Dash Lights, Touchscreen Blinking then Turning off

[Mike_1]

We were on our way back from a road trip and all the dash lights along with the 8.4 screen started blinking and then turned off. The only thing that lit up was the speedometer screen. Scared the heck out of us as we were on the freeway. It must’ve triggered something with the AC because hot air started coming full blast from the defroster. We also couldn’t open the sky one touch roof.

This is the second time this happened to us but the first time everything was just blinking.

Anyone seen or heard of this type of electrical issue and know what it could be attributed to?

Sponsored

 

[Heimkehr]

@Mike_1
As a simple starting point, have your batter(ies) load tested. A failing battery can manifest as a variety of phantom electrical problems. Also make sure that all of the fuses and relays are correctly and fully seated.

The demands that modern vehicles place on vehicle batteries mean we can't always expect the 5-7 service life that many of them used to provide. As your JL is now three years old, this is prime time for the original(s) to start reaching end-of-life status.

 

[Mike_1]

@Mike_1
As a simple starting point, have your batter(ies) load tested. A failing battery can manifest as a variety of phantom electrical problems. Also make sure that all of the fuses and relays are correctly and fully seated.

The demands that modern vehicles place on vehicle batteries mean we can't always expect the 5-7 service life that many of them used to provide. As your JL is now three years old, this is prime time for the original(s) to start reaching end-of-life status.

I recently installed the Oracle flush mount tail lights with the plug and play adapter and no splicing. Could this also have contributed?

 

[jludave]

I recently installed the Oracle flush mount tail lights with the plug and play adapter and no splicing. Could this also have contributed?

Not likely.

The symptoms you describe sound exactly like what happens when one or both batteries are going bad. You have a 2020 and are at the point where the OEM batteries, unfortunately, can start to age/go bad.

 

[jmccorm]

Anyone seen or heard of this type of electrical issue and know what it could be attributed to?

What concerns me is that this happened while you were driving. Both from a diagnostic standpoint and from a personal safety standpoint. It could be battery, but I'm thinking along the lines of:

Intermittent open of a major ground connection​

Intermittent open of a major power connection​

Intermittent noise on the CAN-IHS bus​

Intermittent noise on the CAN-C bus​

Regardless of which of these it may be (or something else), I'd highly recommend that a trip to the dealer be your next step. If you want to try something that's quick and free, make sure you've got everything firmly seated in your fuse box.

Also know that if this issue strikes while you're parked (overnight), it could drain the battery.

Keep us all posted, willyah?

 

[Mike_1]

What concerns me is that this happened while you were driving. Both from a diagnostic standpoint and from a personal safety standpoint. It could be battery, but I'm thinking along the lines of:

Intermittent open of a major ground connection​

Intermittent open of a major power connection​

Intermittent noise on the CAN-IHS bus​

Intermittent noise on the CAN-C bus​

Regardless of which of these it may be (or something else), I'd highly recommend that a trip to the dealer be your next step. If you want to try something that's quick and free, make sure you've got everything firmly seated in your fuse box.

Also know that if this issue strikes while you're parked (overnight), it could drain the battery.

Keep us all posted, willyah?

For sure, will do.

 

[Mike_1]

Dropped it at the dealer this morning. There were about 42 error codes showing on the diagnostic reading. They were also talking about my “aftermarket” taillights and that’s going to really piss me off if they blame this issue on that.

 

[Mike_1]

Just got off the phone with the service department and low and behold, they said it’s due to the Oracle flush mount taillights that’s causing all of the electrical issues. I’m beyond livid as I was having electrical issues long before I installed these lights.

it’s my fault for leaving them on there when I took it in. I get what I deserve.

 

[Heimkehr]

@Mike_1

Sorry to read about your misfortune here.

Do let us know if the dealer provides a believable explanation of how the Oracles were adversely affecting the functioning of your Jeep.

I've the same tail lights on my Jeep. Although they were truly plug and play (I had incandescent factory tails without the BSM function), if they're still capable of causing issues, we should know how that may occur. TIA.

 

[four low]

Easy to remedy, take your original tailights to dealer, re- install them. Also, just in case, check with Oracle to see if their have been any issues with their lights.

 

[Heimkehr]

Also, just in case, check with Oracle to see if their have been any issues with their lights.

There are two known issues that have been well-documented on this forum. Oracle has acknowledged both of them via participation in the relevant threads.

1. Needing a Tazer, or a separate flash, to extinguish the hyperflash warning on the dashboard (when the tail lights themselves function correctly); and

2. Sporadic and/or erratic functioning of the BSM feature after the OEM modules are installed in the Oracle tail light housings.

The foregoing is limited to owners with factory LED tail lights, with or without the BSM function. Owners like myself who had non-BSM incandescent factory lights have been the only ones to enjoy truly plug-and-play, error-free functionality of the Oracle lights.

 

[jmccorm]

There were about 42 error codes showing on the diagnostic reading. [...] Just got off the phone with the service department and low and behold, they said it’s due to the Oracle flush mount taillights that’s causing all of the electrical issues.

Sounds like they're blaming the lights for causing CAN bus issues, or... ?
I thought you unliked my suggested, so I wondered if I missed the mark.

 

[jmccorm]

The foregoing is limited to owners with factory LED tail lights, with or without the BSM function. Owners like myself who had non-BSM incandescent factory lights have been the only ones to enjoy truly plug-and-play, error-free functionality of the Oracle lights.

There's the #1 reason why I pulled the trigger on a pair of Oracle flush mount brake lights, just two days ago. Purely by the gift of hard-earned hindsight.

Big attention getter. I can just see the techs going, "A HA! Look at this over here! Never seen that before... that's new! That's going to be the problem!"

With a full list of codes (all 42... lots of duplication is likely), we could see for ourselves what kind of problems the vehicle is having.

 

[Mike_1]

Yeah it’s pretty crazy. I called Oracle and they said I was the only person that they’re aware of that is having this issue.

it’s not that I don’t believe the dealer, but I actually don’t. They said I can put the stock ones back on to see if the same issues are present so that’s my next step.

 

[Mike_1]

I’m trying to get the dealer to flash the Jeep to get the lights to be recognized but I called 4 different dealers and they all say they can’t do that. Is the tazer just as effective as the flash by dealer?

Sponsored