Jeep electrical problems, Dealer or independent fix?

sleepyjones

Just wondering if anyone knows the ins-and-outs of car electrics?

I've got a problem with my Jeep Patriot Sport, 2010 ... the horn randomly beeps by iteself, this has been an ongoing problem but recently the ABS, 4wd and wavy tyres skid light has come on, as you can tell I know literally nothing about cars!.

I've had the car in an independent garage to try and fix the horn issue but they haven't been able to fix, the mechanic has said that if I give him another £500 he'll get to the bottom of the problem (I've already spent £800 on it, including a few other things like a service and an MOT).

My question is are all these cars a bit the same, would an independent auto electrician be just as able to diagnose and fix the problem as the Jeep dealership (It's a Vauxhall / Jeep / Alfa Romeo Arnold Clark dealership)?

I've already spent around £500 on this one problem (the horn) and am no closer to a solution, so I wonder if I should bite the bullet and pay the extra for the dealership to take a look or take to a proper independent auto electrician (previously it had been at an independent garage, not specifically an auto electrician)?

facade

sleepyjones wrote: »

I've already spent around £500 on this one problem (the horn)

I bet the garage are clapping their hands with joy, and can't wait to see you again.;) (don't go back to them)



A quick google pulls up loads of similar cases. Consensus is it is a faulty "clock spring" unit in the steering wheel- a device like a tape measure that allows the steering wheel switches and airbag to connect without the wires snapping off as the wheel turns.




Simple solution is to disconnect it, and run a new wire through a push switch on the dash so you slap the switch to blow the horn.


Or you could spend on a new clock spring unit, when they fail completely the airbag light won't go off, but there is no guarantee that it will fix it.




Take it to an auto electrician for diagnosis, the ABS light is probably a wheel sensor, the electrician can read the fault codes.

sleepyjones

Cheers facade.

The last garage the car was in at ruled out the clock spring ... not that their opinion really means much. They thought it was something to do with either the radio or the alarm.

It seems to be quite a common problem with Jeeps but nobody seems to be able to post a definitive resolution. Some say clock spring, some say corroded earth wire somewhere, some say it's a corroded wire in the drivers side panel ... it's so frustrating.

I think I'll just drop it off at the independent auto electrician and see what he says.

AdrianC

The dealer are not much more than parts-swappers, at full retail price.
This is definitely one for a good auto-electrician.

They simply have much greater latitude in what they can do, as well as a lot more experience of complex electrical shenanigans. It's a decade-old car, so the chances of a main dealer having direct experience of age-related issues are low, too, simply because few people take cars that age to a dealer.

sleepyjones

Thanks Adrian.
I wasn't sure if the Jeep dealership might have better or more specialised diagnostic tools / software, but I've seen mixed reviews of dealerships where they don't seem to know what they're talking about. Coupled with the fact it's a Vauxhall / Alfa / Jeep dealership, I figure most of their work will be on Vauxhalls since there aren't that many Jeeps / Alfa's on the road in comparison (certainly not Jeep Patriots ... the Oxo cube Jeeps don't count!).

MOT is due on the 8th, so need the horn working before then (I've actually managed to wangle it through it's MOT for 2 years now with a broken horn!) ... but it's a bit on and off, sometimes it just beeps constantly and sometimes it doesn't. I think my lucks running out with this though.

Will drop it off at the weekend and see what they can do.
Thanks folks.

Browntoa

Jeeps (fiat) are renowned for breaks in wiring looms particularly on the part that goes into the hatch.

One for an auto electrician

AdrianC

Browntoa wrote: »

Jeeps (fiat) are renowned for breaks in wiring looms particularly on the part that goes into the hatch.

The Patriot isn't Fiat-related.
You're thinking of the Renegade/500X. The replacement for the OP's is on that platform, but not his.

His Patriot (1st Gen Compass in the US) goes back to the mid-late 00s, six years before the Fiat-Chrysler merger in 2014, and is on the same Mitsubishi joint platform as the Outlander etc.

And I'm not sure how hatch wiring would affect the horn...

sleepyjones

Pointless update but I hate it when people post things on here and then never follow up with a result ...

Soooo ... Car's booked in the garage today!
Getting a wee independent local auto-electrician to take a look.

The_Rainmaker

sleepyjones wrote: »

Getting a wee independent local auto-electrician to take a look.

That's the way to go. I had a car with electrical issues and it went from mechanic to mechanic being told it would be impossible to fix, before I got to an auto electrician and he fixed it in 10 minutes.

sleepyjones

Still at the garage, since Monday at 10am

sleepyjones

I HATE MECHANICS!

Still nothing, been nearly 3 weeks now.
Guy says the electrical problems are sorted but put it in for an MOT last Tuesday (12th ) but it failed on "ns and os rear upper bushes".
The guys says he had to order from Chrysler so it's taking a while to get delivered ... this can't be right, surely?

Shouldn't take almost 2 weeks??