wickedartstudio

Sorry for the long post, but I'm at a total loss on this one... So, I was recently on a wheeling trip in Moab and began experiencing an issue with my 2014 JKUR (auto transmission) that makes no sense to me or anyone else I've talked with about it.

The first time it happened I was climbing a pretty steep incline in 4 low (I think this happened on Hell's Revenge, but I can't remember for sure). The rig acted like the transmission slipped, meaning I lost forward momentum for a brief second while I was still on the accelerator pedal at a very slow crawl. A second later, it felt like the transmission "caught" and everything went back to normal. I remember saying "that was weird" to my daughter who was in the passenger seat. That was the only time the problem occurred that day.

A day or two later, we were running Metal Masher. For the first hour or two there were no issues. After that, the same issue resurfaced while we were coasting down a very mild section of the trail. The rig was doing the same thing as before. It seemed like the transmission was slipping; however, it started doing it far more frequently and it was very intermittent. It didn't matter if the rig was under load or not. I stopped, shut the rig off and restarted it. No change. I started shifting the transmission in manual mode only. No change. At that point I also noticed the 4WD indicator light on the dash would flash off and on every time this was happening. I wound up shifting the rig into 4 high at that point and had no issues. I drove it back to our condo in 2 high after we got off the trail with no issues as well.

The following day we started to run Poison Spider and the same thing started happening in 4 low about an hour or two into the trail ( I wound up turning around because it just wasn't safe in my opinion). The last day we were there we ran an easy trail (Chicken Corners). I kept my rig in 4 high through the entire trail just to verify there were no issues in 4 high. Everything worked perfectly. During the 1000 mile drive home in 2 wheel drive - no issues.

I'm leaning toward something electronic because the issue is only occurring in 4 low, but I've no idea where the problem might be. I'm skeptical that the transmission is actually slipping or it would slip in 2 high and 4 high as well. With the 4WD indicator light flashing off and on when the issue happens, I tend to think the rig is momentarily jumping out of 4wd or finding a false neutral briefly. I had an issue with an occasional false neutral not long after I bought the rig when shifting from drive to reverse and vise versa. I had a dealership reflash/update the TCM which solved that problem. For what it's worth, I've done all the work on my own rig. The only time a dealership has ever touched it was for that TCM reflash and the airbag recall. I took the rig back to the same dealership when I got home and explained what was happening. The tech said that didn't make any sense and I agreed. No codes were tripped. There were no updates for the TCM. There was an update for the PCM, but I haven't been wheeling again to see if it's still happening (plan to go out Sunday).

Anyway, I've scoured the internet and haven't found anyone that's experienced the same, or a similar problem. Anyone have any ideas? The motor, tranny and transfer case are all stock in my rig. Thanks in advance!

karls10jk

That is unusual, particularly with the vehicle being mechanical in regards to the tcase. The light is nothing more than a switch that receives a signal based on you grounding it out- super simple switch. Is it possible that you weren't fully engaged in 4lo when it was happening? It's past neutral in the case and with that being the only time that it's happening, that's the only thing I could think.

jedg

I'm with Karl. It's a mechanical system and the dash light is just a switch that's grounded. Perhaps you didn't have it quite into 4LO and it was slipping in/out? If you're SURE you had it fully engages, then I'd start looking at the linkage on the transfer case as perhaps it's not holding you in 4LO.

RonandJanet

I had a 98 that would slip sometimes. As mentioned above it was because I had not got her in 4 Low correctly (It was a little hard). I was going to adjust the linkages and try to make it easier to get it properly but the jeep was totaled before I dug into it. It does seem more mechanical than electronic.

wickedartstudio

Yeah, I replaced the t case switch in August of last year for an issue with the indicator light (can't recall what the specific issue was though). The thought that I wasn't fully engaged in 4lo has also crossed my mind. I did replace the factory t case shift cable with the AA cable years ago and have never had an issue until now. I suppose it's possible the cable needs to be adjusted, but it should stretch over time rather than retract... I'll crawl under and check just to be sure. Thanks!

tjkamp

I don't know a whole bunch about the inner workings of an automatic while in 4lo, (I generally do not care for automatics), but could it possibly be a torque converter issue, possibly heat related, if it is only occurring after being on the trail for some time?

wickedartstudio

Again, it's a possibility; however, my tranny never got hot. It was hovering around 168 to 170 the entire time. Fluid is clean and the level is good.

wickedartstudio

So, I crawled under the rig and checked the t case cable. I wound up adjusting the cable back 1/16 to maybe an 1/8". It could be completely in my head, but there seems to be a more positive engagement when shifting into 4h and 4 lo now. I'll take her out this weekend see if the problem repeats or not. Thanks again for the suggestions!

Sixty4x4

If the TC gear released you would certainly know about it if it re-engaged as it is mechanical and the gears would complain very loudly. The switch that detects the selected gear/range has steps of differing resistance for each setting. 2WD High is highest resistance and 4WD Low is lowest at about 200 ohms. If the resistance for the setting is not correct perhaps there is a software connection to the PCM that does something with TCC or something in tranny but I am shooting in the dark here with suggestions. There are huge indents in a plate that a spring loaded ball sits in to get the right placement of lever in the transfer case and align the gears correctly. If you feel it is better then perhaps it was set with resistance pointing towards neutral in T-Case which PCM system would not like I imagine.
Anyway interested to see if what you did works out.

wickedartstudio

Well, everything worked perfectly when I took the rig out over the last weekend. Overall, the PCM was updated at the dealership, I replaced the t case switch again and I adjusted the t case shift cable back slightly before I took the rig out. I'm not sure which of those actually fixed the problem, but it seems to be fixed now. With that issue resolved, another popped up though. At the end of the day on Sunday, my horn and all of my steering wheel controls except cruise stopped working. Taking it to a dealership tomorrow for the clock spring since they extended the warranty on that part. Thanks again for all the suggestions!