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PaulAA

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So, barely three weeks after the expiry of its extended warranty, The Boss' Jeep Compass decided that it no longer liked its throttle body and regularly interrupted normal driving with a merry little jig (stuttering, increased tickover and no power) and an amusing array of flashing lights on the dashboard, with the ETC light glowing permanently.

The dealer, an amusing cove, advised that he can replace the TB for the equivalent of £1,000 + VAT.  The part alone, he claimed, retails at £700.  So I pulled the TB out, used some throttle body cleaner and all was calm for a couple of months.

Now the problem has returned, but 30 seconds of googling the part number led me to a Chrysler agent in the UK, who has a new one on the 'bay for £88 + postage.  Irrespective of the mark-up the Jeep dealer wanted to charge, it all seems a bit easy - £100 and a bit of blood and sweat instead of £1,000.  Is swapping a throttle body on a modern really just plug-and-play or am I possibly missing something fundamental..?

Paul

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John

Thanks for the suggestions. The trouble started just before the annual service, so it was plugged in to the diagnostics and the computer said 'throttle body', so I'll risk the hundred quid for the part and see where it takes me.

I'm no expert either - much less so than you, I'll wager.

Paul

 

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It's possible the new one will need to be "introduced" to the ECU which might might require the relevant software.  Or there might be a simple "relearn" procedure such as the one described in this link

https://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/15-engine-drivetrain/42689-ecu-re-learn-procedure-without-disconnecting-battery.html

Seems to be quite a bit about Jeep throttle bodies online and it's quite possible the same engine etc is used in other Chrysler products. Got to be worth a punt.

Nick

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Thanks, Nick.  That's the sequence I used in case the cleaned throttle body needed to be reset after installation.  There's also a decent 'how to...' film on YT, which shows how to remove the TB from a Jeep Compass.  In my case, all was good, except that the sensor cable was tethered to the (inaccessible) back of the air supply pipe, with almost no slack in the cable itself.   When I realised that this was the reason the pipe wouldn't slide out as promised, expletives in three languages were all it took to get it loose.

I was surprised that there is no gasket between the TB and the alloy mount. More evidence of the "I guess that'll do it" engineering quality of the Jeep.

Paul

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A short revisit to this subject. Before the throttle body could be ordered (these things either appear or escalate when I'm away from home), the Jeep decided to move onto stage 2 of its paddy. It is barely driveable (there is an audible click heralding the 'event' followed by a racing tick-over of 1500rpm and no power) and needs to be turned off and restarted to get it to move. Ideal, in moving traffic. Now deposited at Captain Cutlass, the parrot-wearing dealer.

This is not the first incident with the Jeep, which, I have to say, has turned out to be a thirsty, unreliable crock'o'shite. Needless to say, the memsahib has forgotten the alternative vehicle evaluations I took her through before we bought it and the runes have it that, despite her greater wisdom, it was my choice...

Edited by PaulAA
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It was your choice..... or she has convinced herself it was your choice now that it's causing trouble?  There is no Jeep/Chrysler product on my mental list of vehicles I'm prepared to own.

I hope this doesn't mean that "he of the parrot" gets to pillage your bank account....... :pinch:

Nick

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So...................... it was a software glitch.  The Man with the Parrot zeroed the computer, told it that everything was okay and.... everything is okay!  Strikes me that there are many sins in the motoring world that can be solved by simply zeroing the computer...

Well, one problem solved, only for another to open.  Now is the time for us in the world of two extreme seasons to be swapping to winter tyres.  For the Jeep, we have a "komplet" - a separate set of wheels with winter tyres, so they just need to be balanced and bolted on.  Only this year, it turns out that I've lost the wheel-specific bolts.

Which is where the fun starts.  The supplier doesn't sell bolts separately to the wheels and doesn't know what the bolt specification is.  The manufacturer in Germany is manfully ignoring my pleas and, on this occasion, t'internet is unforthcoming.  No correlation between a non-standard wheel (Dezent TD, in my case) and the vehicle it is being bolted to... unless one of you wise chaps happens to know how I can work out the bolt spec..?

My total info so far (gained by skilfully inspecting the wheel hole) is that the bolt head is conical.

Any analytical guidance..?

Paul

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33 minutes ago, PaulAA said:

So...................... it was a software glitch.  The Man with the Parrot zeroed the computer, told it that everything was okay and.... everything is okay!  Strikes me that there are many sins in the motoring world that can be solved by simply zeroing the computer...

Parrot going hungry for now then...…?  Everything now ok until it isn't again...…  Hopefully that'll be a good long time!

Wheelbolts put somewhere ultra-safe at end of last season...…. memory deleted.  I'm very familiar with that problem, though not necessarily with wheelbolts.

Are they really different from the ones on the car...…. as that might explain why you can't find a second set and why no info on the internet.....

Nick

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Thanks, Nick

Unfortunately, they were in a box, which sat in the boot for too long... then disappeared.  No.1 son a potential culprit, but claims ignorance (admittedly, a plausible excuse).

Are they actually the same spec?  It's an interesting question and I think I'll just whip one off the current set and see how it seats into the hole in the wheel.  If I remember correctly, there are three principal seat types - square, spherical and conical.  So if the 'summer' nuts are conical, we should be in business...  What could go wrong :blink:

Paul

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On 11/20/2018 at 3:40 PM, zetecspit said:

http://www.grayston.biz/wheelnutmenu.htm

 

may be of some (limited) assistance with a few clues. If they make them, somebody else is bound to, or they will be available from something OEM

Thanks for this.  Curiously, no supplier is willing to commit to a recommendation.  I will shortly embark on a blackening of the name of Dezent, the wheel producer, who flatly refuse to communicate with me.

And... zeroing the computer hasn't worked.  Now the juddering/racing/no power fault now appears without the ETC lamp glowing  :wallbash:

Happy days.

Edited by PaulAA
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  • 3 weeks later...

I decided to adopt the sledgehammer approach, found the email addresses of the board members of the alloy wheel manufacturer in Austria and sent each and every one of them a charming little ditty to describe the low esteem in which I held their company and why.  By return, I received the lug spec and the name of a nice man who was ready and willing to provide me with a set.  Result.

Pity about the rest of the Jeep.  It has been off the road for nearly three weeks and the cheap throttle body I found was not the correct part.  Ours is, apparently, a rare model in Europe.  It is petrol (most of those in Europe are diesel, apparently).  It is front wheel drive.  It has the CVT transmission.  Oh, and it's the crock o'shite model, sir.

So I found a Mopar dealer in the US. Website, double-check part no., credit card, FedEx, pre-paid duty, tracking.  Job done.  Then the local FedEx rep called me yesterday.  They need the documentation translated for Polish Customs.

"Would that be just 'translated' or 'sworn translated'?" I ask

"Erm... translated" says an uncertain voice.  Now, I've never had to translate stuff for customs before - the shipper is paid to do it all.  But, equally, Govt Departments never accept translations unless they are certified and stamped by a sworn translator (preferably a blood relation, too), so I can already predict that the Jeep is going to be off the road until the new year.  At least.

Paul

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OT: just taken our Golf GTE (sort of Golf GTI meets electric motor, battery and 6 speed dual clutch gearbox) for its 3 year service. Still under manufactures warranty.
Its an interesting thing, 1.4l Turbo engine with an electric motor, battery and 30 mile range.
Fab car really good around town and great fun on fast roads as long as you have some battery power left, very very quick... Lots of toys but the info centre (DAB radio wizzy display etc) is very flaky, sometime doesn't work at all other times works but the display does not come on.
I asked to have this investigated, nothing found, suggested solution was to do a "factory reset". Cost, even while under warranty, £45.00. Sod that I just press the on/off switch for 30 sec and all works again....

Modern car mechanics are great the software is iffy and the garages have no idea how to fix them. I think this car will have a life of less than 10 years as the electronics/software will not be supported by then. So much for the environment....

Mike

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4 hours ago, RedRooster said:

Just sell it and buy a trouble free defender :-)

Defender + trouble-free in same sentence does not compute....... error...... error...... error!

Completely agree Mike.  I notice looking through what used to be called the JD Power/top gear satisfaction survey that many complaints are due to the "toys" rather than the serious bits and that the relatively simple, toy-free cars score higher!  Funny that.......

Also notable that the top three were Hyundai, Kia and Dacia......  The Germans were all bunched at the bottom with JLR!

Nick

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