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Instrument panel lit up like Christmas tree

  

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Hello Scotty! I've been getting quite accustomed to watching your videos to gaining knowledge to combat motor-vehicle problems.

I am a novice when it comes to mechanics, have been doing a fair amount of research via means of reading through information found using Google as well as watching YouTube videos (many being your own) to try and resolve issues I face myself as they present themselves so that I might gain both knowledge and first-hand experience from problem-solving. The current conundrum I face has been re-occurring over the past 6-8 months. Through my best efforts, I've managed to seemingly fix the issue on several occasions, however, this pesky dilemma has resurfaced once more after 4 months of worry-free driving. I am now unsure what else I might be able to accomplish on my own, and thus imploring the wisdom of this Jeep Patriot community forum in the hopes of imparting unto me further insight I have not yet discovered.

The vehicle in question is a 2010 Jeep Patriot FWD 2.0L with 156,000 miles

(I know - never again, but for now this is what I have)

Here is the run-down of what I've encountered and have done thus far:

All three ABS/Traction-Control/Main-Brake lights illuminate (always the three of them together), though there is no noticeable issue with the braking system. It all seems to function as it is supposed to be. There is also a Check Engine light that comes on occasionally in addition to the three brake lights. Sometimes I've been able to get them to shut-off by doing a simple reset of the brake system by pumping the brake pedal before having turned the ignition on to start the car. The Check Engine light usually does not light-up until 1-3 days after the brake lights have shown themselves. Also noticed that RPMs shoot up above 2000 very easily when accelerating, I make sure to fluctuate my pressing of the gas pedal to ensure they do not rise far above 3000, though it would if I were to let it while accelerating

The two codes shown with a diagnostics scan from AutoZone are:

P1607 - (PCM Internal Shutdown Timer Rationality)
C2200 - (Anti-lock Brake Module Internal)

These are the same codes that have been listed throughout the entirety of this predicament.

How I've been able to manage until now has come down to delivering a more secure connection to the battery. Originally (after looking through and trying multiple different avenues to direct my focus) I cleaned the posts, terminals, and cable wiring (using warm water and baking soda) then reconnected. This took care of everything temporarily. Then they came back again several odd days later. So at that point I tried to re-secure the terminals after cleaning again and applying dielectric grease. This also momentarily resolved the issues. Then they came back around to stress me out more. At this point I decided to replace the terminals (since the ones on there were the originals and looked fairly worn - especially the negative) having to cut down about 3(?) inches worth of cable on one of the negatives due to corrosion being present down the line and discolored (not shiny) copper. After getting them replaced and reconnected, the lights immediately came back (I was concerned because I accidentally had an arc on the battery when I released the locking plier I was using to keep the two positive cables together while tightening the terminal due to the grease made it difficult to keep them from slipping - this caused a small chunk of each post to melt off instantaneously). Although, the car ran smoothly - no problems at all. Ended up taking to a mechanic who looked at it and ran their scanner which did not show either codes listed above. This confused me, but he went ahead and reset them. After getting the car back, all lights were off and car was running fine for 4 months now, up until a couple days ago. Now they're back plus the RPMs being higher than they ought to be during acceleration. I removed the terminals and cleaned them off once more using warm water and baking soda (noticing the negative terminal was slightly loose and there was small specks of green debris on the copper wires - didn't know if this was more corrosion or what the dielectric grease looked like after awhile) have taken to AutoZone and had Battery/Alternator/Starter all tested which have shown passing results twice now for each.

I've found/read that the ground cluster G110 has two wires that connect to the ABS module... Sometime ago the T-filler neck piece for the upper radiator hose was leaking coolant and so I replaced this which had both hoses connected to it from radiator and engine as a single part, after I swapped that out there was a minor drip coming from the smaller hose connecting to the reservoir jug; this is directly vertical of where the G110 cluster is bolted onto the car - was wondering if that may have possibly been causing issue since it had been dripping onto that for numerous weeks until I was able to get a clamp tightened enough to stop the leak but not block fluid from flowing to-and-from. I also cleaned around this G110 bolt with warm water and baking soda to try and make sure I was addressing any possible cause I could think of.

I am no longer sure what else I could/should be doing to try and fix what is going on. The brakes still operate as they should, but the RPMs shooting up during acceleration is my biggest worry. Has anyone gone through something similar or know what might be causing this to continue happening?

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time and patience while reading through my inquiry.


3 Answers
3
Posted by: @jamesd92

Is it possible that due to extensive corrosion in the cable causing a poor connection to the battery and thus low voltage being supplied throughout the electrical system reaching the ABS & PCM is what is setting all of this off and creating the issue with RPMs?

A bad battery connection (or bad battery or alternator) can cause all kinds of havoc with computer modules, so it might well affect the transmission control module. I'd certainly replace that battery cable that you've been cutting down. For that matter I'd replace both battery cables and connectors, though unfortunately it looks like the intake manifold has to come off in order to do that. (I'd also consider getting rid of that thing and buying something more reliable once it's running OK. See what a dumping ground like Carvana will give you for it.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRy1lJOF8Xw


Thank you for your input and sending that video! Looking through some of the comments it sounds like it's possible to reach that pesky bolt by removing the starter instead of having to take out the entire intake manifold. Definitely glad I saw this before digging my hand in there getting frustrated trying to fiddle around to figure out how to get the thing off.


2

If engine RPM is increasing during acceleration without a corresponding increase in road speed your transmission is slipping.


The MPH does increase, just not as quickly as the RPMs do, and before these lights turned on it was functioning at a normal rate. The Transmission is relatively new. Less than 2 years and was brand new when installed.


The Nissan/Jatco CVTs that Jeep used in those are terrible and have a high failure rate. However we can only go by your report that when you accelerate the RPMs increase faster than road speed. Other than that we cannot tell from here. If unsure you'd need to have a mechanic check it out.


I've been able to resolve the lights and everything seemed to be fine a few times now by working on cleaning the battery cables/terminals, however, I had to stop cutting down one of the negative's because it was running out of length and I was worried I wouldn't be able to reconnect it if I snipped any more of the wires.

*After the lights came back on this time around 3-4 days ago, I checked and found that the negative terminal was loose again and tightened it down*

Is it possible that due to extensive corrosion in the cable causing a poor connection to the battery and thus low voltage being supplied throughout the electrical system reaching the ABS & PCM is what is setting all of this off and creating the issue with RPMs?


2

Yes.


Alrighty then, thank you for the confirmation Doc! Will work on replacing the cables now to see if that does the trick.


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