6MT Failure to start + no auto start/stop solved by dealer

[SillyWillys]

Hey all, I just wanted to put my recent experience out there incase anyone else runs into the same problem.

Around 1000 miles my Gladiator (3.6, 6MT) started having issues starting, sometimes taking 2 or 3 cycles of the ignition switch before firing up. It SEEMED to correlate with cool mornings, and never happened when I was leaving work in the afternoon. Based on this - I assumed that it was an issue with the batteries, having done a little research and seeing some folks have issues with the JL/JT aux battery system needing full replacement.

Over the past 700 miles the problem had slowly gotten worse... I was leaving my jumper pack in the back seat and using it to start maybe every 3rd day. Jumper pack seemed to always work, reinforcing my belief that the batteries were bad.

Finally, last weekend the Jeep just WOULDN'T start. Tried jumping it with another car, no change. Left it plugged into a trickle charger for the whole weekend, nothing.

This is where things didn't make any sense anymore, because it no longer seemed like a battery issue. I futzed around in the fuse box and swapped the 40A starter fuse with the spare, and it fired right up. Yay. Lets go to the dealer!

Dealer looked at it Monday morning, replicated the problem, and the tech found that a sensor on the clutch push rod was not plugged in all the way. Said he felt the plug click and engage when he pressed on it. JD Power 'highest in initial quality' my ass.

Despite all the apparent correlation with battery problems, this makes sense because the starter wasn't actually engaging at all when it wouldn't start. I could only hear what I imagine are relays getting switched on and what have you. Same sounds if I would try to start WITHOUT pressing in the clutch pedal.

SO if you have a manual transmission and have starting issues... check against the firewall, opposite the clutch pedal! When its light out this weekend I'm going to dig around and see if I can snap a picture of the suspect area.

Also remember, CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION!!

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[SteveInOrlando]

Hey all, I just wanted to put my recent experience out there incase anyone else runs into the same problem.

Around 1000 miles my Gladiator (3.6, 6MT) started having issues starting, sometimes taking 2 or 3 cycles of the ignition switch before firing up. It SEEMED to correlate with cool mornings, and never happened when I was leaving work in the afternoon. Based on this - I assumed that it was an issue with the batteries, having done a little research and seeing some folks have issues with the JL/JT aux battery system needing full replacement.

Over the past 700 miles the problem had slowly gotten worse... I was leaving my jumper pack in the back seat and using it to start maybe every 3rd day. Jumper pack seemed to always work, reinforcing my belief that the batteries were bad.

Finally, last weekend the Jeep just WOULDN'T start. Tried jumping it with another car, no change. Left it plugged into a trickle charger for the whole weekend, nothing.

This is where things didn't make any sense anymore, because it no longer seemed like a battery issue. I futzed around in the fuse box and swapped the 40A starter fuse with the spare, and it fired right up. Yay. Lets go to the dealer!

Dealer looked at it Monday morning, replicated the problem, and the tech found that a sensor on the clutch push rod was not plugged in all the way. Said he felt the plug click and engage when he pressed on it. JD Power 'highest in initial quality' my ass.

Despite all the apparent correlation with battery problems, this makes sense because the starter wasn't actually engaging at all when it wouldn't start. I could only hear what I imagine are relays getting switched on and what have you. Same sounds if I would try to start WITHOUT pressing in the clutch pedal.

SO if you have a manual transmission and have starting issues... check against the firewall, opposite the clutch pedal! When its light out this weekend I'm going to dig around and see if I can snap a picture of the suspect area.

Also remember, CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION!!

Thank you for this. Will keep this in mind if I start seeing this type of issue.

 

[Joebbaseball]

Hey all, I just wanted to put my recent experience out there incase anyone else runs into the same problem.

Around 1000 miles my Gladiator (3.6, 6MT) started having issues starting, sometimes taking 2 or 3 cycles of the ignition switch before firing up. It SEEMED to correlate with cool mornings, and never happened when I was leaving work in the afternoon. Based on this - I assumed that it was an issue with the batteries, having done a little research and seeing some folks have issues with the JL/JT aux battery system needing full replacement.

Over the past 700 miles the problem had slowly gotten worse... I was leaving my jumper pack in the back seat and using it to start maybe every 3rd day. Jumper pack seemed to always work, reinforcing my belief that the batteries were bad.

Finally, last weekend the Jeep just WOULDN'T start. Tried jumping it with another car, no change. Left it plugged into a trickle charger for the whole weekend, nothing.

This is where things didn't make any sense anymore, because it no longer seemed like a battery issue. I futzed around in the fuse box and swapped the 40A starter fuse with the spare, and it fired right up. Yay. Lets go to the dealer!

Dealer looked at it Monday morning, replicated the problem, and the tech found that a sensor on the clutch push rod was not plugged in all the way. Said he felt the plug click and engage when he pressed on it. JD Power 'highest in initial quality' my ass.

Despite all the apparent correlation with battery problems, this makes sense because the starter wasn't actually engaging at all when it wouldn't start. I could only hear what I imagine are relays getting switched on and what have you. Same sounds if I would try to start WITHOUT pressing in the clutch pedal.

SO if you have a manual transmission and have starting issues... check against the firewall, opposite the clutch pedal! When its light out this weekend I'm going to dig around and see if I can snap a picture of the suspect area.

Also remember, CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION!!

Thanks so much for this! I'm not sure exactly where this issue is, but either way, it's way more info for when I can get it over to the dealer. Thanks again!

 

[Joebbaseball]

Hey all, I just wanted to put my recent experience out there incase anyone else runs into the same problem.

Around 1000 miles my Gladiator (3.6, 6MT) started having issues starting, sometimes taking 2 or 3 cycles of the ignition switch before firing up. It SEEMED to correlate with cool mornings, and never happened when I was leaving work in the afternoon. Based on this - I assumed that it was an issue with the batteries, having done a little research and seeing some folks have issues with the JL/JT aux battery system needing full replacement.

Over the past 700 miles the problem had slowly gotten worse... I was leaving my jumper pack in the back seat and using it to start maybe every 3rd day. Jumper pack seemed to always work, reinforcing my belief that the batteries were bad.

Finally, last weekend the Jeep just WOULDN'T start. Tried jumping it with another car, no change. Left it plugged into a trickle charger for the whole weekend, nothing.

This is where things didn't make any sense anymore, because it no longer seemed like a battery issue. I futzed around in the fuse box and swapped the 40A starter fuse with the spare, and it fired right up. Yay. Lets go to the dealer!

Dealer looked at it Monday morning, replicated the problem, and the tech found that a sensor on the clutch push rod was not plugged in all the way. Said he felt the plug click and engage when he pressed on it. JD Power 'highest in initial quality' my ass.

Despite all the apparent correlation with battery problems, this makes sense because the starter wasn't actually engaging at all when it wouldn't start. I could only hear what I imagine are relays getting switched on and what have you. Same sounds if I would try to start WITHOUT pressing in the clutch pedal.

SO if you have a manual transmission and have starting issues... check against the firewall, opposite the clutch pedal! When its light out this weekend I'm going to dig around and see if I can snap a picture of the suspect area.

Also remember, CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION!!

Any chance you could take a pic of the general area where I should look? My symptoms are the same ish, without any codes.

 

[Dadiator]

@SillyWillys Big thank you for this post, you saved me a tow. I went through all the battery/fuse troubleshooting too and was at a loss. My plug for the sensor seemed tight but knowing it could be that sensor I gave the clutch a few firm presses and sure enough sensor tripped and it started up. I think the culprit for me too was freezing cold temps (around 20 today). At least now I can drive it to the dealer to take a look at. Thanks again!

 

[SillyWillys]

Any chance you could take a pic of the general area where I should look? My symptoms are the same ish, without any codes.

This is the best picture I could get, looking up along the clutch pedal I assume it's the small connector with brown/blue/yellow wires. I didn't see anything on the engine bay side of the firewall that looked promising. In hindsight, I should have asked the dealer tech to show me exactly what he did.

I would locate that plug and give it a firm press to see if that helps.

Let me know how you make out!

 

[Joebbaseball]

This is the best picture I could get, looking up along the clutch pedal I assume it's the small connector with brown/blue/yellow wires. I didn't see anything on the engine bay side of the firewall that looked promising. In hindsight, I should have asked the dealer tech to show me exactly what he did.

I would locate that plug and give it a firm press to see if that helps.

Let me know how you make out!

Hi SillyWilly's,
Thanks so much for this picture! I wouldn't have asked if I had known how difficult it is to see in there! I appreciate it. I did get up in there, and things seem solid. This whole thing is so weird. It's crazy that this problem isn't getting any worse. It only doesn't start about once every couple weeks. This most recent time (Saturday), jumping it didn't work. I happened to have all my JScan stuff on me, so I went in and changed a random setting, then changed it back. Coincidence or not, that did the trick as it started right up. Been fine since. I have another appointment at a different dealer the Monday after Christmas. We'll see. Anyway, thanks again for your efforts!

 

[81Mojave]

I had a ridgeline that a large wire bundle that was not fully seated…
Second day of ownership I watched it get flat towed back to the dealership till they figured it out

 

[Joebbaseball]

Hi SillyWilly's,
Thanks so much for this picture! I wouldn't have asked if I had known how difficult it is to see in there! I appreciate it. I did get up in there, and things seem solid. This whole thing is so weird. It's crazy that this problem isn't getting any worse. It only doesn't start about once every couple weeks. This most recent time (Saturday), jumping it didn't work. I happened to have all my JScan stuff on me, so I went in and changed a random setting, then changed it back. Coincidence or not, that did the trick as it started right up. Been fine since. I have another appointment at a different dealer the Monday after Christmas. We'll see. Anyway, thanks again for your efforts!

Just returned from a visit to a 3rd dealership. I'm hopeful that the 3rd time was the charm. They actually spent a little bit of time on it rather than simply starting it and saying it works fine. I told them that it only doesn't work about 1 out of 50 attempts. or so. Also that it starts whenever I jump it. With that info, one of their techs decided to check the ground. They said there are several ground points throughout the vehicle (around 10) but there's only 1 that if was loose, would cause it not to start. He also thought that if he's correct, that I'm not actually jumping the truck, but rather creating a ground. To access this ground point he had to remove the fuse box. Under that is where the ground point is. And, as it turned out, he said it was loose. They did say it could be something else, but they're pretty confident. As am I. So, hopefully this ordeal that started in May, could finally be over.

 

[Choby]

My 6 speed Rubi has been in the shop for 5 days now, same issues as listed above, cold mornings, starts sometimes after I press the clutch and start button numerous times etc. Latest update from the dealer is they keep finding symptoms then losing them. Both points make sense either a shitty ground or the connector by the clutch. Hopefully they are reading this forum too. Find out Tuesday I guess.

 

[Bbannongmu]

Hey all, I just wanted to put my recent experience out there incase anyone else runs into the same problem.

Around 1000 miles my Gladiator (3.6, 6MT) started having issues starting, sometimes taking 2 or 3 cycles of the ignition switch before firing up. It SEEMED to correlate with cool mornings, and never happened when I was leaving work in the afternoon. Based on this - I assumed that it was an issue with the batteries, having done a little research and seeing some folks have issues with the JL/JT aux battery system needing full replacement.

Over the past 700 miles the problem had slowly gotten worse... I was leaving my jumper pack in the back seat and using it to start maybe every 3rd day. Jumper pack seemed to always work, reinforcing my belief that the batteries were bad.

Finally, last weekend the Jeep just WOULDN'T start. Tried jumping it with another car, no change. Left it plugged into a trickle charger for the whole weekend, nothing.

This is where things didn't make any sense anymore, because it no longer seemed like a battery issue. I futzed around in the fuse box and swapped the 40A starter fuse with the spare, and it fired right up. Yay. Lets go to the dealer!

Dealer looked at it Monday morning, replicated the problem, and the tech found that a sensor on the clutch push rod was not plugged in all the way. Said he felt the plug click and engage when he pressed on it. JD Power 'highest in initial quality' my ass.

Despite all the apparent correlation with battery problems, this makes sense because the starter wasn't actually engaging at all when it wouldn't start. I could only hear what I imagine are relays getting switched on and what have you. Same sounds if I would try to start WITHOUT pressing in the clutch pedal.

SO if you have a manual transmission and have starting issues... check against the firewall, opposite the clutch pedal! When its light out this weekend I'm going to dig around and see if I can snap a picture of the suspect area.

Also remember, CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION!!

Nice that they actually worked to diagnose the issue. Seems like they often just want to replace parts until they stumble upon a solution or you go away. Glad you got it worked out.

You can throw a tester on the battery (ies) to read the voltage. I found that mine is always on the lower end of spec and lower than most of my previous vehicles at 12.16 volts ( usually around 12.8-13.2v). You can also try to isolate the clutch switch by putting it in 4l and neutral and starting without the depressing the clutch to see if the starter is functioning or if that doesn’t work, by simply pop starting it to check ignition to establish a point to work backwards from.

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