Platinum Member TimC Posted August 9, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted August 9, 2020 OK, not actually Today (when the weather would have been good) but Wednesday and Thursday (which were rather wet!) First time we’ve done an all family off road trip: me, MrsTimC, my daughter and her husband and my sister and nephew....plus our two dogs in my JKUR and my nephews Disco. We met up at Tebay services in atrocious weather and headed to our first lane of five I had planned for the two days, which was Breasthigh Road. It’s not far from Tebay but just getting there was bad enough, the roads were awash and the becks were fuller than I’d ever seen them. Breasthigh itself was tougher than I’ve ever seen it, water churning in the beck and streams running down the track, the ford was going to be”interesting”. When we got to the ford ( we’d been going E to W ) we stopped and ummed and ahhed for quite a while. It wasn’t the depth of the water it was the speed and the force it was running. Worst I’ve ever seen it, hadn’t been this bad during storm Callum two years ago. In the end we decided that it wasn’t worth the risk of one of us being flipped over the stepping stones so we turned round and did Breasthigh again the other way, which unfortunately left us in the wrong place to do the next lane. Also coming down I suddenly lost all fuel. I had grounded out at one point on the way up and thought I must have punctured something so nursed it to Tebay when miraculously my tank started to refill....so electrical/sensor problem . So back on the road to next lane which was Old Coach Road, now a lot easier than Breasthigh but still fun even though poor visibility meant we couldn’t enjoy the views. However the problems kept coming......ABS and ESC warning lights ( an ongoing issue ) ....then ETC warning light....then security warning light (! ) then on the way to the campsite another ongoing problem reared it’s ugly head again, failure to shift up and left us stuck in second gear, then finally the engine management warning light. We limped into the campsite with the dash lit up light a Christmas tree . Fortunately the rain let up long enough to get the tents up and enjoy a nice evening round the fire, even the dogs were happy. The rain finally subsided Thursday morning so a bit of diagnosis with the JSCAN, all the usual wheel sensor errors, a torque error, a forced entry error ( while we were driving) and an insufficient air flow error. Anyway, reset the codes and fitted a new air filter but decided not to risk Grizedale and Parkamoor which we’d scheduled for the day as we still had a 4 hour drive to get home, so chilled at the campsite for a bit before heading carefully back down the M6. Made it home OK but Jeep in need of some major TLC, seems to be something electrical/wiring harness that doesn’t like getting wet and also possibly an auto box oil change, so no Slindon for me this weekend. Ah, the joys of 4x4 ownership! All part of the fun. 7B3BC350-93EB-4356-AE5C-D1568703E558.MP4 3F56357C-0FDA-47FF-8848-DD156D750BBA.MP4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Volant165 Posted August 9, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted August 9, 2020 Hi Tim, looks like a nice bit of fun out there. Do you still have the factory sway bar disconnect? I know you said yours had given up. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member TimC Posted August 9, 2020 Author Platinum Member Share Posted August 9, 2020 14 minutes ago, Volant165 said: Hi Tim, looks like a nice bit of fun out there. Do you still have the factory sway bar disconnect? I know you said yours had given up. Jim Hey Jim Ah ha, yes I have been thinking along the very same lines and in fact just back in from a quick investigation under the Jeep. You are right, my smartbar factory disconnect packed up, was it a year or so ago, maybe 18 months. Two issues with it: one the mechanical side was completely full of crap and the electrical side was full of water. I dismantled, cleaned out and re greased the mechanical bit but the electrical actuator module was kaput, sometimes worked but mostly didn’t move or sent back wrong position information. Since a new actuator module is north of 1500 quid I decided to replace the factory actuator with an EVO systems manual mechanical actuator ( a big screw on a spring for £90 ) This all worked fine but it left me with the unused wiring connector to the old actuator which I decided to seal up and cable tie out of the way. All well and good so I thought. Anyhow by coincidence ( so I thought ) at about the same time I started getting the swaybar warning light I also started getting the ABS/ESC warning lights coming on intermittently telling me I had a front left wheel speed sensor problem. Coincidence, so I assumed, I mean they’re totally unrelated right? Anyhow, my inspection just now tells me that I did a completely rubbish job of sealing up the old connector ( I’d wanted to keep it there as long term, when I’d saved enough pennies, it was my intention to replace the smart bar ), all my taping and poly bagging was completely soaked and the connector was worse than before. There’s 12V and a bunch of signal lines which presumably tie into a bus somewhere so the computer can control it and all of these were effectively shorted together, probably causing no end of issues for the computer. Too clever for its own good all this technology . My feeling, and it’s only a feeling, is that when this connector gets a soaking it throws up all sorts of electrical problems in other places. Anyway, cleaned it up and leaving it to dry out for a bit, it’s going in to the dealership next week for an 82.5k service and an auto box oil change ( for the changing up issue which I think is unrelated to the smartbar ) so I’ll have a chat with the tech....looks like I may have to have a new smartbar sooner than I thought. Hey ho, Just Empty Every Pocket eh? Got to love them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member spookie the aardvark Posted August 9, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted August 9, 2020 You have just got to love modern technology There is place for it ......... but not where its going to get cold and wet In my humble view, if you cant hit it with a hammer ....... its too complicated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Volant165 Posted August 10, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted August 10, 2020 Hi Tim Yes they redesigned that connector as it was prone to getting water in. Even the new part though will be susceptible. The connector is on the same cambus as the whole Jeep. So, tranny in safe mode, TCP, PCM can all freak out making lights go on all over the place etc will (good chance at least) be down to that part shorting out getting wet. I ordered a new actuator in the US. It is stranded at my families house and with Covid it looks like I will have to have my sister ship it to me. Will order a new connector as well before I replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member TimC Posted August 11, 2020 Author Platinum Member Share Posted August 11, 2020 On 10/08/2020 at 11:55, Volant165 said: Hi Tim Yes they redesigned that connector as it was prone to getting water in. Even the new part though will be susceptible. The connector is on the same cambus as the whole Jeep. So, tranny in safe mode, TCP, PCM can all freak out making lights go on all over the place etc will (good chance at least) be down to that part shorting out getting wet. I ordered a new actuator in the US. It is stranded at my families house and with Covid it looks like I will have to have my sister ship it to me. Will order a new connector as well before I replace. That is very interesting Jim ( I feel here btw that this is digressing rather from a day out laning thread to a technical discussion of the Rubicon smartbar system ) I know I can get the replacement actuator, in fact it seems as cheap ( or expensive) to get the entire sway bar with the whole disconnect assembly on it but the redesigned connector is news to me. Do you know if the redesigned connector will still fit the original smartbar connector? Do you know when the new connector came in, yours is a 2013 JKUR 10A isn’t it? Do you know if this is a part you can get from MOPAR, I’ve had a look but can’t find it without buying the entire engine wiring loom. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member fen01 Posted August 12, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted August 12, 2020 Tim, have a look at Rock Auto, you may find the bits on there https://www.rockauto.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Volant165 Posted August 12, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted August 12, 2020 Have put my info, parts discount on the technical section 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member TimC Posted August 12, 2020 Author Platinum Member Share Posted August 12, 2020 7 hours ago, PDB said: Seems quite the adventure Tim! Cant have a jeep throwing up more lights than a disco! Sounds to me like the swaybar disconnect should be removed rather than be replaced and connectors plugged, but seems you tried that. Ah, you remember James from our Betwys y Coed trip then Paolo, yes he was quite amused as usually it’s him with the lit up dash! happens to all of us sometime . Yes, you are right, the sensible thing to do would be to ditch the smartbar altogether thoroughly seal up the connector and fit a set of quick disconnects...............however I just can’t do it! Think I’ll be buying a new swaybar assembly from the US sooner or later. Sorry to hear you also have mechanical misfortunes, hope you get sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member TimC Posted August 12, 2020 Author Platinum Member Share Posted August 12, 2020 10 hours ago, fen01 said: Tim, have a look at Rock Auto, you may find the bits on there https://www.rockauto.com Thanks Fen, yeah, already tried, they don’t seem to have it. Quadratec do, as do moparpartsonline just got to brace myself for another big parts bill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member TimC Posted August 13, 2020 Author Platinum Member Share Posted August 13, 2020 1 hour ago, PDB said: I wondered if it was James but doesnt seem the same disco? Has he taken the lift off Tim? We must get out on yhe Welsh lanes again . Maintenance repairs to Jeep - new AC condenser and boost pipes. All good. Yes, same Disco Paolo. He is running slightly bigger tyres on it now though which may make it look like it's lower, or maybe it's just the fancy air suspension on it that isn't pumped up to max height at the time of the picture? Glad to hear you're back up and running, hope to do some Welsh lanes again soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member TimC Posted September 19, 2020 Author Platinum Member Share Posted September 19, 2020 Just a bit of an update on this. I don’t want to speak too soon but it looks like the ABS/ESC wheel speed sensor fault may be fixed. Credit to Martin the tech at my local dealer Motorvogue who found an intermittent wiring harness problem in the loom behind the front bumper. so far so good, no warning lights. Also, change up problem hasn’t appeared either so maybe they were related after all? Now just got to fit my new smartbar and I may be back to having a fully functioning Jeep 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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