Help! Random horn, lights, wipers, fluid spraying!

PAKMAN325 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:38 pm **Posts:** 35

Thinking this could be a short or a bad ground. Anyone had similar experiences?

Started last Saturday and Sunday, when it was the worst. Seemed like every time I would hit lock or unlock on the key fob, it would bug out.

I cleaned the battery terminals a little bit as well as two of the grounds I could find (one on the left side of the engine bay, and one below the windshield in the back).

Any ideas? I don't want to pay someone an arm and a leg to do something simple, but this is definitely an issue that raises my blood pressure.

This is in an '08 Limited.

PAKMAN325 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:38 pm **Posts:** 35

Does anyone have a list or schematic for the ground locations? [size=100][/size]

Cherrie 274 · **Posted:** Sun Apr 20, 2014 7:59 pm

PM ScarO and see if he can help. I'm thinking others have had similar problem and I think it was BCM.

PAKMAN325 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:38 pm **Posts:** 35

Thanks for the advice!

I have also had a leak in the trunk area that couldn't be explained earlier, but now appears to be the fault of the sunroof. It sounds like water may have run down the a-pillar and caused a short in the electrical bundle that controls the stalks and or the steering column.

I found a good write up for fixing the sunroof here: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f28/s...-tubes-995801/

My question is will the electrical connections likely dry out after the leak is fixed or will there need to be additional work/replacement done?

carlosburitica · **Joined:** Sat Jan 05, 2013 1:07 pm **Posts:** 309

possessed kk????
my guess your timp got wet...... if wost it went back

it happens
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f96/poss ... tc-697320/

http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51206

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f176/ele ... p-1397979/

very common.......

just happened to mine but only the head lights.
new timp was replaced.... covered under extended warranty

PAKMAN325 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:38 pm **Posts:** 35

carlosburitica wrote:

possessed kk????
my guess your timp got wet...... if wost it went back

it happens
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f96/poss ... tc-697320/

http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51206

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f176/ele ... p-1397979/

very common.......

just happened to mine but only the head lights.
new timp was replaced.... covered under extended warranty

I've been reading through the forums the last few days and this is deduction I've been dreading. Any chance when the leak stops and the KK dries out, the short will too?

PAKMAN325 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:38 pm **Posts:** 35

Ok, so I cleaned out the gutter and drains to the sunroof and after working through some blockages, I've got a nice, steady stream.

Took it for a drive and listened to my blower for the fan quickly cut out. It isn't just working on the high setting, so I don't think it's the resistor card, but I'm not 100%.

I feel heating or cooling that corresponds with the temperature setting on the heating and A/C instrument panel.

So far, I've had the following electrical issues:
1. Intermittent gauges (though this hasn't been an issue since last summer)
2. Random horn beeps or long honks (Last week)
3. Random headlight engagement, as if illuminating the area after you exit the vehicle after a drive (Last week)
4. Random wiper, fluid spraying (Last week)
5. Air blower not engaging, only during last night's drive, but I could hear it flipping on and off from functioning until it finally didn't work.

Really the one issue I'm currently suffering from is the blower not functioning.

I believe I've stopped the overflow from the tray and I might further act to replace the sunroof seal, but are all of these other residual electrical issues results of having water flow behind the dash?

Also, if the connections dry out, is it feasible that they will again work or would some of the relays and harnesses need replacing?

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2014 3:39 pm

PAKMAN325 wrote:

Thanks for the advice!

I have also had a leak in the trunk area that couldn't be explained earlier, but now appears to be the fault of the sunroof. It sounds like water may have run down the a-pillar and caused a short in the electrical bundle that controls the stalks and or the steering column.

I found a good write up for fixing the sunroof here: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f28/s...-tubes-995801/

My question is will the electrical connections likely dry out after the leak is fixed or will there need to be additional work/replacement done?

I've had the same leak happen to me as well. Only the leak ran where the driver side A pillar connects to the driver door frame just above your head. Never did anything besides leave a watermark. In fact I've had it leak multiple times. Once I got in after a long day of work and as soon as I started driving I started getting soaked. I pulled over, looked up, and noticed that my map lights were filled with water and were pouring onto me. Luckily nothing was damaged or shorted. I just put my jacket over the shifter and 4WD switch so they didn't get wet and let gravity do it's thing while I drove home freezing lol. Haven't had the problem since. Funny tho, it would only leak when I left it parked for a long time and it rained rly hard.

Sent from my iPhone

PAKMAN325 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:38 pm **Posts:** 35

Now my question is do I spend the time to run a dehumidifier in it, pay an electrical specialist to check it out, or go straight to the dealership.

PAKMAN325 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:38 pm **Posts:** 35

My saga continues...

I took Friday off of work to address this and to finish some projects around the house I had been putting off. Took the car to my electrical specialist and he confirmed my suspicions that it is likely the TIPM in it's final throws of life. He said that it wouldn't be worth his hourly rate to clean it out, but encouraged me to try it (since I am somewhat familiar with it).

Easy cleanup, used some electrical cleaner, and applied some dielectric grease to some of the area around the connectors. Reassembled and seemed to be in okay shape. When I fired up, no honking, wipers, etc, but no blower fan either. Ugh. Smack on the TIPM and air fired immediately, but so did the horn. Second pop and the horn stopped but the air stayed on.

Drove it around 200 miles this weekend, without problems. On the way home from a lacrosse tournament I was coaching, driving around 70 mph on a highway, I had another freakout. Horns, wipers, lights...

So I think I'm resigned to replacing the TIPM. Now the question is, do I do it myself and only put up $577, hoping that solves the problem, OR do I pay over-the-odds for the dealer to install it (part + $200ish), guaranteeing the fix?

lfhoward · **Posted:** Mon Apr 28, 2014 10:23 am

Here's a thought. My wife's cell phone got wet the other day and was freaking out in a similar fashion. It is currently chilling in a ziplock freezer bag full of rice. The dry rice slowly absorbs all of the water out of the phone. In a couple of days it should be fine. As of last night it works again, but there is still moisture behind the screen, so it went back in the rice bag. Did your TIPM get wet? If so, maybe the rice trick is worth a shot.

PAKMAN325 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:38 pm **Posts:** 35

lfhoward wrote:

Here's a thought. My wife's cell phone got wet the other day and was freaking out in a similar fashion. It is currently chilling in a ziplock freezer bag full of rice. The dry rice slowly absorbs all of the water out of the phone. In a couple of days it should be fine. As of last night it works again, but there is still moisture behind the screen, so it went back in the rice bag. Did your TIPM get wet? If so, maybe the rice trick is worth a shot.

I bought the vehicle at 113,000 miles. Never experienced this for the first 10 months of ownership, but that doesn't mean it wasn't wet at some point.

I tried to make a connection to the leak to explain it, but after thinking through it, there's no way the sunroof leak would have gotten it wet because the water would have needed to flow up...

Cherrie 274 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 28, 2014 12:24 pm

Just something I found interesting.
http://www.girardgibbs.com/chrysler-tot ... -lawsuit-/

PAKMAN325 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:38 pm **Posts:** 35

Cherrie 274 wrote:

Just something I found interesting.
http://www.girardgibbs.com/chrysler-tot ... -lawsuit-/

I saw someone posting on jeepforum representing that firm. I wonder why they're limiting it to grand cherokees and just during that 2011-12 period? Seems that thousands of jeeps have been effected. That should be a little wider-based.

Cherrie 274 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 28, 2014 12:51 pm

PAKMAN325 wrote:

Cherrie 274 wrote:

Just something I found interesting.
http://www.girardgibbs.com/chrysler-tot ... -lawsuit-/

I saw someone posting on jeepforum representing that firm. I wonder why they're limiting it to grand cherokees and just during that 2011-12 period? Seems that thousands of jeeps have been effected. That should be a little wider-based.

If the law firm gets enough people then the Gov. Most likely will make them recall or do like the gas spitting out issue- fix it for free for life of vehicle.

PAKMAN325 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:38 pm **Posts:** 35

Cherrie 274 wrote:

PAKMAN325 wrote:

Cherrie 274 wrote:

Just something I found interesting.
http://www.girardgibbs.com/chrysler-tot ... -lawsuit-/

I saw someone posting on jeepforum representing that firm. I wonder why they're limiting it to grand cherokees and just during that 2011-12 period? Seems that thousands of jeeps have been effected. That should be a little wider-based.

If the law firm gets enough people then the Gov. Most likely will make them recall or do like the gas spitting out issue- fix it for free for life of vehicle.

I wonder if those TIPM's were more dangerous. No airbag deployment or something. It sounds like especially in wranglers and KJ liberties, they have a high failure rate.

I messaged them about it, but I suppose I'll need to take mine into the dealer and hold onto the receipts in hopes of a recall or class-action suit.

PAKMAN325 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:38 pm **Posts:** 35

Well, I took the car to my electrical specialist and he said he didn't want to touch it, saying it is either a bad TIPM or it just needs to have all the contacts cleaned, which would cost me too much if he did it.

I took the car home and cleaned everything out, put it back together, and eventually, after a few good dry days, it was running beautifully! I actually spent a couple long drives thinking about how happy I was with the way the car was running...

For two weeks, I thought I was home free.

Then this weekend we had some torrential rains. Got another small leak from the sunroof and then Sunday, the A/C cut out.

It seems to me that some harnesses are getting wet from the sunroof tray filling up and that water snaking it's way to the floor.

I ordered a new sunroof glass seal and it's ready for pickup today. Any advice as to where to start with the electrical debacle with the A/C? This came just in time for 80 degree, muggy weather and my 9 month pregnant wife to come due to give birth...

lfhoward · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2014 10:12 am

Looks like other Jeep models had this issue too, and at least in the case of some of the JK's there was a recall. Here is a JK owner who replaced the TIPM himself and saved about $500 in doing so. http://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-electrical-lighting-sound-systems-13/jk-tipm-problem-solved-266688/#b

lfhoward · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2014 10:33 am

I am still a little suspicious about how a sunroof leak could cause TIPM problems, though. Isn't the TIPM the black fuse box located under the hood? I would check the rubber seals around its lid, as well as the weatherstripping at the top of the hood. Water could be getting in a different way when it rains, and the sunroof leak could be a coincidence.

PAKMAN325 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:38 pm **Posts:** 35

My current suspicion is that water is running down the A pillar to various components behind the dash, throwing electrical issues that would be attributed to the TIPM.

There is a pretty strong correlation between my electrical problems and sunroof leaks.

TIPM seemed a likely culprit at first, but I don't see signs of water having gotten into there. It is the big black box that sits between the steering wheel and the battery (on the battery tray). It has no waterproofing though, or even resistance besides a lid. I find that ridiculous considering it's importance, and the fact it is in a vehicle widely marketed for it's off-road capability.

You could be right regarding the fact the sunroof may be a coincidence. I don't want to go replacing electrical components until I find a solution to the leaking though.

Help! Random horn, lights, wipers, fluid spraying!

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