Electrics Gone Haywire

[Donchadha]

I recently swapped engines on my wife’s GV

2.8crd because one of the con rods bent.

After I had done the swap and plugged everything back in I started the engine absolutely fine and it is running normally. It is an automatic transmission and I am able to change gears from park to reverse and drive no problem.

 

However.....the electrics have decided to go haywire. I had a vehicle electrician out and he spent 4 hours trying to help me figure out what was causing the erratic behaviour of the electrics for the interior of the vehicle.

Ticking relays, Indicators and headlamps, heating, radio, wipers, electric seat adjustment, alarm and remote unlocking, power sliding doors, tail lift and instrument panel.

We thought it was because of a bad earth but could not find one. Electrical testers showed that earths to the body of the vehicle are fine.

The fuze for the hazard warning lights keeps blowing and when it does, all the lights and instruments on the dash stop working but the engine continues running just fine including changing gears from park to reverse and drive. Due to the lights not working it is not safe or legal to drive on the road so I have not given it a road test.

I have since changed the fuse box under the bonnet which has made zero difference to the erratic behaviour.

The windscreen wipers run when they are switched off, the radio flickers constantly and the heating module won’t switch on.

When the ingnition is switched off the power sliding doors and tail lift work fine but as soon as I turn the key to position 2 they stop working.

 

With the lack of wiring diagrams available from Chrysler it is near impossible to trace back any faults.

I am pulling my hair out because all I have done is unplug the “old” engine removed it, installed and plugged in the “new” one. The battery was removed during the whole process.

 

Can anyone shine a light on what I might have done or how I can find out what is causing this erratic behaviour of the electrics?

 

I simply can’t afford to bring it to the main dealer for their diagnosis. Anyone who owns a Chrysler knows their astronomical charging structure and unwillingness to provide any information on their vehicles which is probably why Chrysler failed to thrive in the uk.

[brit644]

May be wrong but someone mentioned while back engines/computers are 'paired'...also something about re-programming

[Donchadha]

That would make sense if the engine wouldn’t start or run smoothly but it’s totally fine. The problem I am having has nothing to do with the engine.....it’s all the internal electrics I’m having a problem with.

How do I reprogram?

I was trawling the forum last night till my eyes almost started bleeding to try and find an answer.

[karmannski]

under the carpet next to the B Pillar on each side you will find G300 ground wire that may need cleaning. 

Remove plastics and B pillars to access it. 

 

Undo take a wire brush, and bolt it back in. 

[karmannski]

there 

[Donchadha]

Thanks for the suggestion. That might be worth looking at if the power sliding doors didn’t work at all, but they do when the key is not in the ignition. They only stop working when I turn the key to first position.

[karmannski]

Thanks for the suggestion. That might be worth looking at if the power sliding doors didn’t work at all, but they do when the key is not in the ignition. They only stop working when I turn the key to first position.

Keep us updated, 

 

This Ground cable (under carpet) I believe is responsible for more than just a door. 

[BumBle02]

Yes the ground cables they all go to canbus system and upset the lot definitely worth a cleanup tyring to get my friend to find out more for you. Jeff

[Donchadha]

I’ll take a look this evening. Thinking about it. It is possible that I might have disturbed something’s missing the back. I have been taking advantage of the space I have with the stow and go seats folded down to keep all the engine bits and the tyres and the jack.

 

I have scrubbed up the connection eyelet under the battery. It did seem a bit dull although I did already give it a bit of a clean last time I connected it.

If I knew where there were any other ground connections it might help too.

Does anyone know where I can get some wiring diagrams without having to subscribe to an online book club. Chrysler are so tight about giving out any info on how to fix their cars that I can’t trust that I will find what I need even if I do make a subscription.

 

I saw a great video on YouTube of a guy who found some corroded cables on a different Chrysler model but he seemed to have all the wiring diagrams and pictures of the ground cables.

Where on earth did he get them. They are like rocking horse manure.

[Andrewgrale]

I just came across this problem and my expertise is more with the Fiat family group of cars, but the 1st place I would start is with the battery earth lead, especially where it is connected to the gearbox, Fiat use sealant to seal the 2 halves of the gearbox together, which gets into the threads of the bolt used to secure the engine earth lead. It's double threaded to allow the earth lead to be secured by nut to the head of the bolt.

Bad earths usually surface after this has been disconnected for major work, such as a clutch or gearbox or engine change

Clean up this bolt head and the earth lead especially where it bolts to both chassis and gearbox

I hope this helps?

[Donchadha]

Ok. So I opened up the trim to find those bolts under the carpet. No signs of corrosion on them.

I have tried unplugging all the plugs which come off from the fuse box to try and isolate where the problem is coming from but the only plug which stops the relay from ticking is a plug into the fuse box itself which are the cables which power the interior electrics.

The motor electrician who looked at it for me said that there is power going to the relays but from the earth side. For some reason the “message” to turn on the power from the live side is not getting through which was why I tried replacing the fuse box but that didn’t make any difference.

 

There is always a bit of a delay from turning the key in the ignition to the time the relays start ticking. I don’t know what that means.

[Donchadha]

I just came across this problem and my expertise is more with the Fiat family group of cars, but the 1st place I would start is with the battery earth lead, especially where it is connected to the gearbox, Fiat use sealant to seal the 2 halves of the gearbox together, which gets into the threads of the bolt used to secure the engine earth lead. It's double threaded to allow the earth lead to be secured by nut to the head of the bolt.

Bad earths usually surface after this has been disconnected for major work, such as a clutch or gearbox or engine change

Clean up this bolt head and the earth lead especially where it bolts to both chassis and gearbox

I hope this helps?

[MicksAutoElectrics]

Sound to me like a power or a ground issue,  readin about the sliding door, i would be checking voltage at main fusebox, when operatin that door