Jeep Commander Forum banner

ESP/BAS, Traction Control, "Service 4WD System" at a stop. ANYONE???

33K views 20 replies 6 participants last post by  Dirty_Walter 
#1 · (Edited)
Im just going to try this one more time. If anyone has had this EXACT issue, I would really appreciate hearing from you...

I purchased My 2006, 4.7 V8 with 85,000 miles on it about 5 days ago.

Just about every other time I drive it, randomly, while at a stop light, stop sign, drive through, or any time at a stop I hear a beep and notice the ESP/BAS and Traction Control icon lights on the dash on as well as the "Service 4WD System" on the information screen.

They all come on at the same time and do not go off until I turn off the vehicle. When I turn the vehicle back on they are gone until the next random time I happen to be at a stop...

The vehicle seems to function perfectly with or without the lights on the dash, but if there is an issue with the 4wd (wouldnt really know until the snow hits) or breaks or anything major like that, I obviously need to remedy it asap...

The dealership where I purchased the vehicle is an hour and a half away from where I live so I would like to avoid having to drive back down if the issue is a simple and inexpensive fix (Such as a sensor, alignment, or break switch)

It is still under the 30 day warranty but I just dont have the time to get the jeep back to the dealer and really only want to as a last resort.

Once again, any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance guys.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
The backup sensors have been known to cause those notices to come on.
 
#5 ·
Mine does the same thing. every other time it is turned on it will say that. I changed all the fluids changed and it stated off for a few days then it started coming back on. I also read on a different form that it has something to do with the 08 and older computers. If i remember right you have to have your computer flashed and it will go away. but its 70ish dollars. i just dont feel like pay that much.
I will try and find that form page and post it
 
#7 ·
well, there was a recall on the jeep when I bought it. It was some sort of firmware update for the computer system. I figured, its free to get a recall taken care of so I ended up buying the jeep, bringing it home, going to the jeep dealer near me and having them do the update...

I was hoping it would fix my problem with all the lights on the dash and I wouldnt have to bring the jeep back down to the dealership I got it from, but it didnt solve my problem.

Anyways, my jeep is currently back at the dealer to be fixed. I guess they actually sent it out to an authorized jeep dealer to have them take care of it, then they are doing a bunch of touch up work on it for me before I come to pick it up.

They are expecting it to be ready by early next week so I will post when I have the info...
 
#8 ·
Something gets triggered.

Mine does that (sometimes) if I go through soft sand. Sandy spots and hard thuds on the slickrock in Moab during this year's summit would set it off.

It mainly does it after a hard thump. I went to Rattlesnake mountain last week. I ran the ridge at 40 MPH plus, and caught some minor air on a big bump. It came down fairly hard, and the ABS light, ESP, and SERVICE 4WD SYSTEM came on. I waited until I got to a barbed wire gate, then did a walk around and found nothing. It all reset after it was off and restarted.

I'm not sure if heavy detected G force triggers something in the computer, or something's not tight enough anymore underneath. It seems to do it more than it did before when I first bought it, so maybe something gets worse over time, and yours is now hyper-sensitive.
 
#9 ·
The thing is, I could understand it if I hit a huge bump or something, but these lights were coming on on my jeep while sitting still at a stop light just about every other time I drove it.

Randomly. Sitting there still for like 30 seconds or more and then "bing", the lights come on and dont go off until i restart the vehicle...

Should know more about the issue early next week when the dealership gets back to me.
 
#11 ·
Unfortunately I just got my jeep back from the dealer this morning...

They have had it for a full week. They actually decided to send it to an authorized jeep dealership to have the issue fixed (Was fine with me!)

Anyways, they called me yesterday and said it was all set. I go to pick it up this morning and asked what the problem was, they said that they reflashed the ABS module (or something along those lines) and everything should be fine now...

I drove it all the way home (hour and a half away), do a little buzzing around town and eventually, while at a stop sign..... BING! My dash is once again lit up like a christmas tree!

Anyways, I have been doing a ton of research because the dealerships clearly dont know squat...

Here's what I came up with: C107C is one of the codes in the computer. It means "Break Switch Half Stuck". Simple fix. I also just went outside to check my break lights and..... THEY DONT WORK AT ALL!!!!

Also, there are wires under the driverside floor panel that tend to deteriorate and the splicing comes undone. This has also been known to cuase the issue.

I really dont know what to do right now. I dont want to drive all the way back to the dealership over an hour away for another week of wasted time and gas with no results. I think the fix will be a cheap one and am just thinking about getting it done closer to home if the cost isnt too much. It just sucks because I am still under the 30 day warranty and really shouldn't have to come out of pocket for anything like this...

I will update if I get an actual fix for the problem and I really hope you do the same if you get yours fixed before me. Good luck and Thanks.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Ok, heres the deal. I think I might have fixed it... (Long read but only for the sake of being clear)

So I bought this commander about 3.5 weeks ago. Had the lights come on the dash as stated in the first post... Brought it down to the dealership and they took a whole week to supposedly fix the problem. I got the jeep back Wednesday morning brought it all the way back from the dealership (hour and a half away) and BING! the lights come back on the dash. They didn't get the job done. The almighty authorized jeep mechanics didnt come through. A complete waste of time and gas...

So let me back up a bit. A few days prior to bringing it back to the dealership, I did pass inspection. (I wanted to ensure that when I brought it back to the dealership that every base got covered and if it did fail, the dealer would just have to take care of that two all in one shot...)

Anyways, I found out the other night that none of my break lights worked at all. I dont know if the inspection guy just failed to look (kind of tough to do from inside the vehicle) or the break light issue is a completely new issue...

Anyways, Im assuming all of these things are connected because one of the codes that I had pulled prior to bringing it back to the dealer was C107C (Brake Switch Half Stuck). Makes sense. If the brake switch connected to the brake peddle which controls the brake lights is malfunctioning, well, the brake lights dont work, right?

Either way. I had no brake lights and it wasn't the bulbs...

So I head down to a jeep dealership down the street and buy a new Brake Switch. $14. Did a little research on how to install it which is not very complicated but you need to do it properly or you render the module useless... Its a one shot deal.

Anyways. I installed the Brake Switch. Brake lights still didn't work. Ok, that sucks...

I start looking through my jeep manual to figure out other components that might be causing the problems... FUSES!!!

Sounds like a logical thing to look into, right? So I locate one of the fuses in a fuse box under the hood for "Brake/Stop Lamps". Its a little blue 15 amp fuse in the more elongated fuse box under the hood (Cavity 27).

I go down to autozone, buy their little fuse tester kit that comes with a hand full of different fuses (One was the blue 15a I needed) and it cost me $8.

(By the way, while driving down to autozone, some chick pulled up aside of me and started chewing me out because she said she almost rear ended me due to my lack of brake lights LOL!)

Anyways, I pull the 15a in question out of the fuse box, use the little tester thing, and guess what? DEAD FUSE!!! Test the new one, LIVE!!! Pop it in, and Ive got brake lights!!!!!!!

Now I wont know for sure if this fixed my initial problem (ESP/BAS, Traction Control, "Service 4WD System" at a stop) for a few days until I have driven around more but I did buzz around for about 20 minute or so, coming to stops and sitting idol to try and reproduce the conditions that trigger the issue and no problems so far.

Sorry for the long story, but I just want to help anyone else out there who might be as frustrated as I was.

This all could have cost me hundreds upon hundreds of dollars to diagnos and get fixed and could quite possibly all be due to a little blue fuse worth about 10 cents.

Good luck.
 
#14 ·
Day 2: This is the first day since I have owned the vehicle where the lights have not come on my dash!!!

I have deliberately driven all city today. Stop and go traffic, long stop lights, a few drive throughs... 50 miles city throughout the day today just testing. So At this point Im almost 100% sure I have officially fixed my problem!

Im pretty sure that it was only the fuse, although I did replace the brake switch right before I ended up doing the fuse... Pretty sure that it was just that one little blue fuse the whole time.

So forget getting screwed by a dealer or shady mechanic. If you have this issue or anything even remotely similar, check those fuses!

Good luck. I hope this helps someone!
 
#16 ·
Well fuses do tend to blow once an a while naturally, right? Like a light bulb? I hope there isnt anything else going on that actually caused the fuse to blow and my fingers are crossed that there isnt...

Im just happy that I was actually able to diognos and fix the issue myself. Saved a ton of time and maybe even a ton of money that the dealership and shops would have most likely wasted replacing sensors, doing firmware updates, alignments, transfer cases, steering column adjustment, taking naps in the back seat... I have no faith in any of them.

Anyways, day 3, ton of driving around all over the place today, all is perfect and I'm loving it!!!! Thing is a BEAST!
 
#17 · (Edited)
What did you do, jinx ME?!? :) Now, my system had gone stark raving mad.

It’s partly my fault I guess. It started in Moab when I went thru deep sand. (6 weeks ago) It’s been doing it more and more, sand or a good thump and it sets off the lights and SERVICE 4WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEM. It’s always reset, so…

Friday, we went to a friend’s place for dinner. They live in the farm lands, and I always take a shortcut. A circle field was getting over-watered, and we went thru a mud pit on the way out. No problems there, and we hit the same pit on the way home. The big tires dug it through, and I doubt all terrain tires would’ve made it.

But, about 2 miles later, all the same stupid lights lit up. A little farther on, the right front started locking up like it’s applying traction control That’s NOT GOOD when crossing a busy intersection!! It became undrivable, and somehow we got home. I pulled the 30 amp ABS pump fuse, and that killed the tire lockups, so it can be driven without wrecking it. At least that’s an emergency fix.

Now, it’s at the dealer. No choice there I guess. My usual frame shop and alignment place can’t deal with the electronics.
My Superchips programmer popped up diagnostic gripes about the right front wheel sensor, with “Implausible distance signal” as one. Also, right rear. I reset them, then test drove it, and it locked up again, and only the right front again, but three codes. (I have ‘em written down, but they’re in the Jeep… at the dealer) After that, I pulled the fuse and parked it to wait ‘til today.

I guess the mud pit finished off something that was dying.
 
#18 ·
Well, Im far from a mechanic but I do have common sense which ironically most mechanics seem to lack...

I would first think about the codes you pulled keeping in mind that if there are several, one of them may be triggering the others...

In this instance I would be looking at the wheel sensors. But I would definitely think about locating the appropriate fuses and using a tester to see if they are dead or not. Study the drivers manual, study the fuse boxes and figure out whats what. Replacing a dead fuse is easier than changing a light bulb.

Its sooo cheap and fairly simple just to check out the fuses and im my particular case, was the route of my whole problem. 1 little blue 15amp fuse replaced and my jeep is running absolutely perfect now. Not a hiccup in 4 days of extensive driving...
 
#19 ·
Here's what keeps tripping:

01415, 00418, C1035, and C1049. I forget the plain English versions now, I didn't save them.

The sensors are (I think) a Hall effect type that detects a slotted disk behind the hub. There's an opening there, where the sensor line goes in. It probably collects crap, and maybe a rock got in there and did something.

Interestingly enough, the codes I got were three front right related with one right rear, and the dealer says they get right rear codes. ??? Maybe my water flushing croaked something that's intermittent, and it got to dry out for two days over the weekend.

Another thing that bugs me is the thump-related triggers. Either the wheel/tire is moving rapidly, and an intermittent cable fails, (or the sensor itself) or the G-force sensor is related to all this.

At any rate, when the computer gets confused from bogus wheel sensor readings, it does weird out pretty bad. On Saturday, when I'd take a corner, it would corner-lock with the traction control light showing, (felt like the right front) then all the error lights would come on right afterwards. (After the error codes were cleared)

When the dealer looked at it today, the codes were all cleared. (I read him the list of what I had) The removed ABS pump fuse might've done that. Now, they pop up with the right rear.

That's the problem with computers, when they work, they work great, and when they don't, they don't. At least pulling the ABS pump fuse gets you going again. Heaven forbid that's not when you're in the deep woods and QDII got you there in the first place. :eek:
 
#21 ·
Thats great to hear man! Looks like that trailer light module or whatever is what blew your fuse. Im glad you were able to work it out though...

I dont know what might have blown my fuse. I dont know alot about fuses in general, but I do know that my Commander is running 100% mint for the past week with not so much as a hiccup of any kind, and thats all I really need to know right now.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top