Chrysler Recalls Almost 470,000 Jeep SUVs

[TrialByFire]

Ok. Here's how I interpret the recall description:

A sensor on the Actuator board sends the FDC the position of the transmission on vehicle start. Cracks on the Actuator board cause a voltage drop on the position sensor so that the position determined by the FDC is incorrect. The FDC then attempts to position the transmission actuator properly and it sounds like, depending on the voltage drop produced by the cracks, the transmission could be put into *any* gear! The new firmware will probably try to shift into Park first to see what voltage is returned, before determining that it is in the wrong position. Why it is not easier to replace the Actuator board is puzzling but I have done my fair share of fixing hardware problems in software.

[1USMC]

Thanks, TrialByFire !

I read things like.... " During the initial vehicle start up,the controller can automatically command a transfer case shift, without input from the driver ( attempting to correct its position based on a biased signal )... etc. and didn't know exactly what they where trying to say.. LoL.

I can understand it better when you converted it to more layman's terms ! Its starting to make a little more sense ..

I can almost see, after your write up how software might be able to correct a hardware problem. Maybe an isolated crack on one faulty solder ? I just keep thinking that sometimes cracks like to spread etc.

It will be interesting when it all comes out.



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[1USMC]

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( this is )..Chrysler's largest recall since more than 900,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty SUVs were recalled worldwide in November to fix a part that could cause airbags to deploy inadvertently.

In the same article > just FYI..

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler and its Italian parent Fiat, which currently owns a 58.5 percent share of the U.S. automaker, said there was a 50-50 chance that Fiat's buyout of Chrysler would be finalized by June 2014.



>> Transfer cases, used on four-wheel-drive models only, connect to the transmission and multiply the engine's torque by switching between low- and high-range gears. On these Jeep models, the switching is done electronically despite a physical lever in the console.

In January 2012, Chrysler began an investigation after a 2007 Grand Cherokee reportedly began rolling in neutral after the owner activated the car's remote start. By March 2013, after working with the transfer case supplier, Chrysler had traced the problem to a cracked circuit board that was sending faulty signals and had released new software to correct the problem.

Dealers will reflash the final drive controller starting in June. <<

( " subcomponent supplier ".... made in Mexico...)

[LWM]

What about those of us who added the aftermarket OEM remote start?

[BonesWK]

What about those of us who added the aftermarket OEM remote start?

Kidding, not sure how that would work Knapp