I can't make this sh*t up... (Aux Switch Wiring, Dealer Clueless)

[cafecito820]

This is a very, very long story, but it ends in a pretty jaw-dropping comment from our service manager at our local dealership.

I've been trying to hard-wire a dash cam in my wife's JL using the wire bundle from the passenger footwell (that come with the aux switch group from the factory). I read the Jeep manual, the dash cam manual, and watched numerous videos. I'm 100% sure I wired everything correctly.

• Dash Cam Ignition/Accessory Wire to Jeep Ignition/Accessory Wire
• Dash Cam Battery Wire to Jeep Aux 4 Wire, and Aux 4 is set to Battery + Latching

(We want the dash cam to come on when we start driving, but then use the Aux 4 to engage parking mode if we need it, like in a public place. But we don't need parking mode running constantly if we're in the garage at home, hence the aux button.)

No matter what I did, the dash cam never came on after I had wired everything up. It never turned on with vehicle ignition, nor with Aux 4. Even if the vehicle was running and Aux 4 was on, it never got power. I know the dash cam works, because it runs just fine using the 12v adapter.

So, we took the Jeep to the dealership and said that the aux switch wires weren't getting power... *deep breath*

On the first trip there, the service manager understood me saying "The aux switch wires aren't getting power" to mean that there was an issue with the USB/Auxiliary input on the instrument panel. So he had one of his guys replace a piece that wasn't broken to begin with, told us everything was fixed, and sent us on our own. Of course, we get home, and nothing had changed with the dash cam... *SIIIIIIGH*

So in an effort to be as clear as possible for the dealer, I typed up exactly what the problem was, exactly what we needed to have happen, and left it in the key drop envelope for them.

They had the Jeep all day today, and the service advisor calls me saying that he has had one of his guys on it for 3+ hours, and that he wasn't able to figure it out. After that, the tech was just convinced that I had wired something wrong (I didn't) and started changing wires around in the footwell. The service advisor also tells me that, because there was no issue with the Jeep, he had to charge us for at least an hour of labor because the tech had to wire our dash cam for us (annoying, because I didn't ask him to, but anyway)...

So we get there this evening to pick the Jeep up, and what do you know - it still doesn't f*cking work. The camera doesn't turn on with ignition, nor with Aux 4. I go back in to talk to the service advisor, and he doesn't believe me. He follows me out to see for himself, and sure enough, it's not working. He calls the tech (who had gone home by this point), and puts the tech on speaker. The tech explains that he made it so that the dash cam comes on while the ignition is on AND Aux 4 is turned on...

*SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH*

I could not possibly have been more clear with what we needed, and what the problem was, and he still somehow managed to f*ck it up. And we got charged $180 for it. I'm kind of losing my mind at this point.

We're talking with the tech still, and I explain to him that we wanted the dash cam to turn on with the ignition (which it isn't doing), and for Aux 4 to power it with the ignition off (which it's also not doing). I shit you not, the tech (who the service advisor says is his most experienced guy) says, "Oh, well, I usually just wire these up for people who want exterior lights while their Jeep is running. I don't think you can make the aux switches run without the engine running..."

Yes, our dealership's most seasoned Jeep tech doesn't think that setting aux switches to BATTERY power means that they can receive power from the battery without the engine running. I explained to him as patiently as I could that you absolutely CAN power something with the battery with no engine power (that's the whole f*cking point), and he was just dumbfounded. He agreed to take a look at it again tomorrow, and said he would have to pull the JL wiring schematics to verify that what we're asking to do is possible.

I mean, if I'm completely wrong, please tell me. But how is this situation anything other than the Jeep aux switch wires not sending power like they should? Every other link in the chain has been verified time and again. And I'm having to convince someone who apparently knows less than I do about these systems that it should work a certain way, so that he'll finally believe me that something is wrong.

I need a beer.

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[Dyolfknip74]

What dashcam is it?

 

[jmccorm]

I mean, if I'm completely wrong, please tell me. But how is this situation anything other than the Jeep aux switch wires not sending power like they should?

In retrospect, you should have taken the dash cam out of the equation entirely and been dealing exclusively with the absence or presence of voltage on the two circuits. That should have been the only item of interest.

When you combine that with a more nebulous secondary issue (your camera not turning on), then it opens the door for all this confusion and miscommunication. There's all sorts of reasons why a camera wouldn't turn on even if 12V is on both circuits when you expect it to be.

So what you should do is go out to the vehicle right now with a voltmeter and see if 12V are on the lines when you expect it to be there. If it is, then the question has something more to do with your camera and you should put your focus on that question instead (and without the dealer). (With voltage on both circuits, perhaps you should be working with the camera's manufacturer to find out why it isn't turning on.)

However, I don't know you and what your skillset is. If working the voltmeter and diagnosing circuits isn't your thing, then it probably is best to put the whole thing in his lap (if he'll take it), knowing that you'll be at his mercy for whatever he finds and however he fixes it.

 

[cafecito820]

What dashcam is it?

Thinkware F200. It comes with a pretty standard hardwire kit - a power cable on one end, and an ignition, battery, and ground on the other.

 

[cafecito820]

In retrospect, you should have taken the dash cam out of the equation entirely and been dealing exclusively with the absence or presence of voltage on the two circuits. That should have been the only item of interest.

When you combine that with a more nebulous secondary issue (your camera not turning on), then it opens the door for all this confusion and miscommunication.

So what you should do is go out to the vehicle right now with a voltmeter and see if 12V are on the lines when you expect it to be there. If it is, then the question has something more to do with your camera and you should put your focus on that question instead (and without the dealer).

However, I don't know you and what your skillset is. If working the voltmeter and diagnosing circuits isn't your thing, then it probably is best to put the whole thing in his lap (if he'll take it), knowing that you'll be at his mercy for whatever he finds and however he fixes it.

That was part of what I told the dealer up front. I tested the wires with a multimeter, and I got 0 output from either of them, even without the camera involved. Apparently they didn't read that part either.

 

[HempelNet]

My AUX 3, battery wire, and ignition wire for the AUX internal did not work when I wired them up. Come to find out the power and ignition fuses where blown and as for the AUX three I had to take the dash apart and reseat the plugin before it started to work. It would light up but zero power with a good fuse.

Hope this helps..

 

[cafecito820]

My AUX 3, battery wire, and ignition wire for the AUX internal did not work when I wired them up. Come to find out the power and ignition fuses where blown and as for the AUX three I had to take the dash apart and reseat the plugin before it started to work. It would light up but zero power with a good fuse.

Hope this helps..

Yea, they said that the previous tech (that unnecessarily replaced the USB port and aux audio) checked the fuses... I'll mention this when I talk to them tomorrow though. Thanks!

 

[jmccorm]

That was part of what I told the dealer up front. I tested the wires with a multimeter, and I got 0 output from either of them, even without the camera involved. Apparently they didn't read that part either.

If there's a next time you talk with them, reiterate that fact. I would also go back and see if you have voltage now, regardless of what may have been said.

 

[cafecito820]

If there's a next time you talk with them, reiterate that fact. I would also go back and see if you have voltage now, regardless of what may have been said.

They kept it overnight to work on tomorrow, but I'll definitely bring that up again to them. You're absolutely right that the dash cam convoluted things for them. Lesson learned.

 

[music293]

Hey, I sorta skimmed or whatever, so ignore this question if it's offbase...

As for basic troubleshooting, do you have the settings for the given switch enabled to your preference within the UConnect menu, i.e. power via ignition, battery, etc? Cheers.

 

[cafecito820]

Hey, I sorta skimmed or whatever, so ignore this question if it's offbase...

As for basic troubleshooting, do you have the settings for the given switch enabled to your preference within the UConnect menu, i.e. power via ignition, battery, etc? Cheers.

Yep, I made sure of that before I ever took it to the dealer the first time. And that's the main point of the post - the dealership tech doesn't think that aux switches can ever provide power if the engine is off. He doesn't think that battery means constant power.

 

[MerPinXEss]

Try wire 6 direct to battery or fuse box lid
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/lost-power-on-aux-switch-thoughts.43293/

 

[supermike]

not surprised at all. typical jeep dealership monkey (not an assault to monkey), they are clueless, shameless, and would swear on their mother to cover their lies..



I would take out the dash cam out of the question and deal with the aux ALONE. Especially when going to dealer, DO NOT even mention even one word anything aftermarket, just let them deal with the AUX.

 

[cafecito820]

This may be nothing, but in the description of your electrical installation of your dash camera I expected to hear about 3, not 2 wires, the accessory one, the battery one, and the ground.

I'm not implying that your Aux switches may not need a dealer look see, it's just that I never heard of an install without a ground. Maybe you just assumed to not discuss it.

Yea, I mentioned that in one of the earlier replies. The ground is part of the hardwire kit, and it's connected to the ground bolt behind the kick panel.

 

[mwilk012]

Have you poked the aux leads with a volt meter at any point?

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