Power steering quit and then started working again a couple of miles later

[Camaroboi13]

Is everyone this is happening to a 22? If so post your MDH number. Its on a stick on the B pilar.

Dang now I’ve got to look, I’ve had it happen once in my 22 JTOD while accelerating and quickly braking right after to swerve and avoid a car pulling into my lane. Lost PS, limped to the shoulder and as soon as I got down to 25 everything was back to normal.

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[Rusty PW]

Is everyone this is happening to a 22? If so post your MDH number. Its on a stick on the B pilar.

Mine is a 2/22 build date. Never had this happen to me.

 

[montechie]

Is everyone this is happening to a 22? If so post your MDH number. Its on a stick on the B pilar.

Build is 1/22, MDH is 010317

 

[dajudge]

I have had mine do it several times. Mostly at low speeds, parking lot or off road. Usually when I am trying to change direction, i.e. I have backed up out of a space and now trying to go forward. Happens the opposite also, pulled in and then trying to back up and turn. It did once going down the highway. I have tried to bleed it, no air present, no change in the issue.
Built the end of May 2022. The dealer here is so useless I haven't even taken it to them.
Thinking about a complete steering swap.

 

[montechie]

I just had this happen twice on a recent trip. Not sure about hard acceleration, but it was at interstate (80mph) speeds, it 100% came back each time when we reduced speed to <25mph.

Both times we were out camping in sub freezing temps, but not very far from the highway. Engine should've been warmed up when we accelerated onto the interstate, but not sure about the power steering (PS), didn't have a lot of corners from either camp. Were on long straight stretches but either rolling hills or head wind (so lots of upper down shifting) when noticed the power steering was out, drove for a bit until there was a nice off ramp and as soon as the vehicle slowed under 25ish, full PS was back. No dash lights in these cases. Air temp was 23F-50F on the whole trip.

More unique to me: At home after the trip, in my driveway I start the truck up and go to crank the steering to one side and PS goes off, but I get a "SVC 4WD" light and the truck doesn't think the 4wd can engage (4wd/4auto light comes on, but Rubi disconnect won't switch), but PS is back on. Full power cycle off and the SVC 4WD light stays off and everything works as normal. Driving it around the past week and haven't had a problem since, even at interstate speeds.

34K miles and also a Jan. '22 build. Have checked fuse snugness before and after this trip, and have it scheduled to go in this week to the dealer that fixed my Pentaticker in August. Need to attach my scanner to see if any logs/codes show now so I can see if the same comes back after the dealer "fixes" it.

Will update with what the dealer finds.

Dealer spent several hours trying to debug what is going on. They checked electrical connections to the PS and grounds since there were several low voltage related codes (in dealer's words), and of course drove it around a ton to try and unsuccessfully reproduce. The only thing they found was the small ESS battery was bad. The dealer mechanic wasn't convinced that would've caused the issue, but that is all they could find.

They replaced the ESS battery (warrantied), and basically I'll have to figure out now how to reproduce the loss of PS, assuming the battery wasn't the cause. I'm now running my ODB2 scanner in "live" mode so I can snapshot additional details if it happens again.

The error codes prior to battery replacement for fun: (edit)
U1159 - Lost Communication with Automatic Sway Bar System
C149D - Clutch Calibration Not Learned
C2226-00 - TCM Disabled ECU
C2225-00 - PCM Disabled ECU
U0100-00 - Lost Communication With ECM/PCM
U0415-00 Invalid Data Received from ABS Control Module 'A'
U0168 - Lost Communication With Vehicle Security Control Module
U1514 - Engine Controller Secret Code: Missing Message

 

[dajudge]

Dealer spent several hours trying to debug what is going on. They checked electrical connections to the PS and grounds since there were several low voltage related codes (in dealer's words), and of course drove it around a ton to try and unsuccessfully reproduce. The only thing they found was the small ESS battery was bad. The dealer mechanic wasn't convinced that would've caused the issue, but that is all they could find.

They replaced the ESS battery (warrantied), and basically I'll have to figure out now how to reproduce the loss of PS, assuming the battery wasn't the cause. I'm now running my ODB2 scanner in "live" mode so I can snapshot additional details if it happens again.

The error codes for fun:
U1159 - Lost Communication with Automatic Sway Bar System
C149D - Clutch Calibration Not Learned
C2226-00 - TCM Disabled ECU
C2225-00 - PCM Disabled ECU
U0100-00 - Lost Communication With ECM/PCM
U0415-00 Invalid Data Received from ABS Control Module 'A'
U0168 - Lost Communication With Vehicle Security Control Module
U1514 - Engine Controller Secret Code: Missing Message

Now I'm afraid to put a scanner on mine in live mode.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

I’ve seen a tech on Facebook point blame on the TCM connector that is just on the other side of the front passenger mud guard. Water gets in and has caused a crap load of issues for us. It’s the same kind of connector we undue to take our front doors off and we all know the crap we have to deal with if a pin gets bent.
This tech has seen corrosion with a pin or two in the TCM connector.

I’ll be undoing mine and spray an electrical cleaner and lube mine to stay on top of it.

 

[Minty JL]

The halo on one of my headlights was orange for months..........then one day it fixed itself. Funny how Jeeps can self repair

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Funny how Jeeps can self repair

Having not ever been a “jeep guy”, I am convinced they are very bullet proof if you just give it time and throw lots of components and money at it. They’ll come around!

 

[Minty JL]

Having not ever been a “jeep guy”, I am convinced they are very bullet proof if you just give it time and throw lots of components and money at it. They’ll come around!

Same, been a GM guy since I was a kid

 

[pretzelday]

2/22 diesel sport s build. I was googling the problem when I just found this thread. It only happens on my truck after first starting it after it sits , then seems to be normal after 5-10 seconds . I noticed my fluid is below the cold line on the reservoir so I ordered some that will be here tomorrow. Im gonna do what someone posted earlier with cycling the steering back and forth a bunch and see if air is the issue. what sucks is im at 35,950 miles so warranty will be done if I drive it anywhere.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

2/22 diesel sport s build. I was googling the problem when I just found this thread. It only happens on my truck after first starting it after it sits , then seems to be normal after 5-10 seconds . I noticed my fluid is below the cold line on the reservoir so I ordered some that will be here tomorrow. Im gonna do what someone posted earlier with cycling the steering back and forth a bunch and see if air is the issue. what sucks is im at 35,950 miles so warranty will be done if I drive it anywhere.

The problem with this issue is that it can be an electrical or ground problem and not just an air lock issue like I’ve found several times. The other issue you have, being so close to your warranty ending is that no codes are stored and you can bet that even if your pump has quit and you tow it in, the tech will start it up and the pump will be working just fine. In all my cases, the pump quit because it got super hot but then when the pump cooled down, it would function properly. I could actually just park outside the dealership service doors and idle the engine for a while until the pump got scorching hot and quit and I’d just go in and grab the tech and he would come out to confirm. The last pump just flat out failed and was seen by the tech and diagnosed as internal electrical failure.

I’m leaning more and more towards blaming connections for water ingress and corrosion and these connections could use a good cleaner/protectant spray (DeoxIt shield) and then reconnected. Also, the ground for the pump is located just behind the passenger headlight. There’s 3 ground posts and I’ve heard of some grounding nuts getting loose causing the pump failure.

 

[pretzelday]

Thanks for the information and pictures! Im also doing an oil change along with fuel filter tomorrow morning so I'll check out that ground location. I dont think my pump is overheating as it only happens after the truck is cold and has been sitting for awhile. Once it starts working it keeps working , it's just that first 5 to 10 seconds that it doesn't work.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Thanks for the information and pictures! Im also doing an oil change along with fuel filter tomorrow morning so I'll check out that ground location. I dont think my pump is overheating as it only happens after the truck is cold and has been sitting for awhile. Once it starts working it keeps working , it's just that first 5 to 10 seconds that it doesn't work.

Yup, sounds like an electrical short but then when the pin heats up it makes contact and then when cools, it disconnects…. speculative theory of course.

 

[pretzelday]

I poked around for quite a bit and didnt find anything loose but I did find that the fluid level was at the bottom of the reservoir . when I pulled the cap it had suction on it so maybe it sucked some air into the system . I topped it off with some mopar fluid and I haven't lost steering so far but it's been pretty warm out the last few days.

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