Post battery failure issues

Tiny
GOTTAKEEPMOVIN'
  • MEMBER
  • 2015 DODGE DART
  • 20,000 MILES
Battery died in this car. After jumping the car and taking it to the local AutoZone. Battery measured "Bad - Replace", so we did. Now the traction control light (yellow car with squiggly lines) is on, and the headlights no longer work when manually turned on, but they do work in Auto Mode. Very strange series of events, in my opinion.
Friday, October 25th, 2019 AT 11:03 AM

9 Replies

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Hi,

Do you happen to have the codes that are in the system? This vehicle has an electrical system called Compact U.S. Wide (CUSW). It is very sensitive to battery failures and when we replace a battery it may set some lights. I would suggest having the codes checked and cleared. They may not clear unless you run through some programming procedures. Basically it may need to relearn some components. The codes should help narrow that down.

Let me know if you can get the codes and we can go from there. Thanks
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Friday, October 25th, 2019 AT 4:44 PM
Tiny
GOTTAKEEPMOVIN'
  • MEMBER
  • 41 POSTS
After further investigation, the headlight issue was caused by an incorrectly adjusted dimmer switch. The yellow traction control indicator (not the one with the word "off" on it) I believe will turn itself off after a few drive cycles, as this light did come on due to the low battery voltage. No codes were stored. Will let you know if the yellow indicator does not reset! Many thanks for your help!
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Saturday, October 26th, 2019 AT 3:43 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Okay, sounds great. Thanks for the update. We are here if you need more help. Thanks
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Sunday, October 27th, 2019 AT 7:21 PM
Tiny
GOTTAKEEPMOVIN'
  • MEMBER
  • 41 POSTS
After a couple of weeks, the traction control light is still on and my daughter tells me that the check engine light also illuminated. A trip to a mechanic told her it is a Dodge issue that has to be handled at the dealership. Can you cut through this explanation and explain to me what is likely going on here? Many thanks!
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Friday, November 8th, 2019 AT 2:05 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Unfortunately that is not enough information to tell you definitively. What I suspect when I hear that from a small shop is they either don't know what the issue is or they don't want to work on it. So they just say you have to take it to the dealer.

Did they give you any codes or any information?

If you give me the last eight of the VIN, I can run it to see if there are any recalls. This would be the only other thing I can think of for someone to send you to a dealer because they are the only ones that can perform a recall. Again, I would need more detail about what they found to know if the recall would relate but I can definitely look. Thanks
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Friday, November 8th, 2019 AT 5:38 PM
Tiny
GOTTAKEEPMOVIN'
  • MEMBER
  • 41 POSTS
VIN is FD151217. Mechanic told her the computer needs re-flashed and gave her a paper on it. He reset the check engine light so code not available unless it comes back on. Traction Control indicator still on.
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Friday, November 8th, 2019 AT 7:09 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Okay. There are no open recalls so I imagine they showed her a TSB for the code they found. I am disappointed they clear the codes without doing anything because these codes actually help diagnose the issue. Now, if the TSB that they gave her was for the code that they cleared, the dealer may not be able to repair it until it happens again.

I am not finding any TSBs related to the traction control system but attached one for a flash of the TCM that they may have been talking about.

Is there any chance you can get a picture of just the first page of the document they gave her?
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Saturday, November 9th, 2019 AT 5:53 PM
Tiny
GOTTAKEEPMOVIN'
  • MEMBER
  • 41 POSTS
Here is page 1. Thanks!
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Sunday, November 10th, 2019 AT 7:27 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
This TSB is for a Jeep Cherokee and Chrysler 200. You have a Dart so it doesn't apply. Either they didn't notice this or just wanted you to see a dealer because they are not sure what to do.

With the traction control light being on, did they give you any codes or write any of them down for her? If not, we may just need to see the dealer at this point. If the light is on, there should be a code to go along with it and that will help narrow this down.
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Monday, November 11th, 2019 AT 7:47 PM

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