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2013 Dash lights go crazy

13K views 22 replies 16 participants last post by  Finn Sizzle 
#1 ·
This is the second time this has happened to me when just driving on the highway. The first time the dash lights would all light up, get a "ding" sound and I would see the speedo and tach drop down to 0 and then come back to normal operating conditions. Happened about 5 times over about 200 mile trek and it did it all when traveling about 70. I did not loose power and the engine was still on.

The second time was today (about 3 months later) and it did the same thing again. This time the dash lit up and everything was jumping around with repetitive occurrences (like a pinball machine) and the engine felt like it was cutting out on me and then coming back. I pulled over and shut'er down and restarted and everything was fine for the rest of the 40 miles or so.

I'm gonna take it to the dealer next week but wanted to find out what it may be in advance of dropping it off. Anyone have this happen or heard about it before?
 
#3 ·
Yep, did that the first time it happened. Actually took everything off and reseated/bolted everything back down again. Thought that may have been the resolution when it didn't happen again....until now
 
#6 ·
Depending on how many accessories you have wired to the battery, you may need to swap it out for something more powerful. I replaced the stock battery with a Sears Die Hard Platinum battery and the symptoms you're experiencing went away. This happened to me in early 2013. Brand new JKU with less than 3000 miles. The traction control and ABS warning lights would light up on the dash as the spedo dropped to zero then went back to the correct speed. It was the warning buzzer I couldn't stand.

Good luck.
 
#8 ·
I had the same thing happen a lot on my '09 Wrangler. After checking EVRYTHING and tracing wires etc. I unplugged the Uconnect unit to follow one last wire behind it. All the symptoms disappeared immediately! The module had shorted I guess and was screwing up the whole electrical system.....no problems since! Others have had a bad TIPM do the same thing.
 
#9 ·
Finn, I have the exact same problem in my 2013 JKU Rubicon. The dash looks like a Christmas tree when it happens. It happens sporadically and I also know that my battery and alternator connections are solid. It will be a while before I can get it to the dealer, but I am very interested to know what the dealer tells you or if you figure something else out. On mine it seems to start with just the sway bar light coming on and going off and then it develops into all of the lights flashing on and off and the stereo cutting out. It has also only happened at highway speeds. I have never had the problem while cruising dirt roads or around town or 4 wheeling. Like I mentioned, I am very interested in hearing what you find out.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the link jgkoch75. That video is pretty similar to what I am seeing although mine doesn't last more than a couple of seconds. After it did it the other night, I drove an extra 20 miles trying to catch it on video to no avail. Weird thing is it is so random. The TIPM thing seems to make sense and I will definitely be talking to the dealer about it. Thanks again.
 
#13 ·
had something similar to my 2007 grand cherokee, everything shut down for a period of time but i still had the engine running.
dealer replaced every computer in the car under warrenty at the time, long story short, ended up being a bad cell in the battery was causing the can network to freak out.
 
#14 ·
My 2012 Sport started an intermittent chime with momentary speedometer cut out. This happened six times over the last few days. On the seventh event there was multiple warning lights, and a momentary power loss. Two more multiple light events on the same drive home today.
 
#17 ·
My 2012 Sport started an intermittent chime with momentary speedometer cut out. This happened six times over the last few days. On the seventh event there was multiple warning lights, and a momentary power loss. Two more multiple light events on the same drive home today.
I got this fixed by removing my after market Blade Switch from the negative battery terminal. The screws holding the contacts had worked loose and I'll probably spot weld them soon.
 
#15 ·
My Jeep went into the dealer yesterday. After almost 7 hours, they decided it was the battery terminal connections. They tested all of the electronic modules/computers and they tested the battery. The tech spent hours on the phone with a Jeep engineer and they decided that the battery connections weren't tight enough. On the way to the dealer (40 miles away), the problem occurred 4 times. On the way home, it didn't happen at all. I haven't put anymore miles on it yet, but I'm hoping the connections fixed it. I don't have a lot of confidence that the issue is fixed, but I am hopeful. I had tightened the connections before, but I found the clamping mechanism awkward and flimsy. If it happens again, I think I'll just replace the connections with a more solid set.
 
#16 ·
A lot of good information, seems like this is a problem a few of us have. I have yet to take mine over to the dealer since I have been away. I am going to go thru all my electrical connections for the 5th time and make sure all connections are solid before I take it over. I really don't feel like arguing with them over loose connections.
 
#20 ·
Thanks for the preceding info. My 2014 JKURX has been doing the same thing lately, kind of has me worried. I will check my battery connections before the next time I take her out. I am leaning more to problems with the TIPM as it didn't start doing this until I had my first tire rotation. The monkeys at my dealership stripped the locking lug key on one of my wheels the first time they tried to rotate the tires. I had to wait a month for a replacement before they could rotate. Who knows what else they screwed up.
 
#21 ·
This is the second time this has happened to me when just driving on the highway. The first time the dash lights would all light up, get a "ding" sound and I would see the speedo and tach drop down to 0 and then come back to normal operating conditions. Happened about 5 times over about 200 mile trek and it did it all when traveling about 70. I did not loose power and the engine was still on.

The second time was today (about 3 months later) and it did the same thing again. This time the dash lit up and everything was jumping around with repetitive occurrences (like a pinball machine) and the engine felt like it was cutting out on me and then coming back. I pulled over and shut'er down and restarted and everything was fine for the rest of the 40 miles or so.

I'm gonna take it to the dealer next week but wanted to find out what it may be in advance of dropping it off. Anyone have this happen or heard about it before?
I had this same problem in my 08 sahara, I cannot remember where I found it but, there was a thread on here somewhere that said it was one of my speed sensors on the wheel, I was told that it is typically the drivers side rear that for some reason goes bad first, after replacing that then take off both f the battery cables and hold them together for 20 seconds, it is like the alt~ ctrl~ del for you computer. I have had a few techies tell me this besides on here. It worked for me. I have not had problem since. I drove a 400 mile trip just yesterday and not a problem, now I ha e a heater blower motor issue to tackle instead, easy fix though. Hope this helps
 
#23 ·
So, per the dealer (who had it for 2 days to find the issue) the problem was the result of a faulty C200 pin connector. Once the dealer had it replaced, I have not had a problem since. Hopefully this information helps someone else who may have this problem.
 
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