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Total Electrical System Failure (Intermittent) - UPDATE, SOLVED

31K views 40 replies 20 participants last post by  andy09613 
#1 ·
41k miles on my 2018 Touring L Plus. Recently I've had a major electrical issue happen. It seems like all of the systems just go haywire. Symptoms are as follows:

  • The wipers come on, even though they aren't turn on
  • Loss of power steering
  • Transmission becomes unresponsive (cannot shift, unresponsive to throttle)
  • Car will not shut off (sometimes)
  • Screen goes blank
  • Lots of error messages
The vehicle is basically non-functional in this condition.

I took it to the dealer and they told me that it was a bad ground, and that they fixed it. Dealer said there was a lot of low voltage codes. As you can guess, it is not fixed. It will start up and drive fine one day, then when I start it the next day everything goes haywire again.

Here's a video of the dash when I start it up and the electrical problems persist: Dash Video

It seems logical to me that there's something wholesale wrong with the electrical system voltage, so a battery or alternator comes to mind, but I really have no idea where to start. If I take it back to the dealer, it likely won't exhibit the problem and it'll just be stuck there for who knows how long.

Has anyone experienced this before? Any help would be much appreciated, as I can't even trust this van to go up to the corner grocery store at the moment.

EDIT: Sounds a lot like this thread: Not sure what is going on
 
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#3 · (Edited)
I was able to read the codes, here they are. Definitely seems like a CAN bus issue, as nothing is communicating properly when the codes are being thrown.

U0101 - Lost Communication with TCM
U0100 - Lost Communication with ECM/PCM
U0121 - Lost Communication with Anti-Lock Brake System Control Module
U0131 - Lost Communication with Power Steering Control Module
U0212 - Lost Communication with Steering Column Control Module
U0140 - Lost Communication with Body Control Module
U0401 - Invalid Data Received From ECM/PCM
U110C - Lost Fuel Level
U110E - Lost Ambient Temperature
U1110 - Lost Vehicle Speed
U1120 - Lost Wheel Distance
U11BC - Lost Brake Switch
 
#4 ·
certainly sounds like a bad ground. There may be multiple grounds servicing different components. Is it worse when the humidity is high? Curious if you have freeze frame data? I’ve not had any problems with our Pachy so I haven’t ever interrogated it. What is the battery voltage when the error occurs? A bad battery can cause this too. I’ve had a bad battery test well because by the time you get to the testing site the charging system tops it off and it doesn’t fail. Good luck.
 
#5 ·
It does seem like it happened more when it was rainy/wet outside, but I can't be sure.

I didn't know about freeze frame data until you mentioned it, I'll have to look into that.

I just started leaving the HUD on the battery voltage, so I'll be able to see if it changes when the issues are happening. Voltage is around 14.5 when the car is running normally.
 
#6 ·
I agree a dead / bad battery would cause this but it wouldn't start if it were the case it wouldn't have enough charge to start so that tells me there is a bad ground or short somewhere. I've had my battery go dead tested out good then year later had no problems but the battery popped the cell caps and tested bad and replaced under warranty 🤷‍♂️. Are you rural or live in town? My grandparents are plagued by electrical issues because of mice getting in engine bay and chewing on wires.
 
#11 ·
Update on this: Our van has been at the dealer for 2 weeks now. They have replaced the gateway module, as apparently the tech was getting errors from it. They tell me now that it solved half of the problems, but there's still some issues, so they are checking the wiring.

Needless to say, this is really frustrating. The car is 3 years old, 41k miles (just out of warranty of course) and it's having these major electrical issues that render the vehicle un-drivable. @ChryslerCares is there anything you can do to help with this? I shouldn't have to be shelling out a bunch of cash right after the warranty expires. This doesn't exactly give me the warm and fuzzies about sticking with the Pacifica brand when we are ready to replace this one.
 
#12 ·
Update on this: Our van has been at the dealer for 2 weeks now. They have replaced the gateway module, as apparently the tech was getting errors from it. They tell me now that it solved half of the problems, but there's still some issues, so they are checking the wiring.

Needless to say, this is really frustrating. The car is 3 years old, 41k miles (just out of warranty of course) and it's having these major electrical issues that render the vehicle un-drivable. @ChryslerCares is there anything you can do to help with this? I shouldn't have to be shelling out a bunch of cash right after the warranty expires. This doesn't exactly give me the warm and fuzzies about sticking with the Pacifica brand when we are ready to replace this one.
DetroitEE,
It would be best for us to get assigned to a case specialist for additional assistance. The specialist will review your case and work in tandem for a resolution. Please provide the requested information below privately:
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#16 ·
I wonder if it was hit by lightning. I had a work van that got hit by lightning that took out a ton of modules. They replaced them one by one in sort of a daisy chain. When they would replace one then they would find out the next one downstream was bad and so on. Damage was quite extensive but the only physical damage was a tiny pinhole in the the paint
 
#17 · (Edited)
So after a frustrating few months of having the van in and out of the dealership with no end in sight, I decided to take matters into my own hands and troubleshoot the problem myself.

It was clear to me that there was a problem with the CAN-C bus, which is the main communications bus that allows all of the critical modules on the vehicle to communicate. I located the two star connectors (see images of green connectors. One is behind the glove box, the other is behind the access panel at the rear end of the passenger sliding door). The star connectors are where all of the CAN wiring for the modules goes back to and connects to each other. I measured the voltage from CAN_H and CAN_L to ground, and found that during a rainstorm (high humidity), the voltage was between 4 and 7 volts, which is much too high. The CAN bus voltages to ground should vary between 1.5-2.5V for CAN_L and 2.5-3.5V for CAN_H. Knowing this, I disconnected the 2-wire connectors one by one, measured the voltage on each, and found that the irregular voltage was coming from the electronic power steering (EPS) module. I was then able to locate this module under the van, and once I was able to get eyes on the connector, it was immediately clear to me that this connector was indeed causing all of my issues. As you can see, the wiring insulation is totally destroyed. The problem only manifested itself in the rain because of the high humidity environment, which I assume decreased the resistance between the corroded wires. The wire that the CAN bus is shorting to is 12V, which explains why the voltage on the CAN bus was higher than it should be.

I called the Chrysler dealer, and for a ridiculous $45, I was able to order a connector repair kit, which comes with a new connector and pigtails to splice into the existing wiring harness.

For anyone trying to figure out similar problems, I can't recommend enough alldatadiy.com. For $30 I was able to get all of the wiring diagrams for the Pacifica, as well as all of the module locations. This was critical in helping me understand how the system is wired, where components are located, and was also was helpful when I had to tell the dealer exactly which module and connector # to order the repair kit for.

I hope no one has to go through this "I guess I'm gonna have to do this myself" type situation in troubleshooting module issues, but if you do, I hope this is helpful.


44408
44409
44410
 
#18 ·
Where at on the firewall is that? That corrosion looks similar to the corrosion that I had when the coolant reservoir had a small crack leaking down onto the harness below
 
#21 ·
DetroitEE,

Wow, that was a lot troubleshooting on your part, great job!

It looks like something chewed the wiring, is that your best guess as well?
Yes that's my best guess at this point, as others have reported wiring issues related to rodents. I don't know how else the wiring could have ended up in such bad shape; it's not just the insulation that's degraded, but the copper wiring looks like it is actually damaged as well.
 
#24 ·
My Pacific 2019 year that's what I noticed losing contact during wet weather. I lose the ability to control the radio from the steering wheel, on-board computer and the auxiliary camera belts disappear. A continuous handkerchief is gone time and time again, depending on the weather. My car is in Poland, can you tell me something? greetings for the continent😃
 
#29 ·
HI. I've been having car stall, shut off, won't crank first push start and now will not crank at all. Chrysler dealership has been no help. I've started two cases with Mopar. This fix option is definitely more than I've previously found. Something has drained my battery twice and there is a short somewhere but the dealership can't find anything wrong. Now it's sitting in the parking lot. Will not crank. Thank you for sharing.
 
#30 ·
I call B.S. on the dealer. If something is draining your battery there is a simple test.

1. Charge the battery
2. Attach a multimeter to the battery and set it to read the amp draw.
3. Pull fuses one at a time

What ever is drawing current should stop when the fuse for that circuit is pulled.

 
#31 ·
#32 ·
41k miles on my 2018 Touring L Plus. Recently I've had a major electrical issue happen. It seems like all of the systems just go haywire. Symptoms are as follows:

  • The wipers come on, even though they aren't turn on
  • Loss of power steering
  • Transmission becomes unresponsive (cannot shift, unresponsive to throttle)
  • Car will not shut off (sometimes)
  • Screen goes blank
  • Lots of error messages
The vehicle is basically non-functional in this condition.

I took it to the dealer and they told me that it was a bad ground, and that they fixed it. Dealer said there was a lot of low voltage codes. As you can guess, it is not fixed. It will start up and drive fine one day, then when I start it the next day everything goes haywire again.

Here's a video of the dash when I start it up and the electrical problems persist: Dash Video

It seems logical to me that there's something wholesale wrong with the electrical system voltage, so a battery or alternator comes to mind, but I really have no idea where to start. If I take it back to the dealer, it likely won't exhibit the problem and it'll just be stuck there for who knows how long.

Has anyone experienced this before? Any help would be much appreciated, as I can't even trust this van to go up to the corner grocery store at the moment.

EDIT: Sounds a lot like this thread: Not sure what is going on
Mines doing the same thing
 
#33 ·
I am having similar issues with my van. It has happened three times now within the last 2 months. The dash will display various errors (airbag, blind spot, etc); it will also cause everything not not function on the car when stopped; won’t start or shift into gear. Twice this happened when the car was parked; we went to start it and it wouldn’t crank. The first time we towed it to the dealership they kept it for over a week and said it was a loose wire ($600 charge). The second time was a month later, we towed it back to the dealership; they kept it for another week but they couldn’t reproduce the error and tried to tell me low oil could be sending a kill signal to the computer and causing the issue (the oil filter housing was leaking causing a low oil). They wanted to charge another $1,200 to fix it but I don’t trust them since they didn’t fix the issue in the first place. I ended up replacing the oil filter housing with an aluminum one; no more oil leak. But today the van had the same issue but this time while on the freeway. All the same errors on the dash and the vehicle felt like it was on a lower gear while driving. Here is the video of the dash today in the freeway Dash Video. I was able to get the vehicle stopped safely. When I turned it off, it’s all the same behavior, all errors codes, car won’t start and won’t shift into gear. If anyone can help me, I don’t trust the dealership to fix the issue and don’t trust the van to drive around my wife and kids. If anyone needs more info let me know. Thanks.
 
#34 ·
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#38 ·
same problems - electrical on my van. after two weeks of diognosis they would "TRY" a solution that would cost over $6000 without guarantee. Then I Saw the clip on Utube about the CAN Buss problems, I had them do that first AND it was solved !!! for $100 part and 1 hour labor. That was my third dealership that just wanted to throw parts at the problem "We will start with the most likely (aka most expensive) solution." Demand the dealerships upgrade your problem to a Star Case before they begin.
 
#39 ·
#40 ·
DetroitEE has my TOTAL Respect he is DaMan. Not many people capable of taking the Bull by the Horns and finding and repairing a problem like this. The sad thing is this really reflects upon the dealership diagnosis skill set. I had a similar situation back a few years ago on a brand new 4x4 truck. Cruise control/ 4x4 elect shift stopped working so I stopped by the dealership and they did their "expert" diagnosis and ordered a new Transmission module? When I got home i decided to sneak a peek myself since I had a 4x4 rally coming up that weekend. I saw where my new puppy had simply chewed the wiring, a trip to the local auto parts / some electrical connectors / heat shrink tape and about 15 mins of my time and all good. I never returned to that dealership service department for anything, they had shown that they were clearly incompetent! I think most dealership service departments are probably about the same. If you are not able to do your own diagnosis and repairs you could very easily get your nuts ground up in the dealer service department Machine.
 
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