Driver's Door Electrical Connection

[ShadowsPapa]

Cheap and easy but doesn't maintain the sealed connector-unless you have a Rubicon or a slight lift as that connector is just "almost" above the 30" water fording depth on stock Overland, etc.

I'd personally install another multi-pin connector that IS water proof and use sealed connections if I were to do anything. (my ocd would not allow me to hack and add an additional 2 pin connector alingside the original - just couldn't do it)

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[eaglerugby04]

Cheap and easy but doesn't maintain the sealed connector-unless you have a Rubicon or a slight lift as that connector is just "almost" above the 30" water fording depth on stock Overland, etc.

I'd personally install another multi-pin connector that IS water proof and use sealed connections if I were to do anything. (my ocd would not allow me to hack and add an additional 2 pin connector alingside the original - just couldn't do it)

In my case I am not worried about submersion to that level, just general rain intrusion more than anything else. Need to check my pins to see if they are still there, lol

 

[ShadowsPapa]

In my case I am not worried about submersion to that level, just general rain intrusion more than anything else. Need to check my pins to see if they are still there, lol

That's my thing, too - I doubt I'll be trying to cross the waaay low Des Moines river any time soon, or even Four Mile near us, but it's water from above, or other accidents I want to keep things sealed against.
I was impressed by the connectors in the 94 ZJ I parted out to get my Eagle's 4.0. Most connections of any consequence or that could be remotely exposed had tight rubber seals. I'm sure a lot of that was just protection against dust and dirt and ordinary humidity that oxidizes electrical connections, but I saved a few of them from that ZJ "just in case" and used a couple of them in that car near the engine where it would be exposed to splash, snow or my constantly washing the engine to keep it "I can eat off the intake" clean.

 

[eaglerugby04]

I case anybody is curious this is the pin that does the power mirrors. All the way on the left. I don't have any of the safety features or proximity on my JTR.

 

[cecaa850]

I haven't had mine apart but are curious as to how people are bending these. Is there not enough wire to properly align the 2 halves so that they go straight together? It seems that maybe people are putting these together with the plugs slightly cocked.

 

[Ravenron]

I haven't had mine apart but are curious as to how people are bending these. Is there not enough wire to properly align the 2 halves so that they go straight together? It seems that maybe people are putting these together with the plugs slightly cocked.

Not sure how mine got bent...everything felt as though it was lined up. It slid together smoothly as I rotated the cam and locked it down. I had no idea that was my issue until dealer fixed and reported back the problem.

I'll definitely pay MUCH more attention to the procedure next time I do it. Will also likely apply some dielectric grease on assembly...

 

[ShadowsPapa]

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.

 

[jonaandcaleb]

Not sure how mine got bent...everything felt as though it was lined up. It slid together smoothly as I rotated the cam and locked it down. I had no idea that was my issue until dealer fixed and reported back the problem.

I'll definitely pay MUCH more attention to the procedure next time I do it. Will also likely apply some dielectric grease on assembly...

Yeah-since reporting the first time and I couldn't figure out what the deal was. Took it to the dealership and I paid them to tell me what was wrong. Needless to say, I am very careful when putting them back in. I've had them off and back on 3 times and everything seems to be in harmony for now. It's turning colder here, so we will have to see what it will do when Spring comes around.

 

[DaleG]

I took both vehicle mounted plugs on the front doors loose and leave them hanging. It makes it extremely EASY to make sure plugs and pins are lined up before using the lever. Much easier to check pins before you engage the plugs.

 

[K80ady]

I've had the same issue with this connection it will effect the remote start function as well. I agree with most here, this is a bad design by jeep. I was very careful in removing and reinstalling the connection. Has anyone considered evoking the lemon laws? This can become very expensive and time consuming not to mention potentially dangerous if you rely on a safety feature the is disabled because of this!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I've had the same issue with this connection it will effect the remote start function as well. I agree with most here, this is a bad design by jeep. I was very careful in removing and reinstalling the connection. Has anyone considered evoking the lemon laws? This can become very expensive and time consuming not to mention potentially dangerous if you rely on a safety feature the is disabled because of this!

Lemon law? That requires that you attempt to have the dealer repair it. IF they do, that's that.
Having a pin out of place isn't making it a lemon - if the dealer fixes it, most states' lemon laws - well, they'd laugh you out of the room - hey, it's fixed!
Lemon laws require the vehicle be down a certain number of days and/or a certain number of attempts to repair the broken part have been made, to no avail.

Hundreds, if not thousands, remove those connectors and put them back on a regular basis without issue so good luck.
Think of the people who have just added the proximity locks to their trucks - that involves removing the connection and putting it back. So far none of them (that I am aware of) had any problems after they replaced the harnesses to get the proximity lock feature installed.

Great design, no, but many thousands of these get put together every year at the factory - I'd suspect if they had a high failure rate, they'd be looking into making changes.

 

[Ogre_FL]

Working through this right now.
Pulled the doors on my JL tons of times and never had an issue nor did I ever expect this was a thing.
1st time with the Gladiator and the thing goes ape shit.

Got a disabled auto park and service start/stop system warning. (no clue why start/stop is effected, but it was)
Other weird stuff like the radio and lights staying on after you turn the truck off get out and close the door.
Drivers side door lock buttons don't work, but everything else on the door seemed to.

Was going to take it into the dealer, but kind of glad I didn't if they are not covering this under warranty and blaming the user.

After a bit if pin tweaking I have got the warnings to go away and the radio/lights turns off when you open/close the door.
Still can't get the door lock buttons to work though.

 

[K80ady]

And your remote start most likely isn't working and can't adjust your mirrors

 

[Ogre_FL]

And your remote start most likely isn't working and can't adjust your mirrors

My remote start does/did work and so did the mirrors.
I guess I just bent different pins.
Didn't see on here where others got the service start/stop warning, but did find it over on the JL side.

 

[K80ady]

My remote start does/did work and so did the mirrors.
I guess I just bent different pins.
Didn't see on here where others got the service start/stop warning, but did find it over on the JL side.

The irritatng part is I followed the directions and their instructionsl video on this and still the pins bent. Just to flimsy.

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