Broke the lockers on test drive.

[Nate]

Don't you sometimes have to move forward just a bit for the lockers to actually engage?

Yes, both wheels have to sync up to lock. Which is why half of the comments on here is ridiculous. It’s meant to be used under 10mph and has automatic disengagement at 30mph.

Since the 03’ Rubicon (air lockers) I can tell you they have been repaired, replaced and tested by dealerships without leaving their paved lots under warranty.

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[Nate]

You can on yours... I won't be doing that.

Thank you, I’m glad to have gotten your permission.

 

[The Great Grape Ape]

You can engage lockers on the street to test, it makes no difference as long as you keep vehicle in a straight line and avoid “hop”

Which is a good test?

Might test the electronic switch gear, but a 10MPH straight line on flat ground isn’t much of a locker test. Using those test methods a locker is just as good and no better than an LSD, or even an open diff.

More of a “I wanna press every button & switch” test.

 

[ERIXJLUR]

Don't you sometimes have to move forward just a bit for the lockers to actually engage?

Yes. I did. No luck.

The lockers didn’t even try to engage - the light at the switch wasn’t blinking.

Side note: the Service Lockers alert shouldn’t get triggered even if someone tried to engage on pavement.

 

[Nate]

Which is a good test?

Might test the electronic switch gear, but a 10MPH straight line on flat ground isn’t much of a locker test. Using those test methods a locker is just as good and no better than an LSD, or even an open diff.

More of a “I wanna press every button & switch” test.

More like I was the service advisor in the vehicle with the tech who just replaced a rear locker that was covered under factory warranty for replacement kind of test.

But yeah playing with buttons is fun too

 

[PavementWarrior]

You can on yours... I won't be doing that.

Dragsters have spool differentials.. as along as you go straight locked and unlocked is the same.

 

[offcamber]

You can on yours... I won't be doing that.

LOL..i love when folks who know nothing act like they are experts. Have you ever been to Moab? Do you know why they call it slickrock? Hint" it isn't because it's slick. You use lockers on the slickrock of Moab and you get waaay more traction than you would on pavement. Driving on pavement at slow speeds with the lockers engaged is no different than engaging the lockers on the slickrock of Moab.

 

[Mattyp1214]

LOL..i love when folks who know nothing act like they are experts. Have you ever been to Moab? Do you know why they call it slickrock? Hint" it isn't because it's slick. You use lockers on the slickrock of Moab and you get waaay more traction than you would on pavement. Driving on pavement at slow speeds with the lockers engaged is no different than engaging the lockers on the slickrock of Moab.

I think we are getting away from the point of the OP, somebody testing the lockers to see if they engaged or not. I’m pretty sure we all know what lockers do whether all of us have been to Moab.
Debating it being properly tested doesn’t matter. Truth is a bunch of people test driving them will likely be pressing all the buttons and levers etc.
Most concerning thing is that the system failed on the first try

 

[offcamber]

I think we are getting away from the point of the OP, somebody testing the lockers to see if they engaged or not. I’m pretty sure we all know what lockers do whether all of us have been to Moab.
Debating it being properly tested doesn’t matter. Truth is a bunch of people test driving them will likely be pressing all the buttons and levers etc.
Most concerning thing is that the system failed on the first try

It's a JEEP. People act like it's news that stuff like this is happening. My 2012 JK spent 120 days of the first year in the shop. It's normal, not unexpected. It will get fixed, it won't cost the new owner a penny. No harm, no foul. FCA/Jeep is know for it's horrible build quality. Getting spun up won't change it. it's been like this for years. We don't buy Jeeps because they are reliable.

 

[Nate]

I think we are getting away from the point of the OP, somebody testing the lockers to see if they engaged or not. I’m pretty sure we all know what lockers do whether all of us have been to Moab.
Debating it being properly tested doesn’t matter. Truth is a bunch of people test driving them will likely be pressing all the buttons and levers etc.
Most concerning thing is that the system failed on the first try

Problem is many here don’t know “what lockers do” or some wouldn’t have made the comments they did. That is the “elephant in the room” to those of us who do and how we arrived here.

I have a love/hate relationship with forums for this very reason.... mostly because there are many new people to Jeep and the usage of becomes a breeding bed of repetitive misinformation/opinion presented as facts. Part of me struggles to refrain from asking “Do you know what in the actual fk you’re talking about?” Most of the time and I find myself erasing and retyping my comments trying not to destroy or trigger people’s overly sensitive thin skin. But that’s me... regardless of how I put it. I’d rather see people informed of the right information rather than continue operating under false or misinformation.

To a point, you are right.... The bigger issue is why they failed to engage. But again....that is up to that dealership to discover and not a bunch of people opining who aren’t qualified to diagnose.

 

[swyman]

Lock the rears on the pavement and they should chirp when you turn...then you know they are working! I know it is not advisable but in all seriousness if you lock the axles and they break while trying to turn then are not built heavy enough. I'm a duner not a rock guy but rock climbing puts a lot of stress on the drivetrain and lets face it....that's how Jeep advertises these things.....Like the Polaris RZR's....say jumping is abuse and sometimes won't cover warranty issues but they are launching them wide open on the dunes in every commercial!

 

[jman]

LOL..i love when folks who know nothing act like they are experts. Have you ever been to Moab? Do you know why they call it slickrock? Hint" it isn't because it's slick. You use lockers on the slickrock of Moab and you get waaay more traction than you would on pavement. Driving on pavement at slow speeds with the lockers engaged is no different than engaging the lockers on the slickrock of Moab.

Touche .

 

[Kajmcbride]

For me I like that I will get a "Service Lockers Soon" warning if there is a malfunction is detected. Having that warning might keep me out of trouble.

So what could the malfunction be in an electric locker with only power to the electromagnetic stator and no feedback loop that verifies the locker is actually locked. I am not an engineer and the causes I give below are my layman's observations.

1. Power is not being sent from the relay to the locker.

2. The locker and wiring are not completing a circuit.

3. The vehicle is detecting a problem or malfunction with the FAD.

4. Short circuit in the locker wiring.

The above malfunctions could be caused by a loose electrical connector, short circuit, break in the wiring, faulty electromagnetic stator, or a bad fuse.

If there are any electrical engineers out there I have a couple questions. Could there be a change in electrical load at the electromagnetic stator form the locker being fully engaged? If there is a change in load is it significant enough to be detected by the vehicle computer? Thanks

 

[The Great Grape Ape]

LOL..i love when folks who know nothing act like they are experts. Have you ever been to Moab? Do you know why they call it slickrock? Hint" it isn't because it's slick. You use lockers on the slickrock of Moab and you get waaay more traction than you would on pavement. Driving on pavement at slow speeds with the lockers engaged is no different than engaging the lockers on the slickrock of Moab.

You don’t need to go to Moab to have used lockers, nor is rock crawling the only time you would use them.

To the point the OP changed/edited his post to include the reason for engaging lockers, which is pertinent to separate this from when someone simply jumps in a new Wrangler that isn’t even broken in yet and just pushes every button they’re confronted with and engages 4L+lockers on a test drive. I didn’t comment on the OP, becasue no one knows what happened or the situation other than him, however without the added information, a straight line test on flat ground isn’t much of a test, whether in Moab or L.A.

The quality and conscientiousness of the repair depends on if you think people end up with a Wrangler that is truly fixed. Fom the salesperson’s reaction blowing it off (even from a part failed in its first few miles of use perspective), I am left with the impression they will patch it up just enough to sell and stop visible warning signs, not properly check everything.

From the large number of people chasing dealer repairs for months, my confidence that this will be dealt with properly is lower than your confidence in initial build quality. Without being forced to be honest with the future buyer that person may be chasing a gremlin they never knew was created before they even saw their future JL. This is why dealerships doing this should have their own vehicle, not a future owner’s.

I doubt if the OP getting his ordered Rubi JL delivered with ~50 miles on it because “we had to let a few people test drive it first” would improve his joy & confidence level that it had been treated like he would treat it. I have little confidence that Random Jackson has similar/superior experience and abilities; the OP may be a rare exception, but that’s definitely not usually the case.

Sure it’s a question of build quality, but it’s also a question of dealerships allowing people to do things to someone else’s Jeep before it’s even broken in yet. If they want a full featured test, the dealership should get a dealer model and setup a test track like some dealerships do. Once they sell the dealer model second hand, then they likely recoup all their costs and haven’t compromised a bunch of other owners vehicles.

My issue is with the dealership not really the OP, but it’s also why I don’t let any dealer test drive my vehicles as part of the terms of sale.

 

[BillyHW]

Problem is many here don’t know “what lockers do” or some wouldn’t have made the comments they did. That is the “elephant in the room” to those of us who do and how we arrived here.

I have a love/hate relationship with forums for this very reason.... mostly because there are many new people to Jeep and the usage of becomes a breeding bed of repetitive misinformation/opinion presented as facts. Part of me struggles to refrain from asking “Do you know what in the actual fk you’re talking about?” Most of the time and I find myself erasing and retyping my comments trying not to destroy or trigger people’s overly sensitive thin skin. But that’s me... regardless of how I put it. I’d rather see people informed of the right information rather than continue operating under false or misinformation.

To a point, you are right.... The bigger issue is why they failed to engage. But again....that is up to that dealership to discover and not a bunch of people opining who aren’t qualified to diagnose.

I appreciate all the experienced people here posting their knowledge. I've learned a lot from them.

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