My 18' wrangler JL is possessed by a demon😳

[Jaz Bennett]

Hi, I'm new here. Nice to meet!
My current Jeep is a 2018 JL. I've only had it a year thus far, and I've never had the amount of issues in any vehicle I've ever owned especially my other jeeps I had. First, yes by the time I got my JL, it had at least one other owner. I bought it used from a trusted dealership. The previous owner had added quite a bit of stuff, for instance lifted, front wench with light bar, upgraded Stinger radio, and oversized tires. Also it's a manual. This last Nov 24' as I was driving down the hwy, it blew up. I thought I ran over an IED. What had happened was my clutch system literally blew up my transmission. I was about an hour and a half away from home. Not ideal by any means. So that's when all the demons my jeep has came out. Luckily there was the recall of the clutch and transmission system. A jeep dealership where it all happened was able to get that fixed. However, since then, my jeep has been absolutely possessed. It now starts to throw all codes, wipers go on without me doing anything, all dings sound off, power steering locks up while driving causing me to almost wreck. The traction control disconnects, as well as the sway bar, fuel indicator, speed indicator, airbags, literally everything that can go off does go off. I've taken to the jeep dealership I bought it from and asked about recalls on anything electrical and was told there are none. Bare minimum it's at least $300 for them to run a diagnostic on it and I'm not a billionaire, or even a hundredaire for that matter, to have to even pay that, let alone anything else. So my question for any guidance on this matter is; Does anyone know what is malfunctioning in my jeep? And is this something I can potentially fix myself? Does anyone know about any recalls on that matter? The dealership says there are no recalls pertaining to electrical. But there's no way this is something along the lines of wear and tear. Also, I had a friend take a look at it and he found a lot of wires that weren't connected that were all by the battery. Again, I've not done anything to my jeep except the transmission recall replacement. Another question I have is if anyone can give me an estimated guess on what I'm potentially facing to have to pay to get this fixed? Is there anything I need to know about this issue that the dealership will try to avoid or hide, or may not know or even try to pull one over on me?

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[Barney392]

Hi, I'm new here. Veteran, Virgo, and reside in North Carolina. Nice to meet!
My current Jeep is a 2018 JL. I've only had it a year thus far, and I've never had the amount of issues in any vehicle I've ever owned especially my other jeeps I had. First, yes by the time I got my JL, it had at least one other owner. I bought it used from a trusted dealership. The previous owner had added quite a bit of stuff, for instance lifted, front wench with light bar, upgraded Stinger radio, and oversized tires. Also it's a manual. This last Nov 24' as I was driving down the hwy, it blew up. I thought I ran over an IED. What had happened was my clutch system literally blew up my transmission. I was about an hour and a half away from home. Not ideal by any means. So that's when all the demons my jeep has came out. Luckily there was the recall of the clutch and transmission system. A jeep dealership where it all happened was able to get that fixed. However, since then, my jeep has been absolutely possessed. It now starts to throw all codes, wipers go on without me doing anything, all dings sound off, power steering locks up while driving causing me to almost wreck. The traction control disconnects, as well as the sway bar, fuel indicator, speed indicator, airbags, literally everything that can go off does go off. I've taken to the jeep dealership I bought it from and asked about recalls on anything electrical and was told there are none. Bare minimum it's at least $300 for them to run a diagnostic on it and I'm not a billionaire, or even a hundredaire for that matter, to have to even pay that, let alone anything else. So my question for any guidance on this matter is; Does anyone know what is malfunctioning in my jeep? And is this something I can potentially fix myself? Does anyone know about any recalls on that matter? The dealership says there are no recalls pertaining to electrical. But there's no way this is something along the lines of wear and tear. Also, I had a friend take a look at it and he found a lot of wires that weren't connected that were all by the battery. Again, I've not done anything to my jeep except the transmission recall replacement. Another question I have is if anyone can give me an estimated guess on what I'm potentially facing to have to pay to get this fixed? Is there anything I need to know about this issue that the dealership will try to avoid or hide, or may not know or even try to pull one over on me?

Hi Jaz, thank you for your service. You obviously have a problem with the CanBus. Not unusual with your Jeep. A few things to look for.

The 2018's, with the front sway bar disconnect, had a problem with the wiring from the disconnect passing by the radiator and rubbing through the covering. This would cause the CanBus to short or open causing these problems.

In the right wheel well underneath the wheel well cover and connected to the firewall on the outside the passenger foot well is a large electrical connector. There have been problems with this connector. This one is difficult to troubleshoot but you might let your dealer know about it.

And the easiest one to fix, if you can find the part, is the CanBus connector block. It's a green piece of plastic with a bunch of 2 wire connectors plugged into it. It's located behind the glove box. These have also been a problems causing what you are experiencing. Just a few things to check.

 

[Sparty]

CLICKBAIT!

This is BS. I had high hopes for this thread:

 

[Jaz Bennett]

Hi Jaz, thank you for your service. You obviously have a problem with the CanBus. Not unusual with your Jeep. A few things to look for.

The 2018's, with the front sway bar disconnect, had a problem with the wiring from the disconnect passing by the radiator and rubbing through the covering. This would cause the CanBus to short or open causing these problems.

In the right wheel well underneath the wheel well cover and connected to the firewall on the outside the passenger foot well is a large electrical connector. There have been problems with this connector. This one is difficult to troubleshoot but you might let your dealer know about it.

And the easiest one to fix, if you can find the part, is the CanBus connector block. It's a green piece of plastic with a bunch of 2 wire connectors plugged into it. It's located behind the glove box. These have also been a problems causing what you are experiencing. Just a few things to check.

Thank you for advising me on that. I will definitely let the dealership know about that. I've never had issues at all like this so I have a couple follow up questions. One- is this malfunction normal as wear and tear, or was it just poorly assembled with bad connections?

 

[58Willys]

Before you get into the CANBUS, have your each of your batteries load tested separately. Could very well be bad batteries. If one fails, replaced both aux and main battery. Check this before anything else.

 

[Jaz Bennett]

Actually I'm glad you mentioned the battery. So a friend of mine specializes on jeeps and said the battery in my jeep is the wrong battery, and two, he said the other is disconnected. Again, no one has done anything to my jeep except replacement of the clutch and transmission system. Oddly he also said something along the lines of the VIN number of my jeep is not correct. He said in putting the VIN number, it came back as the wrong number in the system. I know nothing about how any of that works.

 

[Heimkehr]

Investigate the CANBUS blocks (there are two) behind the glove box door, as mentioned. With the engine running, wiggle each connector to determine if doing so fixes or causes any untoward operating issues that you mention in your first post. Replacing both blocks is easy and oftentimes recommended when owners experience what you have here.

Also as suggested, perform two load tests on the battery: one to determine resting voltage after sitting overnight (it shouldn't be less than 12.3V, and should in fact be a little higher), and another one to observe the voltage during a cranking event. Resting voltage can be acceptable, only for it to drop off a cliff when starting the engine. If that occurs, battery replacement is probably indicated. OEM is H6 sans the tow package; H7 with it. If you've an H6 and want the larger H7, just remove a press-fit spacer in the battery tray. No matter the brand or size battery you select, make sure it has the AGM designation.

As for there being "a lot of wires that weren't connected that were all by the battery", yes, reconcile that issue ASAP.

 

[Barney392]

Thank you for advising me on that. I will definitely let the dealership know about that. I've never had issues at all like this so I have a couple follow up questions. One- is this malfunction normal as wear and tear, or was it just poorly assembled with bad connections?

Not normal wear and tear. Bad parts suppliers and poor assembly among many other reasons.

The two batteries are also a very poor design and can cause problems. Good idea to check them also.

 

[NWJeepr]

Actually I'm glad you mentioned the battery. So a friend of mine specializes on jeeps and said the battery in my jeep is the wrong battery, and two, he said the other is disconnected. Again, no one has done anything to my jeep except replacement of the clutch and transmission system. Oddly he also said something along the lines of the VIN number of my jeep is not correct. He said in putting the VIN number, it came back as the wrong number in the system. I know nothing about how any of that works.

The disconnected battery is likely your auxiliary battery. The design is problematic for a few different reasons, leading many on the forum to disconnect theirs when they have issues. It's a small battery in comparison to the Jeep's main battery. Having the battery disconnected isn't an issue, as long as it's done correctly. Not every one does it correctly... they either don't remove the battery completely and/or leave live cables in the engine bay. Even if taped up, that's not a foolproof way to isolate them permanently, and then you get arcing.

It's also OK if your Jeep has the "wrong" battery .... within reason. Gas powered JL's came with two different sizes of batteries and either will work. If replacing the main battery, buy the bigger one (H7?) and make sure it is properly sized and fits securely in the tray in your engine compartment.

If you need help understanding what's going on with your VIN, you can post here (I'd recommend leaving off the last 6 digits). The VIN should match the Year, Make, Model and engine choice that you believe your Jeep to be, and what is shown on your state's registration card.

 

[Ratbert]

You might want to not introduce yourself with your astrology sign. All credibility disappears when people do that.

 

[Jaz Bennett]

You might want to not introduce yourself with your astrology sign. All credibility disappears when people do that.

Not sure on what credibility I lost, but thanks for looking out lol

 

[THAW]

As for there being "a lot of wires that weren't connected that were all by the battery", yes, reconcile that issue ASAP.

The wires could be the factory auxiliary switch wires, and might appear more blatantly "disconnected" if a previous owner did a sloppy job pulling accessories prior to sale.

For the above to be the case, the disconnected wires next to the battery would number 4, and the lower dash would have 4 buttons labeled "AUX" 1 through 4. If so, these "disconnected" wires are not a problem.

 

[TrailScooter]

You might want to not introduce yourself with your astrology sign. All credibility disappears when people do that.

The fact that he says he has an 18 foot wrangler makes me suspect...



Makes him suspect.

 

[Ratbert]

Not sure on what credibility I lost, but thanks for looking out lol

Because astrology is complete bullshit? Come on, I have identical twins that are vastly different.

 

[txj2go]

I recommend leaving the aux battery disconnected. There are a lot of long threads on this forum covering the battery system. Weird computer behavior can indicate a problem with the remaining battery so I recommend checking it out too.

If a lot of stuff has been connected to the Jeep you might want to disconnect all of it until you figure out the other problems. Also not all dealers are created equal so it might be better to find an independent shop to look at your Jeep rather than your dealer.

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