Help! Stuck in Limp Mode!
03-18-2019, 06:49 PM
#1
JK Newbie
Thread Starter
Help! Stuck in Limp Mode!
Fellow Jeepers,
I have found myself in the most annoying situation. My 2007 Jeep Wrangler X is stuck in limp mode (2nd gear I believe). My mechanic is at the point of it could either be something internal in the transmission, or computer related. I have a gut feeling that it's the latter. So here's the story:
About two months ago, I got a hard shift early in the morning. I assumed I hadn't let it warm up enough and that giving it a couple minutes on cold mornings would fix it. This seemed to work, but I still had a thought in the back of my head that something may come of it later. I checked the tranny fluid, put some enhancer in there, and hoped for the best. This happened maybe three times over a span of a couple months but was so infrequent I thought it something that I could avoid just by letting it warm up.
About a month ago, it started engaging traction control when it wasn't necessary. Either immediately when I got I turned it on (if I had already driven it that day) or after about 120 seconds of driving. Once it did this, it would not go over third gear.. but would still shift from 1st to 2nd to 3rd, just not higher. It's been in the shop since. I had a cracked flywheel fixed that had been making a ticking noise and since then it's completely put itself in limp mode.. Now not shifting at all. Just simply staying in second gear (I think). I don't think the flywheel is related, but the dealer also cleared the computer and the only code that has been coming up recently is P0082 (TCM power input low). It did need a new battery so I just replaced that, and have yet to hear back on if that code still remains.
I'm honestly just dumbfounded. I see on these forums that Jeeps have electrical issues pretty frequently. I also read back when I was getting that hard shift in the mornings, that it is probably PCM related. I would like to think it is the PCM as I get can a used one reprogrammed for about $400.. vs a used transmission for at the minimum $800.00. I've also read a lot about TCM issues with Chrysler.
SO I guess my questions are:
1) Does this sound like a computer issue to y'all? Or an internal transmission issue?
2) Is there a way I can get it out of limp mode? Perhaps to possibly check the codes when it puts itself back into it? I thought keeping the battery unplugged overnight might do the trick.
3) Are the PCM and TCM separate entities? Or are they one of the same? If separate, which do y'all feel would most likely be the culprit? Or if neither, maybe a different electrical issue?
Thanks for taking the time to read all this! I'm just trying to get some advice before I start throwing money at pricey parts (It's no longer under warranty).
I have found myself in the most annoying situation. My 2007 Jeep Wrangler X is stuck in limp mode (2nd gear I believe). My mechanic is at the point of it could either be something internal in the transmission, or computer related. I have a gut feeling that it's the latter. So here's the story:
About two months ago, I got a hard shift early in the morning. I assumed I hadn't let it warm up enough and that giving it a couple minutes on cold mornings would fix it. This seemed to work, but I still had a thought in the back of my head that something may come of it later. I checked the tranny fluid, put some enhancer in there, and hoped for the best. This happened maybe three times over a span of a couple months but was so infrequent I thought it something that I could avoid just by letting it warm up.
About a month ago, it started engaging traction control when it wasn't necessary. Either immediately when I got I turned it on (if I had already driven it that day) or after about 120 seconds of driving. Once it did this, it would not go over third gear.. but would still shift from 1st to 2nd to 3rd, just not higher. It's been in the shop since. I had a cracked flywheel fixed that had been making a ticking noise and since then it's completely put itself in limp mode.. Now not shifting at all. Just simply staying in second gear (I think). I don't think the flywheel is related, but the dealer also cleared the computer and the only code that has been coming up recently is P0082 (TCM power input low). It did need a new battery so I just replaced that, and have yet to hear back on if that code still remains.
I'm honestly just dumbfounded. I see on these forums that Jeeps have electrical issues pretty frequently. I also read back when I was getting that hard shift in the mornings, that it is probably PCM related. I would like to think it is the PCM as I get can a used one reprogrammed for about $400.. vs a used transmission for at the minimum $800.00. I've also read a lot about TCM issues with Chrysler.
SO I guess my questions are:
1) Does this sound like a computer issue to y'all? Or an internal transmission issue?
2) Is there a way I can get it out of limp mode? Perhaps to possibly check the codes when it puts itself back into it? I thought keeping the battery unplugged overnight might do the trick.
3) Are the PCM and TCM separate entities? Or are they one of the same? If separate, which do y'all feel would most likely be the culprit? Or if neither, maybe a different electrical issue?
Thanks for taking the time to read all this! I'm just trying to get some advice before I start throwing money at pricey parts (It's no longer under warranty).
05-16-2019, 01:24 PM
#2
JK Newbie
Thread Starter
Solved!!!
Hey guys,
just wanted ted to let you know I figured it out. It was a faulty Tipm. Terrible piece of equipment. Went through a company in La “Tipm rebuilders” got a new one, programmed it at home, and now it’s running great! (At leads regarding that issue)
just wanted ted to let you know I figured it out. It was a faulty Tipm. Terrible piece of equipment. Went through a company in La “Tipm rebuilders” got a new one, programmed it at home, and now it’s running great! (At leads regarding that issue)
05-18-2019, 06:52 PM
#3
JK Junkie
Good follow up, good news. How did you troubleshoot it to the TIPM? 
05-18-2019, 08:02 PM
#4
JK Newbie
Thread Starter
Nightmarish Journey
It was a nightmarish journey. At first, my mechanic assumed it was either the PCM(he didn’t know the fusebox also has the brain attached on Jeeps) or the transmission but couldn’t tell me for sure... So I ended up limping it to the dealership to have their diagnostic.
Awful experience with them, customer service wise, but I was getting the P0082 TCM power input low code and they told me the it was a short in the wiring harness and possibly a faulty Tipm... just wanted $3600 to repair it for me. LOL. So I took it back to my mechanic with their diagnostic and had him check over the wiring harness, he said it looked completely fine.
With that I felt pretty confident that it had to be the Tipm given the parts track record. I called “Tipm rebuilders” and they said that P0082 is a pretty common code for tipm related issues. Pulled it out myself and took it over to them, they plugged it into a town and country van and told me within two minutes that it was definitely the tipm. They could tell by the thud it would make when shifting through the PRND that it had set the van into limp mode. Bought a rebuilt Tipm from them for 300, did a soft reset, and it did the trick!
I am still getting some random hard shifts from 1st to 2nd when I first start driving it, which i think may be PCM related since it stops if I unplug the battery or manually shift to 2nd before putting it into drive... BUT that was happening before all this AND will worry about that another day. Mine was throwing random Traction control lights before fully going into limp mode but from what I hear the Tipm can cause a variety of random things to go haywire. Cheers!
Awful experience with them, customer service wise, but I was getting the P0082 TCM power input low code and they told me the it was a short in the wiring harness and possibly a faulty Tipm... just wanted $3600 to repair it for me. LOL. So I took it back to my mechanic with their diagnostic and had him check over the wiring harness, he said it looked completely fine.
With that I felt pretty confident that it had to be the Tipm given the parts track record. I called “Tipm rebuilders” and they said that P0082 is a pretty common code for tipm related issues. Pulled it out myself and took it over to them, they plugged it into a town and country van and told me within two minutes that it was definitely the tipm. They could tell by the thud it would make when shifting through the PRND that it had set the van into limp mode. Bought a rebuilt Tipm from them for 300, did a soft reset, and it did the trick!
I am still getting some random hard shifts from 1st to 2nd when I first start driving it, which i think may be PCM related since it stops if I unplug the battery or manually shift to 2nd before putting it into drive... BUT that was happening before all this AND will worry about that another day. Mine was throwing random Traction control lights before fully going into limp mode but from what I hear the Tipm can cause a variety of random things to go haywire. Cheers!