I previously posted about my inner fender liner problem during a trip to Phoenix.

This week, I had to make a road trip to Las Vegas. Same kind of scenario but not quite as hot. High Temp was around 106F. I did continue to have problems with my inner fender liner on the driver's side - I thought most of it was already eaten away but I guess there was a little bit more.

So this trip I had a new problem - the rear electronic locking differential would get a mind of its own and decide to lock or unlock itself for no apparent rhyme or reason.

I had been driving for about 4 hours in 100 degree heat when it first happened. I was going about 78 mph when I saw the light pop on the dashboard indicating that my rear differential was now locked in.

I pulled off the highway 3-4 miles later and checked it out in a service station parking lot (Terrible's in Jean, NV).

According to the manual, you should only be able to lock the front and/or rear diff in 4 Wheel-Lo. I was in 2 Hi the whole time. Also, when you exceed 30mph, or turn the truck off, the electronic locking differentials should disengage - according to the manual.

So I shifted into 4 Lo to test it out to see if I could lock the front and rear diff in and to see if after that I could unlock it. I was able to lock in the Front and unlock the Front. Eventually I was able to unlock the Rear.

I started continuing the drive to Las Vegas and I made it about 1/2 mile in 2 Hi before the rear diff decided to lock itself in again.

For the next two days, driving around Vegas, the rear diff would randomly lock and unlock. Driving back from Vegas, it was locked most of the way of the 4-5 hour drive.

I've only got about 7,500 miles on it but, I've decided to stop driving my Wrangler until I can get it to the dealer to figure it out.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Here is a picture of the dash showing that I'm in 2H with the Rear Diff locked - which shouldn't be possible according to the manual.


Here's a picture showing the buttons to lock the Rear, the Front + Rear, and on the left, the button to turn the differential locking OFF.

I've read posts from 3 guys on a Jeep forum with the same issue over the last couple months. Two of them had to have the entire axle replaced. Last guy was told it was a wiring short by the dealer, but he never posted if it was resolved.

Thanks for the sanity check. I guess I'll have to finally get off my butt and get involved in the Jeep specific Forums.

HollywoodBQ said:

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Thanks for the sanity check. I guess I'll have to finally get off my butt and get involved in the Jeep specific Forums.

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jlwranglerforums.com

Thanks for that!

Took 2 seconds to find an article that might be relevant.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/jl-rubicon-owners-keep-your-locker-sensors-from-failing-how-to-pot-your-sensors.56892/

Quote:

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Some of us are now painfully aware that the locker sensors in the new Advantek 44 Rubicon axles are prone to failure. Even more annoyingly, the sensors are not available to purchase outside of a complete new axle assembly. You cannot buy this sensor if/when it fails.

The main failure cause seems to be that gear oil gets into the sensor housing and shorts the PCB with the fine metal particles suspended in the oil. It happens most often on long highway trips on the rear diff, where there is a lot of heat being generated in the gear oil, which in turn thins the oil to the point that it can get past the sketchy seals of the sensor housing.

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Target! Target!