cafecito820
Well-Known Member
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- #1
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.
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.
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
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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