Driver's Door Electrical Connection

[Higher_Ground]

OK, bear with me as I try to explain this in words. I think I figured out mechanically what I was doing wrong, and maybe it'll help with others.

The two little black nubs on the female connector that snap into place in the two slots of the male plug when you first attach the plugs together are key. These are not the two on the sides that fit into the lever, these are much smaller and on the same side of the plug. Once the two nubs fit into the slot the plastic part of the plugs are connected, but the pins are not.

At this point some people have tried to "manually insert the pins" by continuing to push the plugs together, sometimes in conjunction with moving the white lever. Others were just moving the white lever, presumably while pushing the plugs together. This may work for some, but I always felt resistance even when nothing was bent.

So yesterday I'm at this step and I think to "try again" and sort of pull back on the plugs, but not hard enough for those two little black nubs to come out of the slot. I see the white part of the plug that covers the pins fall back into place, and all the resistance disappeared. I could engage and move the lever easily, which wasn't the case before.

I went around did the same thing with the other door - pulled the plugs apart slightly once connected and it closed really smoothly. Who knows why, but that seems to make everything line up properly for a change.

Sponsored

 

[Tar Heel Wrangler]

Got my pins fixed last week by the dealer under warranty. Just put doors back on and was extremely careful. Didn't matter, same driver's side bent again. This needs to be a TSB.

 

[Musser717]

Well I was able to get the dealer to replace both front connectors under warranty. They should be in next week according to them.

For the third time I complained about this and finally got someone with a jeep that was willing to actually let me show them and then he offered me to look at his Mojave and instantly that white insert slid down.

He was baffled and needed some time to check on if those parts even could be ordered (which I told him they could because I had a quote before for me to pay to replace. Called yesterday and he said it should be in next week they are replacing under warranty, he claimed I wasn’t under warranty even though I paid for extra when I bought it. I pushed to have them both replaced, he argued a bit then relented.

I’ll be inspecting them prior to installation but hopeful I can put this to bed.

 

[trader979]

Has anyone come up with a permanent solution or an adapter? Every time I unplug the wire harness the protective sleeve fails to slide over the pins. Getting tired of manually having to slide the sleeve over the pins prior to reassembly.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

The pins both male and female ends need lube to work effortlessly. Use this and you’ll stop fighting fitment.

 

[trader979]

Yes I use that. Anyone know the name of the connector…molex…??? Like to order a few and do some testing.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The pins both male and female ends need lube to work effortlessly. Use this and you’ll stop fighting fitment.

I see on the can that it cleans and flushes - but what about lube for the shells?
I have use a spray silicone lube on some things, keeping it off contacts. Works well for shells and plastic parts.
The problem with ordinary electric/contact cleaners is that they totally flush and wash all lube off of things, making things like plastic shells even worse because they are a drying agent, removing all lube. so I use contact cleaners carefully and try to keep them off the plastic as it removes the natural oils and any lube off the connector shells.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Yes I use that. Anyone know the name of the connector…molex…??? Like to order a few and do some testing.

Molex covers many years and types of connector. It's a company name, not specific to a connector.
It's the vernacular term for the two-piece pin and socket type connector.
For example - this is technically a Molex connector (see pic) - and yet one that looks very much like it is made by AMP. So - you'll need to find a name and number on the shell, or search by other criteria.

Go to mouser or digikey and sort by number of connectors, rows, and so on.
Or, look on your connector shells - there may be part numbers on the shell - there are numbers on the tail light connectors.

As far as the cleaners, I never use electrical connector cleaner on the plastic - it leeches out all lubes and dries the plastics making them dry. Connector/contact cleaner doesn't lube unless it states it lubricates. It's more akin to acetone, MEK and so on - very drying.
You want something that actually lubricates the plastic parts. Cleaner removes lube. (I work on electrical connectors in my restoration business........ learned the hard way what cleaners do to plastics)

 

[trader979]

So are some of these sleeves defective? No matter how careful I am the sleeve pops out of the groove. For those who had them replaced under warranty, did that solve you issue?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'm not seeing what the problem is with "sleeve"......... mine operates smoothly, and easily. I carefully aim things together when going together and it just goes. When disconnecting, I release the lever and the thing slides apart nicely.
Most likely it's "sticky" in some cases. It's a close fit with pieces of plastic, and plastic connectors have been not sliding easily over each other since the invention of two piece connectors with plastic shells. I've seen connectors of the 60s, 70s, and 80s on up not easily put together, and when the latch was released, it took a screwdriver to pry them apart.
Frankly, with any electrical connector that was "sticky" as far as the plastic parts, I'd use a silicone spray lube on the plastic shells.
Sticking connectors is nothing new or unique. Jeep doesn't make these, they buy them. Actually, if it's like before the year 2000, a company like Coleman made the wiring harnesses. I have some NOS harness bits that still have the Coleman tags on them.

 

[berb]

I know I posted this before on a prior page of this - but those pins actually engage a little bit before the cam lock is engaged.
You have to have the beast STRAIGHT in - you can feel when things aren't perfect. The edges of the holes for the female part of the connector are not chamfered or beveled and the pins sort of catch on the edges of the holes. You can feel that if things aren't totally straight. You have to take time and watch really close that the connector is going straight. It has wiggle room and in my testing I found that it's really easy for it to not be perfectly straight as the pins align with the holes.
So one should feel for the pins being in those holes and the connector perfectly aligned before moving it further to engage the cam lock.
I found that the cam only finished the job - the pins are actually lined up and JUST in the holes, barely, before that cam engages. So it's not the cam lock doing it - they are either in or not in before that can grab and pull the connector the rest of the way.

Supposedly, this isn't totally true. I stress the word supposedly because ShadowsPapa is always a reliable source of good information. When I bent my pins, my dealer covered the damage. What I was told is that you have to bring the 2 connectors together. When the pins are in the holes and you press them together it will engage the cam. Once the cam is engaged, you pull the lever down to finish bringing the connectors. I was never shown how to properly do this and I just put the connectors and pulled on the cam. That's what bent my pins. This is also why I bought the front soft doors. I disconnected the doors about a month ago and will not put them on until the fall. So, 1 removal and 1 reconnect. I am too scared to disconnect and reconnect the doors throughout the summer.

Now, my plea to all of the incredibly skilled people on this forum, of which I am definitely not one of them. I would definitely buy a conversion kit OR even better some type of connector extender that is way more sturdy to connect the doors with. Maybe someone can figure this out and post the solution or sell the solution.

 

[trader979]

Somehow the tab keeps popping out of the notch. Not sure if it’s occurring during assembly or reassembly. Will try some silicone spray….I think these connectors are made by yazaki.

 

[trader979]

Has anyone come up with a permanent solution or an adapter? Every time I unplug the wire harness the protective sleeve fails to slide over the pins. Getting tired of manually having to slide the sleeve over the pins prior to reassembly.

Are the new connectors operating correctly?

 

[trader979]

Supposedly, this isn't totally true. I stress the word supposedly because ShadowsPapa is always a reliable source of good information. When I bent my pins, my dealer covered the damage. What I was told is that you have to bring the 2 connectors together. When the pins are in the holes and you press them together it will engage the cam. Once the cam is engaged, you pull the lever down to finish bringing the connectors. I was never shown how to properly do this and I just put the connectors and pulled on the cam. That's what bent my pins. This is also why I bought the front soft doors. I disconnected the doors about a month ago and will not put them on until the fall. So, 1 removal and 1 reconnect. I am too scared to disconnect and reconnect the doors throughout the summer.

Now, my plea to all of the incredibly skilled people on this forum, of which I am definitely not one of them. I would definitely buy a conversion kit OR even better some type of connector extender that is way more sturdy to connect the doors with. Maybe someone can figure this out and post the solution or sell the solution.

Prior to this though the white sleeve should be protecting the pins. You’re still at risk of bending the pins.

 

[berb]

Prior to this though the white sleeve should be protecting the pins. You’re still at risk of bending the pins.

Yeah, I read that after I wrote this. I wish I would have known about the white plate not working before I went to the dealership, it would have made things a lot easier to navigate.

Sponsored