Mike T Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 I have a red flashing lightning bolt and traction control light coming on and losing throttle. No check engine light no codes. First traction control light comes on then the lightning bolt always in that order. Please help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 (edited) 15 hours ago, Mike T said: I have a red flashing lightning bolt and traction control light coming on and losing throttle. No check engine light no codes. First traction control light comes on then the lightning bolt always in that order. Please help well it could be several problems ,bad throttle body or dirty, or could be a accelerator pedal sensor going bad,or many other things such as wire shorting out,,,you might start with cleaning the throttle body unit..check out YouTube videos more more info on how to do it or take it to a garage and let them check it out...good luck I am sure others will chime in soon maybe with more help........P.S. when asking for help it would be great if you gave us more info like which engine you have and the mileage of the journey and what kind of service has it rec over its lifetime Edited March 16 by 2late4u larryl, jkeaton and 5rebel9 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted March 16 Author Report Share Posted March 16 Thank you so much for replying. Car has 276,000 miles but new engine at 188,000 and transmission rebuilt twice. Seems like a common issue but hard to diagnose because no codes and the difference is the traction control light coming on first not just the lightning bolt. Had throttle body cleaned but I don't think they used a new gasket and new battery so at first seemed like it was fixed. Already did the reset with key on, lights out, depress pedal for 5 sec and slowly release because of the battery change. Got excited about that at first but didn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 4 cylinder motor???? what level scanner do you use? You may need to go above basic OBDII reader and use one that can read CAN/BUS for body control/abs/srs codes. You may have something going on with wheel speed sensors or such that is triggering trac. control first, that will put engine into limp mode and turn on the throttle body warning light. larryl and jkeaton 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryl Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 Maybe it's an EV Journey the old guessing game..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted March 17 Author Report Share Posted March 17 Oh sorry should have specified. 2.4L engine. In searching Google and this forum seems like it's a common problem. The wheel sensor makes sense from what you stated above. One thing I've noticed is that the traction control light with the ETC flashing light is very very different from just ETC light which will have codes but with both lights no code (hundreds of posts, you tube videos, and Google results verify this). That's why I'm reaching out here. How can you diagnose it? The car has 276,000 miles but new engine and transmission rebuild at 188,000. If it's the PCM might not be worth repairing and trying to avoid what hundreds of others have experienced going to a dealership or shop. Replace throttle body comes back, replace pedal sensor comes back, replace PCM comes back etc etc etc. Was actually hoping on this forum I would find someone who's been through this exact thing. With these symptoms and codes could be multiple things but with both lights and no codes it has to be something specific. Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted March 17 Author Report Share Posted March 17 6 hours ago, 5rebel9 said: 4 cylinder motor???? what level scanner do you use? You may need to go above basic OBDII reader and use one that can read CAN/BUS for body control/abs/srs codes. You may have something going on with wheel speed sensors or such that is triggering trac. control first, that will put engine into limp mode and turn on the throttle body warning light. Would that also cause loss of pedal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 10 hours ago, Mike T said: Would that also cause loss of pedal? YES, TC will cut throttle response and why TB light FLASHES and is not steady. As I posted a higher level scanner is needed to see codes resulting from TC coming on. BASIC scanners only do OBDII engine/ trans codes not supplemental system codes {ABS/traction/Stability/SRS}. 2late4u 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted March 17 Author Report Share Posted March 17 23 minutes ago, 5rebel9 said: YES, TC will cut throttle response and why TB light FLASHES and is not steady. As I posted a higher level scanner is needed to see codes resulting from TC coming on. BASIC scanners only do OBDII engine/ trans codes not supplemental system codes {ABS/traction/Stability/SRS}. Thanks appreciate the response. It does make sense. Are there other things that it could be? Have you seen this before? And the one thing that makes me hesitate is all the people that went to the dealership and there were no codes. Wouldn't the dealership use a higher level scanner? I found a lot of people online who make that claim. Assuming it is the wheel sensor how do I know which one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 3 hours ago, Mike T said: Thanks appreciate the response. It does make sense. Are there other things that it could be? Have you seen this before? And the one thing that makes me hesitate is all the people that went to the dealership and there were no codes. Wouldn't the dealership use a higher level scanner? I found a lot of people online who make that claim. Assuming it is the wheel sensor how do I know which one? I've stated twice what needs to be done about scanning for codes. You do NOT need to go to a dealer for this as the cost is prohibitive. I have a scanner that will do such and have available to ME even higher level scan tools thru a friend who runs an Independent repair shop. I normally do not recommend using DEALERS or FRANCHISE repair centers as they charge way too much.Find yourself a GOOD Independent shop from family, friends or coworkers. to have them scan for codes to determine what is going on. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY AROUND IT. larryl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 quit worrying about what others tell you about their problems/solution,,, get it checked with a high quality scanner for codes, does seem to be a problem that cleaning the throttle body doesn't usually fix it, get an OEM unit with new gaskets if you want to throw parts at it OR have a dealership diagnose the problem and LET them fix it yes more expensive but probably cheaper in the long run larryl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryl Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 Doesn't seem to like your answers....needs MORE lol 2late4u 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted March 18 Author Report Share Posted March 18 Doesn't appear anyone on this thread has dealt with this exactly even though there are hundreds of examples when searching online. The big issue is that even with the high quality scanners made for dodge at the dealership there is no codes at which point they start throwing parts at it. I have a mechanic that says he's seen it before and it's something cracked in the TPIM. I don't know him and he was supposed to come by to take a look but had something come up. HAS ANYONE WHO SEES THIS ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED IT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted March 18 Author Report Share Posted March 18 On 3/17/2024 at 11:06 AM, 2late4u said: quit worrying about what others tell you about their problems/solution,,, get it checked with a high quality scanner for codes, does seem to be a problem that cleaning the throttle body doesn't usually fix it, get an OEM unit with new gaskets if you want to throw parts at it OR have a dealership diagnose the problem and LET them fix it yes more expensive but probably cheaper in the long run Hey I saw you responding on another post from 2014 on the same problem. You posted resetting the throttle body calibration. Have you actually personally seen this before where even with the dealerships scanner no codes? Hundreds of people online on various threads. Once the trac control light is there in addition to red lightning bolt no codes. If you have what is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted March 18 Report Share Posted March 18 (edited) 1 hour ago, Mike T said: Doesn't appear anyone on this thread has dealt with this exactly even though there are hundreds of examples when searching online. The big issue is that even with the high quality scanners made for dodge at the dealership there is no codes at which point they start throwing parts at it. I have a mechanic that says he's seen it before and it's something cracked in the TPIM. I don't know him and he was supposed to come by to take a look but had something come up. HAS ANYONE WHO SEES THIS ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED IT? Have YOU actually had YOUR vehicle scanned? YES OR NO I have an automotive background and assist my Independent repair shop owner on tough diagnostics {I'm not always right, but we manage to find the problem somehow together}. Also knowing how the systems work, I've only experienced this particular lights happening as they are designed to do when the car senses lost traction or stability in nasty snowy weather. YES there COULD be a problem stemming from a bad TIPM/FUSE PANEL....but there are many possible causes to this situation, there is NO SINGULAR "here's your fix answer unless you want to start shooting the parts cannon. PROPER vehicle diagnostics go a long way and a full scan will shorten the "journey" to a fix. Unfortunately on any owner based forum, many problems are posted, but a lot do not come back and say definitely what the fix was or involved. Edited March 18 by 5rebel9 2late4u and larryl 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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