My 2020 Jeep Rubicon “JLUR” could have killed me and my family this weekend.

[bwright1818]

I suppose that these days, an alternaor has it's own computer and can line too. (Hopefully, that is a joke, on my part.) However, old school thinking says if the alternator was taken out, I would be looking for an intermittent open or short in the main BATTERY wiring....

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[paffemt]

I feel your pain. In November they replaced my 8.4 for the second time. The new one seems to be working. I guess third times the charm (Jinxed myself now). I did get worried after they started working on it though. The service manager came out just after they started working on it and said the service technician wanted to know if I had a second battery in my Sahara. I have a 2019 with a 3.6.

 

[TheGreatCO]

I suppose that these days, an alternaor has it's own computer and can line too. (Hopefully, that is a joke, on my part.) However, old school thinking says if the alternator was taken out, I would be looking for an intermittent open or short in the main BATTERY wiring....

I agree with you, this whole thing sounds like an electrical noise / grounding issue.

 

[JimSa]

Summarizing what I was told:

No. They don’t know because the systems needed to find out were ALL effect. Apparently these system are tied into the “infotainment system” and will not work properly without it. With the infotainment system being trashed they have to wait until a new one can be installed. That will take time as the systems are “coded to the VIN” of each vehicle. They had to “order” one using my VIN or it would not work.

When I had a short on the CAN-C, my infotainment was locked out too. It said it needed the VIN/PIN combo, but when the short was diagnosed and unhooked from the star control block, it came back to life. I'd be a little worried that this is just a symptom of the root cause short. I'd even be worried that perhaps the infotainment doesn't need to be replaced at all, but rather they just need to get to the root cause. My $.02.

 

[Fsttanks]

When I had a short on the CAN-C, my infotainment was locked out too. It said it needed the VIN/PIN combo, but when the short was diagnosed and unhooked from the star control block, it came back to life. I'd be a little worried that this is just a symptom of the root cause short. I'd even be worried that perhaps the infotainment doesn't need to be replaced at all, but rather they just need to get to the root cause. My $.02.

Take a look at UPDATE 12/03 on my original post near the bottom. Sounds like you might be right about the infotainment system.

 

[Fsttanks]

I posted an update on my original thread post near bottom “UPDATE 12/03” for the current status.

 

[JimSa]

I posted an update on my original thread post near bottom “UPDATE 12/03” for the current status.

I missed that. Makes perfect sense to me based on my own experience. What's surprising is that most techs at most dealerships really have no idea how to work through electrical issues. Most of the skills are in turning wrenches on more mechanical issues. They end up calling FCA Star (or whatever it's called) typically for stuff like this and going back and forth while someone guides them. That's one of the reasons that electrical issues take so long. That may sound a little snarky with regard to the Techs, but a former service department head actually told me this... I do get the computer stuff, but what I don't get is why it's so hard to diagnose what appears to be a simple short.

 

[Fsttanks]

See UPDATE 12/04 on first thread post.

 

[Stiljms]

See UPDATE 12/04 on first thread post.

Thanks for keeping us updated.

 

[bwright1818]

Interesting. The partly installed fuses have been reported as the possible source of various problems since the JL came out in 2018. Whether those are installed by a robot or by hand, they really need to address the fact that they can't even install a fuse right after three years. Mine were half-installed in my 2019, too. Holy smoke. And I joked about an alternator with a computer; but sure enough, it DOES have one!!! Tech is getting WAY out of control. I just want to drive a car to work, not land on friggin' Mars.

 

[Fsttanks]

See new UPDATE 12/06 on bottom of first thread post.

Heading back to dealership once again for more work. Problems not solved!!!!

 

[MrBell]

My 2019 had a complete electrical failure while driving. Entire car went dark, lost power steering and brakes. Had to use the e-brake to stop. Turns out it was a bad "main fuse" before the fuse box. It was poorly installed at the factory and failed. Thankfully I was not on the highway which could have been a disaster. Then a few months ago my Wrangler started gushing coolant from the engine had to be towed again to the dealer. This time they had to partially disassemble the engine to fix the leak. Can't say I've been impressed with my 15 months of ownership. Reading this thread is a reminder that my time with Jeep will be limited.

 

[Fsttanks]

UPDATE 12/08

Here is the latest OBD print out of the last incident (12/06) and related problems I experienced while driving. Dealerships has “escalated” the warranty work to requesting an FCA “engineer/regional representative” to physically inspect my Jeep. Don’t know what that means or if it is just some way to CYA themselves for liability in case they say it is fixed, only to find out it is not and I am in an accident caused by the electrical system failures.

They did say if they can’t get it fix this time they would be happy to assist me in a “buy back”/ Lemon law proceeding. Which sounds suspiciously like they will not be able to fix it.

 

[TheGreatCO]

Looks like something is up with the CAN bus.

 

[oldcjguy]

Something is shorted in the wiring harness. Sorry for your bad luck. FCA may end up buying it back just to speed things up unless they can figure out which harness section to replace.

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