electrical issue

[TangoBravo]

So the wife was driving the TB yesterday and told me the the guage clusters all went dead, the radio got interrupted but stayed on. However the time went to 12:00. My stations stayed programmed and everything did fix its self. But today after I corrected the time it got messed up again. I checked all the obvious things and just can't figure it out. Everything works fine as of now but I would like to fix the problem. Anyone have suggestions?

[rjpoog1989]

I've had this same problem for a while. It does it once every month or so, resets the clock and whatnot. Still searching for clues towards the answer...

[TangoBravo]

Ok well I guess I will keep an eye on it. Untill we can get it figured out.

[The Roadie]

My spidey-sense smells ignition switch.

[TangoBravo]

My spidey-sense smells ignition switch.

That could cause the clock to 0 out and the gauges to malfunction? I don't know much about vehicle electronics. Also is there a way to test the ignition switch myself?

[bgwolfpack]

My spidey-sense smells ignition switch.

That could cause the clock to 0 out and the gauges to malfunction? I don't know much about vehicle electronics. Also is there a way to test the ignition switch myself?

You may not want to question theroadie advice on this subject. He's posted about this subject one or two times on the OS. He also can tell you what brand to buy and from whom or link you to ebay if willing.

[TangoBravo]

Of course this is the roadie were talking about ( palm to face). So i will look into how to test the ignition switch then. Thanks for the advice guys.

[The Roadie]

For the $30 it will cost at the aftermarket stores, it's pretty much not worth your time to try to test it. Unless the intermittent failure turns into a permanent one. The failure rate is horrible, and if it's not dead now it will be later on, and I predict it will be 20 miles from pavement. It's even more vitally important for an offroader to have a reliable switch than a mall queen. I changed mine out when it showed the FIRST hint of failure, and I bought a spare on Ebay for $5 and carry that around to sell for $100 to somebody who didn't carry their own spare 20 miles from pavement.

But if you DO want to throw a voltmeter on it:

RED on the ignition switch is 12V, fused by underhood fuse #34, and feeds the following three circuits:

White is hot in ACCY, RUN, START
Orange is hot in RUN
Yellow is hot in START

RED/WHITE is another 12V, fused by underhood fuse #36, and feeds two circuits:

Brown is hot in ACCY, RUN
Pink is hot in RUN, START



That said, you could always have a flaky battery or fuse block wiring, because the radio does NOT have switchte power. It gets fed straight from the battery and gets turned on and off by a data packet from the BCM.

But unless and until you have a known-good ignition switch, the fault could be as subtle as the ignition switch confusing the BCM and causing an odd reset.

[rjpoog1989]

I will be looking into this as well. The ignition switch is a probably my issue, based on other problems I've had with the vehicle, it makes complete sense!

Thanks all!

[TangoBravo]

Yeah that's awsome details Roadie thanks. I think I will do the smart thing and just replace it. where I do most of my wheeling is an hour and a half down an unmaintained paved road just to get to the first trailhead. So needless to say even if I broke down on the pavement there is still nothing around.