Locker sensor failing

[wibornz]

I think the real reason Jeep does nothing about this is because most people will not be using their lockers and when they finally fail their vehicle will then be out of warranty. Think about how profitable that will be for Jeep. Maybe there is a clause in the Dana contract with Jeep preventing them from selling the switch. So, just go ahead and pot those sensors (which is what I did) and if they still fail buy the bypass wiring harness. My choice will probably be the arb air lockers, although I have not looked into them yet and thought I read somewhere they were not available for the jl. I’ll worry about that when the time comes.
To every jl owner out there, I potted my locker switches at 2k miles and the differential fluid was real nasty and dirty. Something to expect when a vehicle has 50k miles. I highly recommend everyone to change at least the rear differential fluid within 5k miles.

Dana is not allowed to sell the sensor. I have had that talk with them. Being frustrated that they can't/will not help solve my problem with their faulty sensor, I told them, hey what does it take to get a replacement? I don't live far from the Dana factory, do I need to stand down there at shift change and offer $500 to your employees to smuggle/steal some from the factory because this is looking more like the only way to get one with out buying a whole new Dana 44 axle? The Dana rep was not happy about that solution.

It is a shame that this is an easy fix, and for 3 years, they have not addressed it at Dana or Jeep.

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[wibornz]

Squeaky wheel gets the grease. You show leadership wizbornz. Post top Wrangler executives email address’s so us forum members might flood those suckers with requests for the part. Flood top Dana Corp CEO’s emails too. Probably easier to make a thread so folks can lodge a claim, complaint, protest, etc. Then forward it to those teflon suited desk jockeys.

yea, good luck on finding their email address. They are insulated from the masses and they have assistants that read their email most likely. I searched and searched and did not have much luck. I have a friend that gave me a top Jeep engineer friend of his email. I did not mention my friends name when emailing him and the engineer basically said, there was nothing he could do to help and would not pass on anyones email address. Calling Jeep customer service and they would not give any email addresses either.

 

[wibornz]

I thought of taking them to small claims court just so I could get them out of their tower and address this problem.

 

[roaniecowpony]

...Necessity is the mother of invention.

The jumper cable is proof of that.

There's still opportunity for the entrepreneur to make a replacement aftermarket hall effect sensor. The sensor itself can be purchased. The packaging/mounting/connector is where the opportunity is.

 

[wibornz]

...Necessity is the mother of invention.

The jumper cable is proof of that.

There's still opportunity for the entrepreneur to make a replacement aftermarket hall effect sensor. The sensor itself can be purchased. The packaging/mounting/connector is where the opportunity is.

The sensor can not be purchased. That is the problem. I am sure that making one would run into some legal ramifications.

 

[BuffaloBill]

...Necessity is the mother of invention.

The jumper cable is proof of that.

There's still opportunity for the entrepreneur to make a replacement aftermarket hall effect sensor. The sensor itself can be purchased. The packaging/mounting/connector is where the opportunity is.

Would it be practical to just swap out the printed circuit board in the factory sensor housing?


It wouldn’t take much effort or cost very much to order pcbs from China, and just hand populate the two ceramic caps and the Hall sensor. The owner would replace the pcb assembly, soldering the wires to the new board, and potting it.

Or, alternatively:

I wouldn’t expect the oil contamination would have likely damaged the board itself, and would guess a scrubbing with rubbing alcohol would allow its reuse. A person could just replace the caps and Hall sensor on the original board perhaps.

From the current measurements taken by CaJLMetalHead, the Hall sensor is likely one of these Diodes Inc. components:

https://www.diodes.com/assets/Datasheets/AH323xQ_AH327xQ.pdf
About $1 at DigiKey.com

The capacitors are at most, a few pennies.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Would it be practical to just swap out the printed circuit board in the factory sensor housing?


It wouldn’t take much effort or cost very much to order pcbs from China, and just hand populate the two ceramic caps and the Hall sensor. The owner would replace the pcb assembly, soldering the wires to the new board, and potting it.

Or, alternatively:

I wouldn’t expect the oil contamination would have likely damaged the board itself, and would guess a scrubbing with rubbing alcohol would allow its reuse. A person could just replace the caps and Hall sensor on the original board perhaps.

From the current measurements taken by CaJLMetalHead, the Hall sensor is likely one of these Diodes Inc. components:

https://www.diodes.com/assets/Datasheets/AH323xQ_AH327xQ.pdf
About $1 at DigiKey.com

The capacitors are at most, a few pennies.

I think most people will want a bolt-on product. With 3D printing and online manufacturers, a small cottage business could make a nice, professional level product.

 

[CaJLMetalHead]

if somebody can provide a damaged sensor I can probably test the replacement sensor and capacitors .. unfortunately, I do not own a Rubicon so I do not have a way to fully test all conditions like voltage sent from control unit or when is sent.. etc..

 

[Freeheehmedic]

So I took the Jeep in and was told I needed to have the rear axle replaced to fix the sensor issue. Service advisor says go ahead and drive it, it will fail to open not locked. Called back to confirm and was told not to put it in 4H or 4L cause it might lock up and not come out. Now I'm confused. Im driving the thing for a week before they can get me in, should I stay on the pavement or is it OK to go play?

I am having the same issue. In the dealership now and they are replacing the entire rear end as well as the AUX battery. The customer service and Jeep wave program is a joke. Got stranded and was talking to a call center in India for an hour trying to get my Jeep towed a mile to the nearest dealership. Then had to pay for the tow from one dealership to the one I purchased it from. dealerships don’t talk to each other. to top it off, they put me in a two wheel drive renegade that stunk of cigarette smoke. I purchased two Jeep’s in less than a year and spent over 100k. I’ve been a loyal Jeep owner my entire adult life but this is ridiculous.

You are ok to play..

FCA is truly pathetic in being unable to produce a sensor replacement and forcing us to replace an entire axle assembly instead of a $30 sensor.. incredible..

Here is a thread about your issue.. enjoy.. LOL

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...arranty-part-not-available-for-puchase.54531/

 

[californiajeeping]

Does anyone know if there is a TSB or other documentation that is telling the Jeep tech that they must replace the harness first to see if it fixes the locker issue before they are allowed to order the rear axel even though there is oil all over the connector end of the harness where it plugs into the rear axel? The harness is on a 2 month back order and the axels are at least 4 months which means if the wait two months to verify the harness doesn’t fix it, then it will be at least 6 months to get the axel in. You’d think such documentation would say to replace the axel if there is oil leaking out, although it should be common sense.

 

[Dyolfknip74]

Does anyone know if there is a TSB or other documentation that is telling the Jeep tech that they must replace the harness first to see if it fixes the locker issue before they are allowed to order the rear axel even though there is oil all over the connector end of the harness where it plugs into the rear axel? The harness is on a 2 month back order and the axels are at least 4 months which means if the wait two months to verify the harness doesn’t fix it, then it will be at least 6 months to get the axel in. You’d think such documentation would say to replace the axel if there is oil leaking out, although it should be common sense.

The issue isn't oil leaking out of the axle. It's the oil is getting inside the sensor that tells the jeep whether or not the locker is engaged. If you have oil on a connector on the outside of the pumpkin, that's a different issue and it is most likely easily solved with some RTV.

Reading the forum, some people get a new axle ordered almost right away whereas some don't. If anything there should be a TSB that says "Upon seeing 'Service Locker', open diff cover, remove locker sensor. Is it full of oil? Replace complete axle assembly" (which is absolutely ludicrous but literally only OEM solution at the moment)

 

[Rogueman_1]

Just FYI, since my Z Auto harness install a long time ago, my locker is still functioning properly with no dash light bugging me.

I know it’s not the “proper” solution but seriously, it’s been a one & done for me.

The issue lies squarely on both Jeep for not putting pressure on Dana and Dana for not simply potting the damn sensor to begin with.

 

[Dyolfknip74]

Just FYI, since my Z Auto harness install a long time ago, my locker is still functioning properly with no dash light bugging me.

I know it’s not the “proper” solution but seriously, it’s been a one & done for me.

The issue lies squarely on both Jeep for not putting pressure on Dana and Dana for not simply potting the damn sensor to begin with.

I'm ok with them not potting, it's a sensor, why don't they just sell them separately to us? Lol. I'm no economic guy but it seems like replacing full axles for a $20 part might be a little overkill.

The Z Auto harness is good (albeit extremely overpriced as well, but I get need vs demand) but ultimately potting your OEM sensor before it shits the bed is the cheapest solution.

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