After having to get jump started 3 times due to a dead battery I decided to take my 2014 Rubicon unlimited into the dealership as I thought it was a faulty battery. After 3 hours of troubleshooting by the technician it was discovered that the problem is corrosion in the sway bar disconnect electrical connector. After paying for 3 hours shop labour (including 30 minutes to figure out how to remove the front skid plate from my AEV bumper) I was told that it needs replacing at $1200 plus another hour+ of shop time. They sent me home with my sway bar disconnect dash light flashing and I will have to return to the dealership once the part is in stock. It seems to me that I have read that this is a common problem due to the location of the electrical connector. I don't want to have to deal with this issue again down the road so what are my options? Dilithic grease was mentioned to help keep moisture out. Has any one else had this issue and what did you do to fix the problem? Thanks in advance! MB
Corrosion in sway bar disconnect electrical mechanism causing battery drain
- Thread starter Mountain Beaver
- Start date
hinrichs
Caught the Bug
He has an aev bumper...prolly the reason this is hapening :crazyeyes:. I dont think chrysler will warranty anything anymore.
Havoc40
New member
Oh ya, should have known the bumper dealerships put on regularly would cause the edisco to take a shit. Amazing :grayno:
Anticipating this problem sooner than later is the main reason I didn't buy the skid plate for my bumper. I'll be going with the no limits.
branman
-
Very interesting - I have been having a mysterious battery drain gremlin - I just recently swapped my battery and all is good for now but I think I will go clean the plug up and see what I can find.
snapfish
New member
Hello Mountain Beaver and welcome to the WAYALIFE forum.
sorry to hear about the disco issue, but it seems to be a common thing among Rubicon's.
I had similar issue and I did fix it myself.
it is an easy job and definitely you can do it yourself, and it will cost less than ten dollars for gears grease and good RTV sealant.
However, doing it alone, It may take just takes few hours and some patience when cleaning the internal parts and resealing it.
NOTE: take it easy when cleaning the harness connector part (for that, I used a fine sanding paper to remove the rust off the electrical pins).
Also, make sure you disconnect the battery first before starting the repair process.
here is the link to my post on my fix:
http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?...-side-tilt-ability-on-JKU&p=175540#post175540
if you have any questions, Please feel free to PM me.
Thanks
snapfish
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USMMA11NC
Caught the Bug
Thanks for the link/write up. I'll probably be doing this soon as a precautionary step.
Havoc40
New member
My factory battery did that after about 10 months. Haven't had an issue since changing batteries.
Thanks for the input. Thankfully the dealership has offered to cover the cost of the part ($1200) as a goodwill gesture so I will only have to pay for the install labour. Will just using dielectric grease be enough to keep moisture out of the unit? Or should I also be looking at wrapping it in something? Putting in better seals, etc??
I would look at the EVO sway Bar disconnect but as someone else mentioned my AEV skid plate would likely prevent me from accessing it. I live in the mountains of British Columbia and drive year round through some pretty harsh road conditions (re: heavy road salt) not to mention wheeling through creeks and deep mud holes so I need this part to stand up to the wear and tear it gets.
I'm looking for a long term fix. It looks like I can fix the flashing warning light with my AEV Procal module if I decide to go with the EVO disco but it just seems like a waste of $$ to buy a Rubicon with the electronic feature, only to replace with a manual one (and no I'm not too lazy to get out of my vehicle to do this.) It just seems like there should be a bomb proof way to fix this issue that seems all too common with the Rubicons. Thanks again for any recommendations for fixing this problem. MB
I would look at the EVO sway Bar disconnect but as someone else mentioned my AEV skid plate would likely prevent me from accessing it. I live in the mountains of British Columbia and drive year round through some pretty harsh road conditions (re: heavy road salt) not to mention wheeling through creeks and deep mud holes so I need this part to stand up to the wear and tear it gets.
I'm looking for a long term fix. It looks like I can fix the flashing warning light with my AEV Procal module if I decide to go with the EVO disco but it just seems like a waste of $$ to buy a Rubicon with the electronic feature, only to replace with a manual one (and no I'm not too lazy to get out of my vehicle to do this.) It just seems like there should be a bomb proof way to fix this issue that seems all too common with the Rubicons. Thanks again for any recommendations for fixing this problem. MB
The technician found an electrical draw and narrowed it down to corroded e sway bar disco connection
At 67,000 km my warranty ended at 50,000 km. But the good news is the dealership has offered to pay for the part so I will need to pay for the labour only. But....don't want to have to fix this again so any suggestions to keep the part(s) healthy are welcome.
MR.Ty
Token East Coast Guy
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the motor for the sway bar isn't the greatest. Most just go to the EVO no limits knob and use the AEV procal to turn off the flashing dash light.
Okay so maybe a newb question but how can a skid plate cause this to happen? You would think that the skid plate would help protect it rather than destroy it. The dealership didn't put this bumper/skid plate on I did.
Okay..but it sounds like I will have to get rid of my skid plate so I can access the EVO disco. Hmmm....
Havoc40
New member
I was being sarcastic with the 1st part of my post. Dealerships routinely have AEV equipped Jeeps on their lot.
The skid plate definitely helps protect the sway bar assembly from impact and the elements. Unfortunately, it's not just the corrosion people have issues with. If you decide to use the no limits, the skid plate makes it tougher to gain access to the knob. That's the reason I didn't buy one.
Good to hear they're eating the main cost, though!
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MR.Ty
Token East Coast Guy
You shouldn't have to get rid of your skid. I am assuming it connects to the air dam bar that the plastic air dam connected too? If so, you should be able to reach it from the left or right side.
It looks just like the stock air dam. Might be able to cut an access hole. I think I will go the EVO route anyways.