mounttaineer

I have a 2016 2 door Rubicon. I bought it this spring, and never tried the mirror defrost button, because I didn't need it. I picked up a hardtop for it, and needed the wiring harness as well for the defrost and wiper. I installed everything and brought it to the dealer so they could send the flash codes to the computer to activate the defrost and wipers. I got the harness off ebay. it was new, but out of the box, and i can verify it had not been installed before. The seller said it fit up to 2017. well, most of it did, but the replacement heat/ac/defrost controls were for a 2010, which is the older cable style. The harness matched up, and the wiring was the same as the 2016 harness instructions that I found after the fact and used to compare. So, I think the wiring harness itself is okay.
Now, for the caveats and my concerns.
1.The defrost does not seem to work at all. the light does not come on when I push the button, and no defrosting happens on the window. the connections look fine on the hardtop (outside) itself.
2. I removed Blue/White wire from slot 32 in connector E and replaced it with the blue/ white from the harness as per the instructions. This is the defrost wire. I think this has heated mirrors as well because there are wires running into the doors, but no power windows, and it had a control unit with a push defrost button. I am not sure if I should have spliced those 2 blue/white wires together even though it did not say to. I don't think so, but hopefully someone on here has done this (hardtop wiring harness) and had issues or not and can help me out.
3. The wipers work fine when holding in the wash position, but when just "on" in the 1st position they only cycle like every 20 seconds. it is very slow, and is definitely not right. For this you splice a brown/green into slot 27 on connector E into the existing brown/blue. I did that, and ground the ground on the body with the other ground that is already there. I replaced the stalk that seemed to be the same as mine even though i expect it was for the 2010. except that it had the rear controls on it.

that is about it. it is just not working right. there is an empty plug on the back of the control knob unit at the defrost, and I wonder if something is suppose to go there or if it is an auxiliary power for an option. there is one big pin connector going into it, then the empty slot. I checked the fuses, and see no problems, they are there and not blown. I ordered the correct year range harness kit in the meantime, because i though that even though the harness could be correct, the stalk(even though it fit) may be a little different, and maybe the control unit I have will not work for rear defrost for some reason. any help i could get on this would be greatly appreciated! -Greg

Bert J

After installing the wire harness, you still need to flash your ECU. Dealer should do it for less than $50.

mounttaineer

just a note to the cheapscate at jeep who decided not to make wiring for a hardtop standard equipment. you suck, this should be standard equipment. I did this, and had no end of trouble. It is not really clear which kit you need, and right now you can't even buy the kit with the heater controls for 2016. everyone tries to sell the older kit with the mechanical controls though and claim it is for that year. it is not. I finally found the right kit at a dealership 4 hours away from me. once you open a kit most places will not take it back, so make sure you have the right one before you start, and be very careful with the wire harness connectors under the hood and pin connectors. they are a pain to get out and break easy, even with the removal tools.

resharp001

I can see why all non-essentials are cut out during the production process, and why a jeep that is getting a soft top has no need for the extra wiring loom and washer fluid line....those have a cost associated with em. Still though, on this particular vehicle, I'd bet almost everyone would pay $50+ higher sticker price to have it wired for a hard top regardless. This sounds like a major pain in the ass.