Jeep Stuck in Park

[Nickotine]

I have a 2021 wrangler Rubicon and have a intresting issue that i dont see much people posting about. I went on a little wheeling trip and in the middle of the fire road to the trail itself, every light on my dash board came on (ABS, TRAC CONTROL, BRAKE LIGHT, CEL) and my speedometer stopped working. After turning the car off to clear codes and reset it with my TAZER, it then refused to power on or even crank. I had to get it towed of the trail and after hitting a big rock, all the lights cleared and every was back to normal for some reason?

After driving it home with no issues, i Decided to try and recreate the issue with no avail. But then, a week for so later, i was driving the jeep on the road in the rain and my rear end kicked out a little bit, causing the issue to reoccur. Had to get it towed home AGAIN. And it hasnt been operating since then.

Anyone have any ideas on what it could be?

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[Phrank]

Take your glove compartment out and wiggle the plugs going into the green canbus - see if this changes anything. When the canbus units go bad (and they often do) the symptoms can be triggered/alleviated by a physical shock and often present like yours are.

Replacing the canbus is a 10-minute job and the part costs about $8 on Ebay.

 

[Nickotine]

Take your glove compartment out and wiggle the plugs going into the green canbus - see if this changes anything. When the canbus units go bad (and they often do) the symptoms can be triggered/alleviated by a physical shock and often present like yours are.

Replacing the canbus is a 10-minute job and the part costs about $8 on Ebay.

Tried this and unplugged the battery again for a "hard reset" nothing yet. What are the odds its a wheelspeed sensor? Ive heard they go bad every 30k miles or so, and it would make sense on why my speedometer isnt working

 

[tomk62]

It's also a good possibility your main battery is bad, it's about that time and those are common symptoms.

 

[Nickotine]

It's also a good possibility your main battery is bad, it's about that time and those are common symptoms.

Battery is brand new. Somthing is definitely draining power from it though. There is a high pitched hum coming from the engine bay whenever its plugged in, if i were to leave it plugged in overnight, it would require a jump in the morning just to start, but it still wont let me out of park when its actually on.

 

[Reinen]

Sounds like you have a battery & parasitic drain issue. The JL does bizarre things when it has insufficient battery power and the wheel speed sensor issue could just be one of those bizarre things. Resolve your power issue first. Trying to resolve the wheel speed sensor issue first might just be chasing after ghosts.

I'd disconnect the battery, charge it to full, then reconnect it. If that high pitched hum persists, track down exactly where it's coming from. A brief high pitched hum isn't unusual but a long persistent hum shouldn't happen.

That said, I also have a 21 and did have a wheel speed sensor issue when driving on a washboard gravel road. Got the dash christmas tree and Service 4WD. But unlike you the JL was still drivable. After stopping for lunch all the lights and warnings were gone.

It was still under warrantee and the dealership ended up swapping the L&R wheel speed sensors as a troubleshooting step to see whether the problem switched sides or not when it happened again. The problem never happened again. So I attribute the fix to just removing and reconnecting the sensor electrical connections. One of them was probably poorly connected at the factory and operated intermittently when banged around on the washboard road.

 

[Nickotine]

Sounds like you have a battery & parasitic drain issue. The JL does bizarre things when it has insufficient battery power and the wheel speed sensor issue could just be one of those bizarre things. Resolve your power issue first. Trying to resolve the wheel speed sensor issue first might just be chasing after ghosts.

I'd disconnect the battery, charge it to full, then reconnect it. If that high pitched hum persists, track down exactly where it's coming from. A brief high pitched hum isn't unusual but a long persistent hum shouldn't happen.

That said, I also have a 21 and did have a wheel speed sensor issue when driving on a washboard gravel road. Got the dash christmas tree and Service 4WD. But unlike you the JL was still drivable. After stopping for lunch all the lights and warnings were gone.

It was still under warrantee and the dealership ended up swapping the L&R wheel speed sensors as a troubleshooting step to see whether the problem switched sides or not when it happened again. The problem never happened again. So I attribute the fix to just removing and reconnecting the sensor electrical connections. One of them was probably poorly connected at the factory and operated intermittently when banged around on the washboard road.

Ill try this out. Humming seems to be coming from somwhere on the engine head. Ive cleaned off the rear wheelspeed sensors and plugged them in, and that actually resolved the issue. UNTIL i turned on my wiper blades and then everything just came back on. Thanks for the idea ill take a look and see if that gives any advancements.

 

[Reinen]

Ill try this out. Humming seems to be coming from somwhere on the engine head. Ive cleaned off the rear wheelspeed sensors and plugged them in, and that actually resolved the issue. UNTIL i turned on my wiper blades and then everything just came back on. Thanks for the idea ill take a look and see if that gives any advancements.

FWIW, windshield wiper shenanigans is a common bizarre thing that happens with insufficient battery power.

 

[Jeffy56]

Check your cable(-) grounds. I.E. battery negative to body/frame/engine. There will be several anchor points not obvious. There could be a wire hanging, paint under connection, wire or nut connector loose, Martian ship lights ))....

 

[Phrank]

I really hate to beat a dead horse, but the stuck in Park and the dead speedo both scream canbus to me. I am generally never one to advise that someone just blindly throw parts at a problem, but the canbus is so cheap and so easy to change that I'd recommend swapping it out. Your issues really mirror the ones I experienced over the summer - and they all disappeared after the replacement of that little green Achille's Heel.

 

[Nickotine]

I really hate to beat a dead horse, but the stuck in Park and the dead speedo both scream canbus to me. I am generally never one to advise that someone just blindly throw parts at a problem, but the canbus is so cheap and so easy to change that I'd recommend swapping it out. Your issues really mirror the ones I experienced over the summer - and they all disappeared after the replacement of that little green Achille's Heel.

Where did u buy the canbus? With all my cars i tend to just throw shit at the wall and hope it sticks.. worst case scenario ill have a new battery, canbus, and wheelspeed sensors, all stuff that tends to go out anyway

 

[Phrank]

Where did u buy the canbus? With all my cars i tend to just throw shit at the wall and hope it sticks.. worst case scenario ill have a new battery, canbus, and wheelspeed sensors, all stuff that tends to go out anyway

Well, it looks like the $8 ones are sold out, but here is the same thing for about $15 shipped:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3645040600...rAMXACOd2/cnD41LoC9ugwqh5g|tkp:Bk9SR562uP3KYw

 

[Nickotine]

Purchased the Canbus and Wheelspeed sensors. Will be doing investigating on the battery and anything that might be draining power later this week. Ill update if anything new comes through.

 

[Phrank]

Purchased the Canbus and Wheelspeed sensors. Will be doing investigating on the battery and anything that might be draining power later this week. Ill update if anything new comes through.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Do not swap out all of the parts at once - if you do that and one of them fixes the issue, you will never know what the real problem was. I'd suggest the canbus first, if only for the sheer ease of install. To free the plugs, you will need a very small flathead screwdriver - press down in the slot on the back of the plug and you will hear/feel a click as it releases. Also - it's a bus bar, so the location of the plugs does not matter (with the exception of the one larger plug on the end of the bar, but that will only fit in 1 spot). Feel free to reach out if you need any help.

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