C1404 / 4x4 Serv light

[Coventrywoods]

2016/2500/6.4 hemi / 53K miles

Been chasing this nightmare with no avail. Dealer is clueless and truck is out of warranty. Sick of them wanting to throw darts at it on my dime. There's a slew of things that it could be and I'm in the process of going through the basics. Connections , shorted wire , ABS sensors , ac pressure switch etc.

Truck goes into 4high , 4lo & 2wd fine. Light comes on within a few miles 98% of the time as I'm on the brakes every time I drive it. Around a parking lot it's fine .... Get it above 15 MPH and there she is. Dash light and message clears once shut off but is stored in memory.

Twice on start up (after over night) when shifting into reverse it seems like the e-brake is on and it binds up. A few times forward to reverse and it frees up. When the light comes on and while driving it doesn't seem like it's trying to put itself in 4high or low but it seems this issue leads I to that at some point.

The last time it was at the dealer they told me they couldn't duplicate the problem so they reset the light and said if it comes on again it's the shift motor on the transfer case. 800$ part and 2 hrs labor (1k plus) So I sourced out a new OEM one for 220 and put it in my self. Light still comes on. Dodged about an 800 dart on that one.

Truck is bone stock , no after market anything other than wheels & tires I did at 30k. Stock size , just went with an aggressive tread. The wheel sensors have been screwed up since the day they went on and throwing TPMS warnings. I have went back to stock wheels hoping maybe the warnings were messing with the system. No luck on 4x4 Serv light but TPMS is back to normal with no warnings.

My question is can I just disconnect the connector at the transfer case motor and the fork actuator in the front axle to keep it from trying to go into 4x4. This way at least I can drive it without worry of it going into 4low at 80mph on the highway. This way I can keep picking things off as time allows without worry of hand grenading my 4wd system.

 

[crash68]

The C1404 error code of Transfer case low range position sensor low means something in that circuit is shorted. It could be in the wiring or an end switch in the transfer case itself. I think there is also a 4X4 drivetrain control module also.
You pull the plug you'll probably get more error codes but I think the transfer case will stay in 2WD. I bet @Brandon-w would know, possibly have an idea what to look for.

 

[Sherman Bird]

2016/2500/6.4 hemi / 53K miles

Been chasing this nightmare with no avail. Dealer is clueless and truck is out of warranty. Sick of them wanting to throw darts at it on my dime. There's a slew of things that it could be and I'm in the process of going through the basics. Connections , shorted wire , ABS sensors , ac pressure switch etc.

Wow! I looked this one up on my service information system... and it is pretty busy, electrically. The diagnostic chart is many pages long, but the end result is either a bad DTCM or wiring/connector/ground.

Truck goes into 4high , 4lo & 2wd fine. Light comes on within a few miles 98% of the time as I'm on the brakes every time I drive it. Around a parking lot it's fine .... Get it above 15 MPH and there she is. Dash light and message clears once shut off but is stored in memory.

Twice on start up (after over night) when shifting into reverse it seems like the e-brake is on and it binds up. A few times forward to reverse and it frees up. When the light comes on and while driving it doesn't seem like it's trying to put itself in 4high or low but it seems this issue leads I to that at some point.

The last time it was at the dealer they told me they couldn't duplicate the problem so they reset the light and said if it comes on again it's the shift motor on the transfer case. 800$ part and 2 hrs labor (1k plus) So I sourced out a new OEM one for 220 and put it in my self. Light still comes on. Dodged about an 800 dart on that one.

Truck is bone stock , no after market anything other than wheels & tires I did at 30k. Stock size , just went with an aggressive tread. The wheel sensors have been screwed up since the day they went on and throwing TPMS warnings. I have went back to stock wheels hoping maybe the warnings were messing with the system. No luck on 4x4 Serv light but TPMS is back to normal with no warnings.

My question is can I just disconnect the connector at the transfer case motor and the fork actuator in the front axle to keep it from trying to go into 4x4. This way at least I can drive it without worry of it going into 4low at 80mph on the highway. This way I can keep picking things off as time allows without worry of hand grenading my 4wd system.

View attachment 218076 View attachment 218077

 

[Coventrywoods]

Update ....

Went through pretty much the entire wiring harness myself for an obvious short (broken wire on metal) or bad connection at plug. Used dielectric grease on every connection to no avail.

Truck is back at dealership. Had a good discussion with the service manager letting him know I realize its not going to be an easy fix and I get that. The scan tool is no magic wand that pin points issues but singles out circuits. And with that said being it's on my dime to try their best at not throwing darts. That I would rather have 10hrs diagnostic time and the issue found rather than 2hrs labor and a random part then sent on my way 8 times over. He understood that and said he (dealership) would work with me. Said he would do a "goodwill" deal with me. Basically I'm on the hook for the first 1500.00. If it goes over that the dealership would eat anything over.

So it's been there for a week. Volt tested stuff and said things checked out okay. So they changed out the module (dart #2) and road tested it. 8 miles in and Serv 4x4 was saying hi again. So Monday (start of week #2 at dealership) they are going to start from scratch again.

More to come .....

 

[NJMOPAR]

I think the fact that you worked on it yourself would nullify any chance at a possible Lemon Law buyback, otherwise I'd explore that route.

 

[Coventrywoods]

The dealer claimed the case shift motor was the problem. Yes , I replaced that with an OEM one but the dealer didn't have a problem with that. They also did not record that I changed it or that it was changed at all. Just simply crossed that off the list of possible things wrong. And if unplugging connectors and putting dielectric grease in them voids anything that would be absurd , the factory should be doing this anyway with all models these days.

We'll see as time passes here.

 

[Coventrywoods]

10th day truck has been at dealer this attempt.

2nd time truck has been in for this totalling 12 days in all.

RI lemon law states 4 attempts or 30 days at dealership involving same problem while in warranty.

Either way the truck is going , under the lemon law or if the light stays off long enough to trade it in. I'm done with Chrysler / Ram. It's such a nice looking truck too

 

[Sherman Bird]

Texas lemon law applies only to new vehicles, not 4 year old ones.

 

[NJMOPAR]

OP is in Rhode Island, every state has it's own rules

 

[Sherman Bird]

Search Results
Featured snippet from the web
According to Rhode Island statute, the state's lemon law protects car buyers for up to one year from delivery or 15,000 miles, whichever comes first. Eligible consumers invoking the lemon law may choose either a comparable replacement vehicle or a full refund (minus a "reasonable allowance" for use).Jun 20, 2010

That 2016 the OP has doesn't qualify! Thank goodness for Google!

 

[Coventrywoods]

There is a sub section though with the state guidelines .... As everything these days it's open for interpretation due to how it's written. There is no specific timeline nor does it reference one. Just vaguely claims" while in warranty". It may fall into the one year /15k as stipulated but no new vehicle has less than a one year 15,000 warranty. So it's weirdly written almost like it pertains to the warranty trems of the vehicle the manufacturer has stipulated if said vehicle is ******* over 30 days. I've also been told it may fall into a federal lemon law too somehow. I'm looking into both of these for better clarification. Sub section is attached for RI.

Stopped by dealer today as I saw my truck parked in "general population" as I call it vrs behind the shop as it's been since drop off. Service manager told me "we've done everything we were told" (by scan tool but he didn't say that) "we changed the module , the shift fork actuator & a few other things but the light is still on. We are trying to contact Chrysler service star to find out what to do"

I said awesome , keep me posted. Kinda annoyed at this point but but ranting and calling them incompetent at this point won't help.

More to come ..........

 

[Coventrywoods]

Update ....

Dealer called and said my truck is all set. Get there and ask what they found. Service guy tells me he's not sure & the service manager is off today. I then asked if the tech who worked on it was there. His day off also. Okay, it's fine .... I'll just call Monday and see what they finally came up with. By now curiosity is killing me but on the bright side I have my truck back. Next question .... What's the final damage ? Service guy says "looks like they good willed it, no charge" I was floored. Couldn't say thank you enough and off I went. Started truck and noticed 100 extra miles on the odometer so at least this time they drove it both checking in between fixes and after the fact. Drive down the road about 4 miles to Dunkin donuts and buy 2 gift cards , 50$ each. Go back to dealer and tell service guy to give one to Mike (Serv manger) and the other to Dave the tech who worked on it. It's the least I could do , hell they buried the work in warranty when the truck is out of warranty. Off I go again on my 30 mile trip home. 10 miles on a rural road then the highway. Take the 2nd exit on highway to stop for fuel and as soon as I got the brake .... Bing Bing ... SERV 4X4 Get back on highway and return to dealer. On arriving left truck running in lot and went into service and told them the light is back on. Service guy said he'll leave a note for Mike for Monday.

 

[Coventrywoods]

Checked more into lemon law .

As stated earlier the terms are the initial one year. As far as federal that only pertains to emissions. Either way wouldn't matter as I found out today that the dealer registered my truck for 11,000 GVW. So even if this happened within the first year I would be where I'm at now anyway as it's "less than 10,000" and yes Under means under , so anything over 9,999 lbs does not qualify. So technical. Wonder how many are out there registered at 10k just so it won't qualify.

 

[NJMOPAR]

Sorry it sucks, if there's a fuse for that light pull it and sell/trade the truck at this point.

 

[Coventrywoods]

Final update.

3 times in shop
19 combined days
Over 3K in labor & parts

Shorted wire was finally found after pulling the harness. (See pic)

Moral of this story is keep your cool and don't lose faith. Valuable lesson learned on my part. too many times I've blown my stack over things like this. This time I played a different card game and put myself in their position. Was always courteous and said thank you countless times and gave them the time and understanding they needed. Payoff was the keys were handed to me and the service manager said "it was a pleasure doing business with you" Zero charge , the dealer covered everything. Go out to my truck and it was spotless (detailed) inside & out. Start it up and the gas gauge is on F. As long as that dealership is there they have a customer for life. I've owned a lot of vehicles of all makes and models. No service dept has even come close to this place. Nice to know there's still good people out there in this odd world we now live in.

 

[MSgtZ]

Depending on how that was hidden within the harness, it is no wonder it took so long to find. Good service department and great customer service!

 

[Lyle Longboat]

Awesome and glad you all fixed up!

 

[Davood]

Thanks for posting the final results. I have a similar issue on a 2010 4WD with a suspicious harness (from the actuator to an intermediate connector at the front differential) however I do read 12 V at the connector when the ignition is ON, and good return.

 

[Wobblzz]

Glad you were able to fix the problem! I'm having the same issue on my 2009 Dodge. C1404 and C1405. Hesitant to replace the shift actuator but had my tipm rebuilt. I went through a ton of my wiring harness and found nothing, do you know where they found the short ultimately?

 

[Coventrywoods]

While dealing with yet another wiring issue on my truck a year later I have found where the harness was shorted with this issues. On the main harness follow it from the side of the air box to the motor. It basically rests directly on top of metal line that a rubber hose is connected to.the clamp on that line is what chaffed through and shorted a wire in the harness.