Service 4wd system message and Commander has trrouble starting

[jammy jeep]

the service 4wd light is very unhelpful, cos it is just a general light and can refer to almost any problem in the car - we have just bought a scanguage to try to help in these situations.
Having just replaced the OEM battery in our 2006 commander, it was doing almost exactly the same things as you are describing, but couldn't get it to start without using the jumper pack - luckily we cart it most places with us. There was just one cell in the battery that was stuffed. New battery now and all is good.
So, as suggested above, try a new battery first, before you worry about other errors.
Recently, our car went into limp mode because the brake light switch blew - very helpful. The car hasn't tried anything since the scanguage was attached - but I know its waiting for its moment

[REEGS]

Originally Posted by jammy jeep

the service 4wd light is very unhelpful, cos it is just a general light and can refer to almost any problem in the car - we have just bought a scanguage to try to help in these situations.
Having just replaced the OEM battery in our 2006 commander, it was doing almost exactly the same things as you are describing, but couldn't get it to start without using the jumper pack - luckily we cart it most places with us. There was just one cell in the battery that was stuffed. New battery now and all is good.
So, as suggested above, try a new battery first, before you worry about other errors.
Recently, our car went into limp mode because the brake light switch blew - very helpful. The car hasn't tried anything since the scanguage was attached - but I know its waiting for its moment

jammy - well what can I say! The service guys at Mountway Jeep in Melville WA had "apparantly" tested the battery on several occassions and it was founfd to be OK. They were going to start replacing crank sensors and the like which I found quite extreme however I decided to take the car to our local country Auto Electrician, and alas, the battery was screwed!. One call to Jeep Assist and they put a new battery in it under warranty and in one magical moment - no lights, no problems starting and all is like a brand new Commander again. Fanbloodytastic!!!! Tahnks for the advice. Maybe you should go into the service business coz you know a heap more than the trained technicians. Thanks hepas...Reegs

[jammy jeep]

I wouldn't have known except we had the exact same problems only a month or 2 ago ourselves. But I'm glad it all worked out for you. We also had the same problem with the auto electricians. The first said the battery was fine, and it took the 2nd at least an hours work to find out it was the battery that was the problem.
Anyway, enjoy your new jeep.