiesel that causes all sorts of issues, including the ones you mentioned.

I wonder if this is a thing on the Penstar as well.

 

[09hcrrt]

I don't know if this applies to the Penstars... @ShadowsPapa may be able to comment on this. There's a transmission harness that gets burned up by the EGR due to poor cabling and tie-downs on the EcoDiesel that causes all sorts of issues, including the ones you mentioned.

I wonder if this is a thing on the Penstar as well.

I checked that harness and all looks good. It is close to the egr tube but not rubbing. I also told the dealer about that issue so they know. I also checked all the fuse and relays and made sure they were seated. The dealer has the whole truck pulled apart checking grounds and they replaced a star connector or whatever that may be and no luck. Sounds like they are waiting on jeep for guidance.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I don't know if this applies to the Penstars... @ShadowsPapa may be able to comment on this. There's a transmission harness that gets burned up by the EGR due to poor cabling and tie-downs on the EcoDiesel that causes all sorts of issues, including the ones you mentioned.

I wonder if this is a thing on the Penstar as well.

Shouldn't be - there's more room/space. The diesel has really tight quarters there and it's not secured in the best way or place.
But connections should be checked - especially with severe use.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I checked that harness and all looks good. It is close to the egr tube but not rubbing. I also told the dealer about that issue so they know. I also checked all the fuse and relays and made sure they were seated. The dealer has the whole truck pulled apart checking grounds and they replaced a star connector or whatever that may be and no luck. Sounds like they are waiting on jeep for guidance.

Has anyone checked the battery voltage, and the voltage of the system while it's running?

I assume the doors have never been off - sounds almost like the thing is dropping into auto-park mode as far as slamming into park on you.
My wife didn't have one of her doors fully closed and tried to take off - man, that thing was mean to her! I was with her and said - stop what you're doing, put the shifter in park, check your doors, put it in gear again.
That took care of it - in HER case.

This (snippet below) looks like half the truck lost power, or it was shutting down into some self-preservation mode.
That's why I wonder about voltage. Hmm, just thought of something else - it just hit me, @tysongladiator has a video out there and I think he mentions loose crank battery terminal. It's actually the IBS loose on the negative battery terminal. You tighten the nut, it seems ok, nice and snug, but it's not actually clamped tightly on the battery and periodically loses contact just enough to cause the electronics to freak out.

Cluster shut down as far as tach, speedometer, but fuel gauge and warning lights are all working.
Definitely a connectivity or voltage issue.
i'd check all ground points in the engine bay, check those battery connections to make sure they are really tight - even grip and try to turn or pull on the IBS see if it wiggles or moves on the battery post, check all of the connections you can think of.

I can see why they looked into the CANbus star connector as a possible culprit.

 

[09hcrrt]

Has anyone checked the battery voltage, and the voltage of the system while it's running?

I assume the doors have never been off - sounds almost like the thing is dropping into auto-park mode as far as slamming into park on you.
My wife didn't have one of her doors fully closed and tried to take off - man, that thing was mean to her! I was with her and said - stop what you're doing, put the shifter in park, check your doors, put it in gear again.
That took care of it - in HER case.

This (snippet below) looks like half the truck lost power, or it was shutting down into some self-preservation mode.
That's why I wonder about voltage. Hmm, just thought of something else - it just hit me, @tysongladiator has a video out there and I think he mentions loose crank battery terminal. It's actually the IBS loose on the negative battery terminal. You tighten the nut, it seems ok, nice and snug, but it's not actually clamped tightly on the battery and periodically loses contact just enough to cause the electronics to freak out.

Cluster shut down as far as tach, speedometer, but fuel gauge and warning lights are all working.
Definitely a connectivity or voltage issue.
i'd check all ground points in the engine bay, check those battery connections to make sure they are really tight - even grip and try to turn or pull on the IBS see if it wiggles or moves on the battery post, check all of the connections you can think of.

I can see why they looked into the CANbus star connector as a possible culprit.

The doors have never been off as it’s only warm enough around here for about a week lol. I checked the battery connections when it first happened and everything was tight. Maybe I’ll ask the dealer to recheck them but I sure hope they would have done that as it’s been there for a month and a half now.

 

[tysongladiator]

Has anyone checked the battery voltage, and the voltage of the system while it's running?

I assume the doors have never been off - sounds almost like the thing is dropping into auto-park mode as far as slamming into park on you.
My wife didn't have one of her doors fully closed and tried to take off - man, that thing was mean to her! I was with her and said - stop what you're doing, put the shifter in park, check your doors, put it in gear again.
That took care of it - in HER case.

This (snippet below) looks like half the truck lost power, or it was shutting down into some self-preservation mode.
That's why I wonder about voltage. Hmm, just thought of something else - it just hit me, @tysongladiator has a video out there and I think he mentions loose crank battery terminal. It's actually the IBS loose on the negative battery terminal. You tighten the nut, it seems ok, nice and snug, but it's not actually clamped tightly on the battery and periodically loses contact just enough to cause the electronics to freak out.

Cluster shut down as far as tach, speedometer, but fuel gauge and warning lights are all working.
Definitely a connectivity or voltage issue.
i'd check all ground points in the engine bay, check those battery connections to make sure they are really tight - even grip and try to turn or pull on the IBS see if it wiggles or moves on the battery post, check all of the connections you can think of.

I can see why they looked into the CANbus star connector as a possible culprit.

Yep. I did post a YT video about the loose battery terminal. It was giving me all sorts of issues. I decided to just give all of the wire connections a little tug and the terminal came right off. Put a shim in it and problem solved. And yes... it is the negative terminal with the IBS connector.

Crazy thing! I now have an aftermarket battery and aftermarket connectors. I still had to use a shim on the negative terminal because I couldn't get it tight enough. Before I got the connectors, I had to use the shims. I thought getting the connectors would take care of that issue (being loose). But it didn't and I still had to use the shim. Maybe it's something to do with the negative terminal on the H7 battery group. Who knows. But that seemed to take care of the loose issue.

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