Haunted Jeep?

QuestMan · **Posted:** Mon Apr 04, 2011 5:44 pm

I got up last night, about 3:30 a.m., to find that my interior lights were on in the Libby. I walked out, hit the unlock button on my key fob, then re-locked, and they went out. I then went to each of the doors, and checked that they were closed tightly (They were). No doors open, no reason for the lights to be on......... :shock:

RedKJ04 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:05 pm

Had that happen to me about a year ago. Went on for about 3-4 months, I would randomly find the Jeep with the interior light on and just like you said a simple push of the key fob would fix the problem. Turned out my battery was on it's way out and that was causing my problems. Had a weak cell that finally died and let me down. I never suspected the battery as it was only a year old when it died on me, hooray for the 3 year free replacement :BANANA:

Hopefully this helps you troubleshoot your problem

QuestMan · **Posted:** Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:32 pm

I just bought my Optima red top in December, but I'll try anything. I'll take it to Autozone tomorrow, and get it checked.

Just because it's new, doesn't mean it's good. I learned that from a Microsoft instructor, about 12 years ago. His exact words were, "It's still suspect until you put in, and test it". :wink:

RedKJ04 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:43 pm

Yep worth a look as you said you never know until you rule that part out. Mine was only a year old and it went belly up on me so that is why I never expected it at first. Hopefully if it's not the battery you can figure it out as I know how annoying the random interior light can be :dizzy:

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:46 am

This is pretty common. It's usually the BCM that causes wacko things to happen. My wife's 04 gasser would do this all the time. Her fuel guage would also go wacky too. The dealer did some repairs under warranty and I don't recall the problem happening again after that.

METCRD · **Posted:** Tue Apr 05, 2011 11:17 am

Last saturday my wife and I were watching tv and I got up and looked outside at the jeep to find the interior lights on as well. Only it was because the door had been shut as the punks that took my gps left. Not happy...

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Apr 05, 2011 11:30 am

QuestMan wrote:

I just bought my Optima red top in December, but I'll try anything. I'll take it to Autozone tomorrow, and get it checked.

Just because it's new, doesn't mean it's good. I learned that from a Microsoft instructor, about 12 years ago. His exact words were, "It's still suspect until you put in, and test it". :wink:

Means nothing if you just got the Optima, bought one it lasted 5 months, got a replacement it lasted 4 months, another replacement, yep sold it and bought an Interstate, never had another prblem

QuestMan · **Posted:** Tue Apr 05, 2011 2:36 pm

Quote:

Means nothing if you just got the Optima, bought one it lasted 5 months, got a replacement it lasted 4 months, another replacement, yep sold it and bought an Interstate, never had another prblem

As I've said, just because something is new, doesn't mean it's 'good', until you've tested it. I fully realize that my Optima may have been sitting on the shelf for a while before I even bought it.

However................If it's between the battery and the BCM, I really hope it's the battery - it'd be cheaper to replace one than the other.

QuestMan · **Posted:** Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:20 pm

Just got back from Autozone - no problems with battery, or alternator. BTW, if the BCM if going bad, would it cause a false ABS warning light? Mine came on about 5 days ago. The next day, when I started my Libby, it had gone away, so I forgot about it. Now, since the mystery light came on, I'm beginning to wonder...... :dizzy:

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:47 am

Why would a battery or alternator cause the interior lights to come on when the vehicle has been parked for hours? I wouldn't have even thought that is a possiblity.

I think you obviously have an issue in the wiring and/or BCM. These are the only things that control turning the lights on and off. The battery simply provides power and it's either got power or it doesn't.

See if you can get the BCM checked out. That's the best place to start.

RedKJ04 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 06, 2011 9:15 am

I was told directly by a Jeep mechanic and I have seen it before these new cars can act flaky when the batteries get weak. I saw it first hand with mine and the random interior light which has been resolved. I wouldn't have believed it had I have not seen it :dizzy:

QuestMan · **Posted:** Wed Apr 06, 2011 9:28 am

Quote:

I was told directly by a Jeep mechanic and I have seen it before these new cars can act flaky when the batteries get weak. I saw it first hand with mine and the random interior light which has been resolved. I wouldn't have believed it had I have not seen it

Ditto. I talked with a buddy at my Jeep dealership that said the same thing. In any case, I've eliminated a weak battery, OR the possibility that the battery isn't charging as a cause. At this point, I'm just going to keep an eye on her, and worry about the BCM later, in less there's a way I can run some sort of diagnostic on it now.

P.S. If there's anyway to run a diagnostic, let me know. All I know how to do is use the on/off key trick to check the ECM, I DON'T know how to get the BCM to do the same.....

RedKJ04 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 06, 2011 10:10 am

Yeah that's probably how I would handle it. When I first had the random interior light problems I never thought of the battery issue and resolved to just keeping and eye on it as it was a random occurrence and those are the hardest to diagnose. Only when the battery let me down did I stop to think that my battery may have been causing the problem and upon replacement it stopped so I got luck and that was the case. Good Luck!

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Thu Apr 07, 2011 1:59 pm

tommudd wrote:

QuestMan wrote:

I just bought my Optima red top in December, but I'll try anything. I'll take it to Autozone tomorrow, and get it checked.

Just because it's new, doesn't mean it's good. I learned that from a Microsoft instructor, about 12 years ago. His exact words were, "It's still suspect until you put in, and test it". :wink:

Means nothing if you just got the Optima, bought one it lasted 5 months, got a replacement it lasted 4 months, another replacement, yep sold it and bought an Interstate, never had another prblem

Agreed, optimas are total crap and should immediately be suspected for any fault on the vehicle, such as the fuel tank being empty or window regulators failing, if those happen, theres a good chance the optima is bad too - not that they are related or anything, its just a good chance that the optima is bad anyways.

Haunted Jeep?

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