Dash lights and backlight for instrument LED screen wont go out

[HeavyOne]

Hopefully you'll be good to go now. I may check that connector for the hell of it. Can't hurt.

 

[0bnxshs]

Hopefully you'll be good to go now. I may check that connector for the hell of it. Can't hurt.

You must have missed my latest post just before you posted the above.....

Anyhow, today they decided that the problem might exist in the TIPM.... yep, that beastly, possessed p.o.c. that has been the bane of FCA now for years. They actually took one off a new, unsold truck and installed it in mine this afternoon. So far, no problems but they want to keep it for a while (at least overnight) until it either fails again or the owner of the dealership wants it back in the new truck so he can sell it.

These things are on national backorder and apparently have no delivery dates available. So I may be without the truck for awhile until they can get their hands on one if they want to sell their new truck. I can't fault the dealership as I think they've gone above and beyond in doing the swap to start with. But this is getting ridiculous.

 

[0bnxshs]

On Friday, 10-28, they decided it's not the cursed TIPM as the problem continues to re-occur. At least there is no problem reproducing the problem. Back to the drawing board. I don't suspect FCA engineers are losing any sleep over this but I'm beginning to.

Still have the loaner at FCA expense, but it's a 200 that ain't worth half the truck. I really hate that I am starting to think Lemon Law, but I now have a case here in Florida.

It's just unbelievable that FCA continues to make their brands customers' lives miserable with such shoddy engineering and QC. If you do a google search you'll see it's pervasive across several years, models and makes of FCA. Very, very disappointed in all this.

 

[HeavyOne]

I would escalate the issue higher up the company chain, outside of the dealer that you're working with. They'll understand. A few friends of mine have done that with ongoing vehicle issues and extended dealership stays like yours. You should definitely get something out of this whole ordeal.

 

[0bnxshs]

I would escalate the issue higher up the company chain, outside of the dealer that you're working with. They'll understand. A few friends of mine have done that with ongoing vehicle issues and extended dealership stays like yours. You should definitely get something out of this whole ordeal.

I am expecting a call from just such an entity.... sometime. I was contacted via email about the issues and was told a call would be forthcoming.

I am a life-long Mopar guy but right now, I'm a very unhappy one.

Thanks, HeavyOne. All I really want is a fixed truck that I can rebuild my trust in.

 

[0bnxshs]

So, this week little has happened, no fix yet although the cluster has been replaced and all the previous work re-done at FCA request. Problem continues to occur with regularity.

I have a case opened with the "Ram Cares" or whatever group. This seems to have accomplished little to nothing. Service Advisor says they wait on FCA engineers to give them the next check, "Ram Cares" case manager(s) say dealership has lost contact with them and that the case has been closed and re-opened (WTF?!?). They ask me what the service department says, the service department asks me what the case manager says. I'm stuck in the middle as a "he said, she said" stool pigeon. It doesn't seem they have any sway with helping this issue other than to "compensate" me with oil changes. Meanwhile nothing good happens for me.

This whole experience has been a huge disappointment. I have tried to be patient with this process (it is sort of 1st world, after all) but I sure understand how others absolutely lose it somewhere along the line. I've never believed that displays of displeasure accomplish much but maybe it's time I reconsider my position.

 

[HeavyOne]

Tell them you're going to speak with an attorney. Seriously.

 

[0bnxshs]

Tell them you're going to speak with an attorney. Seriously.

Well, I would tell them if my case manager's VM wasn't full and his message 7 days old as I found out this morning. Had to call back and speak to a different CSR who promised to report my case manager and that I would hear back in 1 business day from "somebody". My hope is that nothing awful has happened with my case manager but I find Ram Customer Care appallingly lacking in "care" or "follow through".

Actually, there are 2 attorneys in my extended family. I've spoken with one of them already and I'm well covered should I truly have to go that route (mandatory arbitration). Lots of paperwork involved but I'd have great representation.

Thanks again HeavyOne.

 

[Andy606Andy]

Hi everyone.
I started to have the same issue with the truck only this summer. It happened several times by now. It never happened before that day when the dealer updated the software on some modules which was early in summer this year.

RAM 1500 is not officially shipped to Russia, so there is no access to warranty.
I am interested in resolution to this issue.

 

[HeavyOne]

Mine has done it twice now since I last posted. Most recent was this morning. It's really getting annoying. I think this weekend I'm going to wire in an in-line switch so that I can at least reset it without having to pop the hood and pull the fuse.

I'm also going to design a circuit to automatically reset that particular circuit about 20sec after every ignition off sequence. Then I can remove the manual switch and never worry about it again..

 

[0bnxshs]

Hi everyone.
I started to have the same issue with the truck only this summer. It happened several times by now. It never happened before that day when the dealer updated the software on some modules which was early in summer this year.

RAM 1500 is not officially shipped to Russia, so there is no access to warranty.
I am interested in resolution to this issue.

Sorry to hear you too are having trouble with this. If I ever get a fix done, I'll certainly post here and let you know what it was.

In the meantime, HeavyOne has a solution he is going to perform. Since you have no access to a dealer network and warranty, you may want to investigate his solution.

Never did hear a thing from Ram Customer Care. Are you guys reading this?

 

[0bnxshs]

A solution is possibly in the offing!

Today, a factory representative was there and banged heads together in the dealer network and factory until she shook out of the tree a possible cause. It seems the valve body in the transmission has a short that is waking up the transmission control module causing the gear indicator light above the transmission rotator/selector to illuminate, causing the I/C lights to illuminate. Their testing seems to confirm this and would explain why replacing the transmission control module early on fixed the problem for a short while. A new valve body is being overnighted and will be installed tomorrow.

I actually might be driving my truck by Saturday! What an f'ing relief.

BTW, finally got a call from Ram Customer Care this afternoon, 3 and 1/2 days after I called them Monday. They only repeated what I'd been told earlier today, which was the service department was waiting on the field engineer to come and work on it.

Took a factory rep, responsible for warranty costs and such (a sort of bean counter) to see how much money this was costing FCA and bang heads and get something done.

 

[BLYGOAT]

I sure hope this fixes your problem. You have been through a lot!
BLYGOAT

 

[0bnxshs]

I sure hope this fixes your problem. You have been through a lot!
BLYGOAT

Well, I'll tell ya, when it rains... it pours.

I don't even know if they fixed the lights issue as they have now caused a transmission problem that they've kept the truck for. Apparently the valve body was replaced but now the tranny doesn't shift right. They re-taught it but it must have a dunce cap on it as that didn't work.

So now they say another valve body or something with the trans-cooler lines. I'm about at the end of my rope with this.

 

[HeavyOne]

Sorry to hear it, what a nightmare.

 

[0bnxshs]

Sorry to hear it, what a nightmare.

Yes, nightmare indeed!

Apparently the value body they put into the tranny has a bad solenoid that is preventing the torque converter from locking when it should. This was determined Saturday.

The parts depot here doesn't have another value body. So there isn't one today. The service department had to track one down at another dealership and have it shipped overnight for install tomorrow. With any good luck at all this one will not have anything wrong with it.

When this is all over, whatever the outcome, I will be having some very serious discussions with my lawyer family members to talk about compensation. As of tomorrow the truck will have been sitting in my driveway 25 days and in the service department 27 days since I purchased it.

Hope that no one here ever experiences this for themselves. I do thank you all for your continuing empathy and support.

 

[Mpgrimm2]

Hopefully they will figure it all out so you end up actually happy with your truck for a long time. Going on 3 yrs now with my 2013 v6/8spd without any issues (thank God) and very pleased with it.


Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[Broyd]

I have been following this thread since you first posted but really had nothing to offer. It has been (and may still be) a problem that goes way beyond frustration. I can't imagine myself going through this ...

However, this problem is more than complex. The one good thing that may come of it is helping the FCA find that problem for other RAM owners if/when it happens. Thanks for putting up with this until it is finally solved!

 

[0bnxshs]

Hopefully they will figure it all out so you end up actually happy with your truck for a long time. Going on 3 yrs now with my 2013 v6/8spd without any issues (thank God) and very pleased with it.


Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

I actually have held out hope that once this gets fixed I will end up re-gaining my confidence in this particular truck and in FCA in general. Right now I really have to give it deep consideration. Thanks for the thoughts and see my continuation below.

I have been following this thread since you first posted but really had nothing to offer. It has been (and may still be) a problem that goes way beyond frustration. I can't imagine myself going through this ...

However, this problem is more than complex. The one good thing that may come of it is helping the FCA find that problem for other RAM owners if/when it happens. Thanks for putting up with this until it is finally solved!

Just knowing you've been following along is a bit of panacea. I do hope this problem makes it far up into the corporate and engineering labyrinths and is analyzed.

Some things of interest to me here and maybe to everyone here. First, I wonder what it says about FCA and its parts manufacturers when you think about the following: they produce a new, defective product and then, in "blind leading the blind" attempts to repair it take at least a month to stumble over a solution (remembering that I've given it over to them on 3 different occasions and they've tried a myriad of things to repair the defect) only to install a new, defective part on it. What are the odds of that happening? I wouldn't have thought good before this. It makes me wonder if there is a systemic issue of quality control. While it can't be completely ruled out it seems like more than mere coincidence.

Second, I got a VM and email from Ram Customer Care this afternoon. Yes, the long absent "customer care" raises itself from the dust and informs me that I am now eligible to be escalated to their "Enhanced Satisfaction" team and can expect a call from them in 1 or 2 business days. Seems they must be very busy to not be able to call sooner. I was then bid adieu by my 2nd Ram Customer Care case manager, but it was at least nice that she said goodbye as the 1st case manager just simply disappeared without any contact from him beyond his first call introducing himself. I do wish him well. What does it say about FCA customer service when they have levels above customer care in their customer care department? Shouldn't a case manager be empowered to follow a problem all the way through the process? Shouldn't your problem or my problem be treated with the same level of "care" throughout the process? What qualifies me for "enhanced satisfaction" when I'm not in the least satisfied in the first place with this whole process?

Lastly, I received an unsolicited piece of mail today from a law firm soliciting my business regarding all the issues found with 2014 - 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokees. Apparently they have problems with "Check Engine" lights, "Transmission Control Modules", vehicles not starting, vehicles shutting down while operating at highway speeds (I've had this happen once years ago and it scarred the poop out of me!) and other similar issues. Now, I've never had the first problem with my 2014 JGC but these sorts of problems seem to cross FCA US brands from what I can tell from this and similar boards. I'll say again that I've been a lifelong Mopar guy and satisfactorily owned them from a 1965 Plymouth Valiant with a Commando package under the hood, a 1968 Plymouth Sport Satellite with a 383 all numbers matching original, a brand new (and first new vehicle I bought) 1983 Dodge D150 4 speed 226 slant six.... I could go on. What's happening to our precious Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands? It's enough to make you wonder why a law firm would spend money mailing out solicitations for business for "lemon law" cases on our cars.

Anyhow, I'll let everyone know the latest when I have more.

 

[0bnxshs]

They've now f*cked up the transmission; it won't shift out of 1st gear. So they are now looking for a new 8HP70.

They are buying the POS back from me.