Jeep in failsafe limp mode, code P0344
06-28-2016, 01:43 PM
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Jeep in failsafe limp mode, code P0344
Hey everyone,
I'm having some massive issues with my Jeep. Its a 2012 JK 3.6. I bought it at a used car lot with 63,000km on it in March. It has 72,000 KM on it today. I'm going to cut and paste my notes about the issues i've been having in hopes that something similar has come up. I've done a massive amount of research and I've seen posts of 3.8 JKs and TJ's throwing P0344 codes but nothing on the 3.6 JK. Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated. I live 86km away from work and this is becoming a massive stress inducer.
I've put a 2" budget boost & 15" wheels with 33" tires on. That is the only significant modification I've made to the Jeep that may have affected this situation.
This is the order of events that have happened with my Jeep regarding this issue: I apologize that its verbose, I'm just trying to give as much info as possible.
June 2nd: I brought the Jeep into my local mechanic shop to have the oil changed.
June 8th: On way home from work the jeep was going 110km/h in cruise control. About 20km down the highway on the way home the CEL & traction control lights came on, cruise control turned off and there was a power surge. The vehicle continued to operate but was in a “failsafe” mode. I was unable to engage cruise control and the vehicle would not go over approximately 3200RPM. I drove it to my Father’s house about 30km total distance driven in the failsafe mode. After inspection the engine bay and underneath the vehicle at my Fathers I noticed that the coolant reservoir was almost empty. I went to Canadian Tire and purchased a Jeep recommended coolant and topped it up. This was unsuccessful at solving the issue. I checked the engine code and got code P0344. I looked up the code on the internet and found that it was a Cam Position Sensor that was the likely culprit of the issue.
June 9th: The next day I stopped in to my local Dodge Dealership to purchase a replacement CPS. After work I replaced the sensor. 15 km down the highway the CEL & traction control lights came on and the identical serious of events from June 8th repeated. I drove the Jeep home, once home I read on this forum that some members had to disconnect the battery overnight to “reset” the CPU to get rid of the CEL code from returning.
June 10th: After having the battery disconnected over night, I drove to work in the AM. About 15km down the highway the CEL & traction control lights came on and the identical series of events from the 8th & 9th repeated. After getting to work I drove the Jeep to the dealership. I spoke with the service department and explained the entire series of events to him and left the vehicle with them. I received a call in the PM that the Jeep was fixed. I was given a very vague explanation of a ground fault in the electrical systems and that it had been fixed. I paid a $80.80 diagnostics fee and left. I got about 25km down the highway and the CEL & traction control lights came on and the identical series of events from the 3 previous times repeated itself.
June 11th: I brought the vehicle back to the dealership to have them look at it again. In the afternoon they called to explain that they found the issue. They reported that my local mechanic shop had “badly damaged” the oil filter adapter on June 2nd and it was causing a low oil pressure reading. They recommended the entire Oil Filter Adapter be replaced. I agreed to the work. The mechanic notes indicate that after the work was done the vehicle was driven and the code didn’t return.
June 14th: The dealership called to inform me that my Jeep was fixed and the oil filter adapter unit had been replaced. I asked them to keep the broken adapter and the check valve on the plastic tower in the middle was in fact broken and missing. I was charged $1473.39 which included $756.25 in labour. On my way home from Edmonton, approximately 15-20km outside of Edmonton the CEL & traction control lights came back on and the series of events as noted above repeated themselves.
June 15th: I brought the vehicle back to the dealership. They indicated that they would look at it and again diagnose the issue. Later that afternoon because the issue had not been found or solved as the mechanics at the dealership were unable to find the cause of the issue.. It was explained to me that the dealership had opened communications with Chrysler Engineers to help diagnose the issue.
June 16th: The dealership called to explain that no one there was able to replicate the issue. I was told they put over 100km on my Jeep with no success in replicating the CEL coming on. They actually asked if I would come down and drive it myself with a co-pilot hooked up to the CPU and get the CEL to turn on.
June 17th: I got to the dealership and even after seeing on the notes that the issues only presents itself at highway speeds, the tech was not informed of this and only got the Jeep to 90km/h After less than 20km the CEL & traction control lights came on and the series of events described above happened again. After recording the event on the co-pilot I drove the Jeep back to the dealership. They said that he would have to send the information from the co-pilot to the Chrysler Engineers to help diagnose the issue.
June 20th: In the afternoon after not hearing from the dealership all day I called and they simply explained that they had not heard anything from the engineers and nothing had been resolved.
June 21st: The dealership called to explain that they recommended that I get the oil changed based on a recommendation by their technician. (As if an oil change is the top of my priority list) I explained that the oil had been changed on the 2nd and I did not need another oil change. He also explained that they would not be paying for my the rental vehicle I’ve been in as of the end of the day today. No response yet from Chrysler’s engineers.
June 27: The Dealership called and explained that she heard from the engineers. They want to replace the Cam Position Sensor plug to direct wire the sensor to the CPU. She said this is not guaranteed to work but it will allow them to know if it is a electrical or mechanical issue.
June 28: The dealership called to inform me that they replaced the plug, took it for a test drive and the CEL & traction control lights came back on. She explained that Chrysler’s engineers recommended inspecting the cam shafts themselves for damage. They hinted that the broken part from the Oil Filter Adapter may have found its way into the engine head (I find this hard to believe but I told them to go ahead and look)
Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? Its been 3 weeks and I'm starting to lose my patience!
I'm having some massive issues with my Jeep. Its a 2012 JK 3.6. I bought it at a used car lot with 63,000km on it in March. It has 72,000 KM on it today. I'm going to cut and paste my notes about the issues i've been having in hopes that something similar has come up. I've done a massive amount of research and I've seen posts of 3.8 JKs and TJ's throwing P0344 codes but nothing on the 3.6 JK. Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated. I live 86km away from work and this is becoming a massive stress inducer.
I've put a 2" budget boost & 15" wheels with 33" tires on. That is the only significant modification I've made to the Jeep that may have affected this situation.
This is the order of events that have happened with my Jeep regarding this issue: I apologize that its verbose, I'm just trying to give as much info as possible.
June 2nd: I brought the Jeep into my local mechanic shop to have the oil changed.
June 8th: On way home from work the jeep was going 110km/h in cruise control. About 20km down the highway on the way home the CEL & traction control lights came on, cruise control turned off and there was a power surge. The vehicle continued to operate but was in a “failsafe” mode. I was unable to engage cruise control and the vehicle would not go over approximately 3200RPM. I drove it to my Father’s house about 30km total distance driven in the failsafe mode. After inspection the engine bay and underneath the vehicle at my Fathers I noticed that the coolant reservoir was almost empty. I went to Canadian Tire and purchased a Jeep recommended coolant and topped it up. This was unsuccessful at solving the issue. I checked the engine code and got code P0344. I looked up the code on the internet and found that it was a Cam Position Sensor that was the likely culprit of the issue.
June 9th: The next day I stopped in to my local Dodge Dealership to purchase a replacement CPS. After work I replaced the sensor. 15 km down the highway the CEL & traction control lights came on and the identical serious of events from June 8th repeated. I drove the Jeep home, once home I read on this forum that some members had to disconnect the battery overnight to “reset” the CPU to get rid of the CEL code from returning.
June 10th: After having the battery disconnected over night, I drove to work in the AM. About 15km down the highway the CEL & traction control lights came on and the identical series of events from the 8th & 9th repeated. After getting to work I drove the Jeep to the dealership. I spoke with the service department and explained the entire series of events to him and left the vehicle with them. I received a call in the PM that the Jeep was fixed. I was given a very vague explanation of a ground fault in the electrical systems and that it had been fixed. I paid a $80.80 diagnostics fee and left. I got about 25km down the highway and the CEL & traction control lights came on and the identical series of events from the 3 previous times repeated itself.
June 11th: I brought the vehicle back to the dealership to have them look at it again. In the afternoon they called to explain that they found the issue. They reported that my local mechanic shop had “badly damaged” the oil filter adapter on June 2nd and it was causing a low oil pressure reading. They recommended the entire Oil Filter Adapter be replaced. I agreed to the work. The mechanic notes indicate that after the work was done the vehicle was driven and the code didn’t return.
June 14th: The dealership called to inform me that my Jeep was fixed and the oil filter adapter unit had been replaced. I asked them to keep the broken adapter and the check valve on the plastic tower in the middle was in fact broken and missing. I was charged $1473.39 which included $756.25 in labour. On my way home from Edmonton, approximately 15-20km outside of Edmonton the CEL & traction control lights came back on and the series of events as noted above repeated themselves.
June 15th: I brought the vehicle back to the dealership. They indicated that they would look at it and again diagnose the issue. Later that afternoon because the issue had not been found or solved as the mechanics at the dealership were unable to find the cause of the issue.. It was explained to me that the dealership had opened communications with Chrysler Engineers to help diagnose the issue.
June 16th: The dealership called to explain that no one there was able to replicate the issue. I was told they put over 100km on my Jeep with no success in replicating the CEL coming on. They actually asked if I would come down and drive it myself with a co-pilot hooked up to the CPU and get the CEL to turn on.
June 17th: I got to the dealership and even after seeing on the notes that the issues only presents itself at highway speeds, the tech was not informed of this and only got the Jeep to 90km/h After less than 20km the CEL & traction control lights came on and the series of events described above happened again. After recording the event on the co-pilot I drove the Jeep back to the dealership. They said that he would have to send the information from the co-pilot to the Chrysler Engineers to help diagnose the issue.
June 20th: In the afternoon after not hearing from the dealership all day I called and they simply explained that they had not heard anything from the engineers and nothing had been resolved.
June 21st: The dealership called to explain that they recommended that I get the oil changed based on a recommendation by their technician. (As if an oil change is the top of my priority list) I explained that the oil had been changed on the 2nd and I did not need another oil change. He also explained that they would not be paying for my the rental vehicle I’ve been in as of the end of the day today. No response yet from Chrysler’s engineers.
June 27: The Dealership called and explained that she heard from the engineers. They want to replace the Cam Position Sensor plug to direct wire the sensor to the CPU. She said this is not guaranteed to work but it will allow them to know if it is a electrical or mechanical issue.
June 28: The dealership called to inform me that they replaced the plug, took it for a test drive and the CEL & traction control lights came back on. She explained that Chrysler’s engineers recommended inspecting the cam shafts themselves for damage. They hinted that the broken part from the Oil Filter Adapter may have found its way into the engine head (I find this hard to believe but I told them to go ahead and look)
Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? Its been 3 weeks and I'm starting to lose my patience!
06-28-2016, 06:44 PM
#2
JK Junkie
Hopefully the factory can give the techs guidance, but maybe the key symptom is that both traction control and the P0344 CEL are coming on, and apparently only at highway speed. I don't have a FSM for the 3.6, but P0344 and traction control sound very unrelated (normally).
Some of my background is in electronics, and when really weird stuff happens it's often been power supply related (voltage not steady somewhere, or everywhere). Intermittent bad connections are hell to find.
Maybe the reason for it only happening at highway speed is vibration? Batteries have internal connections that can get poor with vibration, and it's dirt simple to temporarily swap out the battery, clean/check the related connections, then test drive. Have the service techs tried this?
Some of my background is in electronics, and when really weird stuff happens it's often been power supply related (voltage not steady somewhere, or everywhere). Intermittent bad connections are hell to find.
Maybe the reason for it only happening at highway speed is vibration? Batteries have internal connections that can get poor with vibration, and it's dirt simple to temporarily swap out the battery, clean/check the related connections, then test drive. Have the service techs tried this?
06-28-2016, 06:51 PM
#3
JK Junkie
It's well documented that our jeep batteries make strange things happens when the batteries are going bad such as traction control lights and weird speedo things . Not likely your issue but it's certainly something I would check into.
Last edited by rob_engineer; 06-29-2016 at 03:52 AM.
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OscarMlke (12-23-2020)
06-28-2016, 10:41 PM
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Another vote to check the battery. The JK's computer will shit an absolute fit the battery isn't perfect and typically the first thing to happen when they start to go is a traction control light. My '07 did it and so did my '12.
06-29-2016, 01:55 PM
#5
JK Junkie
Savvvard, don't forget to let us know how this gets resolved.
Best of luck
Best of luck
02-28-2017, 07:39 AM
#6
Having the exact same issue...
I was wondering if you ever got this resolved!
I have been having the identical issue, taken it in to the dealer multiple times and they keep "fixing" it just to have the identical thing occur 5 miles down the road.
I am bringing it back in tomorrow (5th time I believe..) and would love to find someone that has actually figured out the issue before I head over there!
I have been having the identical issue, taken it in to the dealer multiple times and they keep "fixing" it just to have the identical thing occur 5 miles down the road.
I am bringing it back in tomorrow (5th time I believe..) and would love to find someone that has actually figured out the issue before I head over there!
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Benton Reynolds (07-07-2020)
03-20-2017, 11:22 AM
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I was wondering if you ever got this resolved!
I have been having the identical issue, taken it in to the dealer multiple times and they keep "fixing" it just to have the identical thing occur 5 miles down the road.
I am bringing it back in tomorrow (5th time I believe..) and would love to find someone that has actually figured out the issue before I head over there!
I have been having the identical issue, taken it in to the dealer multiple times and they keep "fixing" it just to have the identical thing occur 5 miles down the road.
I am bringing it back in tomorrow (5th time I believe..) and would love to find someone that has actually figured out the issue before I head over there!
One was that my battery negative terminal was not tight due to the accessories that I had added. I moved those to the aux mounting point and tightened it down. (I can send a photo if anyone needs help). Don't mount accessories on the terminal tightening bolt!
Two was that I had done a drag link flip so when I put the castle nut on the bottom of the drag link it had worked itself loose (cotter pin was broken). I put a washer on there and tightened it and now there are no issues with the traction control activating. Since those two things were done I have not had the Christmas tree light up either. I hope this might help others having a similar issue.
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03-26-2019, 02:36 PM
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Oil Gallery bolts that are missing or not torqued properly cause air to enter engine. That caused P0394 Bank2 sensor to trigger. Only way to check outside of pulling valve cover would be air bubbles on dipstick. That would indicate air entering oil stream.