What Is DT?

What does "DT - TRANSMISSION OVERHOT" mean on my 2007 Grand Cherokee?

• Looking for resources to help explain trouble codes. I have a 2007 Grand Cherokee Laredo 4.6 V8. Symptoms: Fob would not unlock car. Car reacted as though battery was weak. Locks clicked and 'twitched' but did not unlock. Had to use key to unlock. Vehicle would not start, but seemed to have full electrical power. Dashboard and chimes came on; info module on cluster displayed "DT - TRANSMISSION OVERHOT". There was a red flashing dot above the oil light. The car had been sitting for about 48 hours when this happened, so nothing in it should have been warm. Checked transmission fluid; seemed to be at normal level. Jump started the car and it started and ran fine, although there was a minor whine in the engine that I don't remember hearing. Once warmed up, I checked the transmission fluid again, and still seemed fine. No leaks. Turned off car and removed cables, it then started normally and the fob worked fine. Check-engine light stayed on. Drove normally, but check engine light still comes on. Any opinions? I suspect that the low-power bit was the vehicle's way of making sure I knew something was wrong and would check the dashboard. DT obviously means Drive Train in this code... Is it possible that this is electrical (battery or alternator) and the powerloss caused a mis-reading? Any help is appreciated- it's still under warranty (20,974 miles on it) so of course I'll be going back to the dealer also. Thanks-

• Answer:

  The fact the Jeep would not start, but did when jump started could mean the battery was discharged or is bad. Bad batteries can cause all sorts of mischief with the computer including bad running and erroneous fault codes. The first thing to do is fully charge the battery with a proper charger then get it load tested somewhere. If the battery tests bad replace it. If it's OK (or even replaced) refit the battery but first make sure the battery terminals and the clamps are shiny silver in color on the contact surfaces. Bad contact can also cause lots of problems. If the check engine light is on start with the ignition off, and within five seconds and without starting the engine, turn the ignition on-off-on-off-on. Leave it on the third time and the fault codes will display in the odometer. Go to http://www.allpar.com/fix/computer-codes.html to see what any codes mean. I suspect the battery or contacts are the problem and sorting that will fix the other problems.