Jeepebago

Hi there.
Yesterday on my way home from work something odd happened.
It snowed and was quite slippery. I applied the brakes, and the ABS activated.
Then the ABS light came on the dash, and I had normal braking power only, no ABS. Seconds later, the Check Gauges light came on, and the Odometer flickered several times. Then the Volts gauge was pinned all the way to the high side. The whole time, it ran normally.
Then the volt gauge returned to normal middle position, and the Check Gauges light went out. The ABS light stayed on, and I had no ABS.
After I shut it off at home, and restarted it minutes later, the ABS Light was out, and ABS Braking returned. Now I have a Check Engine light.
I cycled the ignition and pulled the following codes:
12 - Battery disconnected within last 50 key-on cycles
25 - Idle air control motor circuit shorted (WTH is this, anyway??)
46 - Charging system voltage too high
I could see how I got 46 because the volt meter pinned for a few seconds.
Any ideas what would cause this?
The truck runs 100% fine, but the light is a bit nerve racking.
Thanks!
Adam

BlueRu

I'm not quite sure about the ABS problem. It might just have been a freak occurrence due to many things happening at once.
25- This is the circuit that controls your Intake Air Control. It meters how much air comes into the engine at idle. It also opens and closes during driving to help keep O2 readings normal.
46- This might be caused by many things. I would check my neg(-) battery cable connections for corrosion and/or disconnection. If this fails take it to Autozone and have them do a charging system check. Your voltage regulator might have failed.

Jeepebago

Thanks for the reply.
This morning I noticed the Check Engine light is no longer on.
When operating the vehicle, it does not behave light it is not charging. I have bright headlights, and they do not dim under load ie: heater fan, rear defrost.

Weird.

Adam

BlueRu

Could just be a random occurrence or something that happens once in a long while.

hoopdaddy6

Did you ever get this problem resolved??

My 02 Grand Cherokee is having very similar symptoms intermitantly, but it is not throwing any diagnostic codes. ABS/Brake lights, flickering odometer etc, stereo shuts off, won't idle on it's own, and sometimes when this problem is happening, when you shut if off, and try to restart, the jeep is completely dead. No starter noise at all. Time usually fixes it.

I am thinking voltage regulator in the alternator? It makes sense that the ABS system would shut down when it detects a voltage issue, because it is also dependent on the electrical system. Also, it sometimes won't idle on it's own (IAC) which is also dependent on the electrical system.

I was mostly wondering if you resolved your problem, and could shed some light as to what the solution was, to give me a starting point here.

Thanks.

trucker

You my being loosing ground. Check for ground connection. The alt have diodes for voltage regulation. If they go bad then the alt stop working. Check the small connector to alt for corrosion.

Jeepebago

Hi all,
I wish I had more light I could shed on this. This occurence happened once and not since. I would recommend checking your battery connections, and all the connections your cables make. Could be a bad ground? Now I have a dead starter, so I have to work that little problem out!