Driver's Door Electrical Connection

[Ogre_FL]

I’ve spent close to 2 hours playing with the pins. They all appear straight. This is so frustrating! ?

I had to look at the connector to see where it was damaged from the bent pins.
There is a little scallop that happens to the bottom of the pin hole guide area.

On some of them I had to slightly over correct the bend to be sure the pin got into the right hole. The way the connector gets damaged it wants to push them into the hole below where it should.

Also as the connector gets more and more damaged (from each failed attempt to fix), the pins bend less and its harder to notice the bend.
On some I opened up the correct hole as the damage can close them up a bit too.

Lower left side were some of the worse ones on mine.

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[Higher_Ground]

Exactly what Ogre_FL said. I cleaned up the opening as best I could.

If it persists, I wonder if we can fill in the hole in with something?

With my plug it's hard to be gentle with it. Nothing wants to move easily. It's just a terrible design all around.

 

[Higher_Ground]

Thinking out loud and looking at that picture....

what if I just cut off the two pieces sticking out from each side? (trunnions?) I'm not really worried about the plug slipping out on its own.

 

[LadyLightning]

I checked my fuses, and all are seated. Played with the harness and pins a bit more with no luck. Guess I’m going to be making an appointment for service before winter ?

 

[Higher_Ground]

That sucks, can you tell if they're going in the right spot or still being bent as you reconnect it?

 

[LadyLightning]

That sucks, can you tell if they're going in the right spot or still being bent as you reconnect it?

I can’t tell, unfortunately. I asked my husband to look at it, and he agreed it’s a terrible design.

 

[wchevron]

Just had the same problem and someone directed me here. Bent my pins back and it's working now. If they have that TSB out, why not make a new plug with all the pins larger like the ones on the the bottom.

 

[jonaandcaleb]

Just had the same problem and someone directed me here. Bent my pins back and it's working now. If they have that TSB out, why not make a new plug with all the pins larger like the ones on the the bottom.

The sad part is the TSB is out to let the dealership know they won't get reimbursed back because it's a "customer initiated" problem. I know some getting it covered under warranty work, but not sure how it's be coded on the dealership end. Still going to create my own connectors once I'm out of warranty. I hate the feeling of "is it going to work or not" every time I put the doors back on.

 

[Higher_Ground]

It's still bullsh*t to call it a "customer initiated" problem. That might be the case if you tried to force it on backwards or something but if you line it up and pull the lever it should work flawlessly 100% of the time and it doesn't.

All problems are initiated by the customer. The vehicle does not drive itself. There are manufacturing defects and installation errors. This could very well be a combination of both.

I have a sneaking suspicion that some of us did not receive pristine connectors from the factory.

Given that mine were messed up from the very first time I took them off I have reason to think they were damaged during the initial installation. Why else would others have no issues over and over again (or for me no issues on the driver's door).

 

[Ogre_FL]

It's still bullsh*t to call it a "customer initiated" problem. That might be the case if you tried to force it on backwards or something but if you line it up and pull the lever it should work flawlessly 100% of the time and it doesn't.

All problems are initiated by the customer. The vehicle does not drive itself. There are manufacturing defects and installation errors. This could very well be a combination of both.

I have a sneaking suspicion that some of us did not receive pristine connectors from the factory.

Given that mine were messed up from the very first time I took them off I have reason to think they were damaged during the initial installation. Why else would others have no issues over and over again (or for me no issues on the driver's door).

Yup, I firmly believe mine were screwed up at the factory too.
I can clearly see damage to the connector were I HAVE NOT found/corrected bent pins.
SOMEONE has messed with it before.

Very first time I disconnected/reconnected I had issues as well and once the connector is compromised it just keeps happening.

Keep in mind I have a 3 year old JL that NEVER has had issues.
I know how it is supposed to work.

 

[wchevron]

I'm still getting random problems. Everything was working but the proximity lock. Finally pulled the plug and adjusted some of the pins. Not sure which one it was. Put the plug back together and everything worked. Then the next day the interior lock/unlock buttons would work until you opened the door all the way, then they wouldn't.
Pulled the plug again. Tried to straighten what I thought was bent. Put together gently. Everything works. Except this morning I'm getting the Auto Park disabled, and Auto Start/stop disabled.
Is there any reason I can't leave it this way for the time being. I don't mind the auto s/s not working at all. Just don't want to do any damage to anything leaving it disabled.

To be honest, I think I caused the initial bent pins. Was putting the doors on late one night. Think I didn't seat the plug straight on when I closed it and next day started having issues. Still a poor design.

 

[elnonio]

SOLVED (at least on my plugs)! The bent pins aren't the actual problem.... They are the first symptom of the problem.

The REAL problem is that the male plug doesn't function correctly.

With the plugs disconnected, you should barely see the top of the pins on the male plug. The real problem, then, is that the white piece inside the male plug should extend over the pins as you remove the female plug, offering both protection and guidance to the pins.

If you see the full pins, the inside white piece has failed to extend (hence, faulty plug) over the pins, and that's why the pins can get bent: as you reinsert the female plug, the pins aren't guided back to where they need to be by that white sliding piece.

So no, not user error. Faulty plugs.

 

[Ogre_FL]

SOLVED (at least on my plugs)! The bent pins aren't the actual problem.... They are the first symptom of the problem.

The REAL problem is that the male plug doesn't function correctly.

With the plugs disconnected, you should barely see the top of the pins on the male plug. The real problem, then, is that the white piece inside the male plug should extend over the pins as you remove the female plug, offering both protection and guidance to the pins.

If you see the full pins, the inside white piece has failed to extend (hence, faulty plug) over the pins, and that's why the pins can get bent: as you reinsert the female plug, the pins aren't guided back to where they need to be by that white sliding piece.

So no, not user error. Faulty plugs.

I think you are right.
Was noted earlier in this thread. You can see the difference between the side he wasn't having issues with.

Is that part spring loaded or does it move with the closing arm?

Here are pictures of the harnesses. The one with my hand is the passenger side. Can you see that there are less of the pins exposed than the other? Is other JTs the same as mine where the drivers side pins are exposed more?

FYI I did take the doors off and put them back and had the same issue. Bent them ever so slightly back and everything worked. Going to be very frustrating if I have to do this every time I remove the doors.

 

[elnonio]

Ah. Didn't see that post. Looks like we are in violent agreement.
I've told my dealer and they will look at it when I take it in for a quick early oil change

 

[Higher_Ground]

Interesting. You can see the white part is aligned in two different notches on the lever.

I think we may have some sort of proof after all.

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