Discontinued / Critical Electrical Spares

jscherb

TJ Enthusiast
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Elmira, NY
I've been working with helpful people at my local Jeep dealer with a list of TL/LJ Electrical Spares to identify which spares are discontinued and which are critical to use OEM versions of. In the list below, some of these are critical to engine operation, some are critical to vehicle operation and others probably aren't critical.

Some comments/caveats about the list:

- This list is for my 2006 LJ 4.0l. Part numbers for '05's are probably the same, but many part numbers for earlier models are likely to be different. You should check the numbers if you have a different year. Also I did not include parts which belong to options I my Jeeps don't have such as Rubicon parts or ABS parts.

- I did the list of aftermarket part replacements and I believe my part numbers are correct but you should verify the number if you plan to order an aftermarket part from this list.

- I did not include any parts from the EVAP system because the lead Jeep tech at the dealer says he pretty much has never had those parts fail.

- If I've missed a critical part or I've gotten something wrong, let me know and I can update the list.

- The "Rec OEM?" column indicates parts which the lead Jeep tech recommends using the OEM part if you can find it, either because he's found issues with aftermarket versions or because he believes the OEM part is higher quality in a meaningful way. I can comment on the Dorman aftermarket Ignition Switch Actuator, it doesn't fit exactly right although it does work.

- Parts listed in italics are parts I've had to replace in one of my '06's.

ElectricalSpares.jpg


BTW two sources I found useful in checking this list are moparpartsgiant.com (it's one of many similar MOPAR parts sites) and rockauto.com.
 
Thank you for your time doing this..Good thing I work part time at a Mopar dealership. Will check for the 4 rec oem
 
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The lack of a YES in the oem rec column for the cam pos sensor surprises me. Not that I'm challenging it because I lack experience with that part. It just seems like it'd be easier for an aftermarket manufacturer to get a map or tps sensor to work well enough, than a cam sensor. Did you discuss with the tech whether he's had actual satisfactory results from aftermarket cam sensors, or is it possible he just hasn't seen enough failures to know they won't work?

Also THANK YOU for assembling this very good info!!!
 
The lack of a YES in the oem rec column for the cam pos sensor surprises me. Not that I'm challenging it because I lack experience with that part. It just seems like it'd be easier for an aftermarket manufacturer to get a map or tps sensor to work well enough, than a cam sensor. Did you discuss with the tech whether he's had actual satisfactory results from aftermarket cam sensors, or is it possible he just hasn't seen enough failures to know they won't work?

Also THANK YOU for assembling this very good info!!!

We discussed that and decided it didn't make sense to recommend an OEM part if it's discontinued/no longer available.

Thank you for your time doing this..Good thing I work part time at a Mopar dealership. Will check for the 4 rec oem

You could possibly find some of those in stock at a dealer, but according to the parts manager all of those except the Ignition Switch Actuator are currently on back order from MOPAR.
 
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Is the *1 note for 'on back order'?
I just changed my ignition switch actuator recently and didn't know oem was recommended.
 
Is the *1 note for 'on back order'?
I just changed my ignition switch actuator recently and didn't know oem was recommended.

This is not a slight to jscherb at all but OEM is what broke. I've been running the Dorman for going on a decade.
 
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Since many Mopar OEM parts for our TJs have been discontinued; I maintain a cabinet of spare parts.
I started this cabinet shortly after purchasing my Jeep almost 3 years ago.
As I find these obscure parts available; which consist mostly of electronics and a few important mechanical parts I continue to add them to the cabinet.
 
Is the *1 note for 'on back order'?
I just changed my ignition switch actuator recently and didn't know oem was recommended.

I was going to add detailed comments on some of the parts but decided not to.

The *1 was the first of those detailed notes. It would have said "The Dorman part works fine to activate the ignition switch, but in my '06 6-speed it does not interact properly with the key release button - in my Jeep with the Dorman part it is not necessary to push the key release button to remove the key." The Dorman part was installed by the lead tech at the dealer and he confirmed that it doesn't activate the key release on some Jeeps.

I was also going to write about how to start your Jeep in the wild if the actuator breaks and fails to turn the ignition switch, but decided posting just the simple list was a better idea than cluttering up the post with lots of comments.

I also had notes about back orders on some of the parts but decided not to add those because that will change over time, some of the back orders are due to be in stock by the end of this month for example.

There is no aftermarket replacement for the 52104422AE park interlock cable as near as I can tell.

As I mentioned in my first post, I created this list for my '06 LJ. I've got a manual transmission, so an interlock cable for an automatic wouldn't be on that list.

Maybe someone will continue this work and expand the list to include other years, automatics and options I don't have.
 
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The *1 was the first of those detailed notes. It would have said "The Dorman part works fine to activate the ignition switch, but in my '06 6-speed it does not interact properly with the key release button - in my Jeep with the Dorman part it is not necessary to push the key release button to remove the key." The Dorman part was installed by the lead tech at the dealer and he confirmed that it doesn't activate the key release on some Jeeps.
Ah! That's the probable reason why I've never had to press that stupid button on mine - someone must have replaced it years back. As far as I'm concerned, its a feature to NOT deal with the button. Having to press a button to remove the key is just dumb. Americans and their interlocks...
 
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Thanks for doing this jscherb! I started a similar list, but it's not nearly close to this level of completeness.

Since many Mopar OEM parts for our TJs have been discontinued; I maintain a cabinet of spare parts.
I started this cabinet shortly after purchasing my Jeep almost 3 years ago.
As I find these obscure parts available; which consist mostly of electronics and a few important mechanical parts I continue to add them to the cabinet.

Hey, I do the same thing, CharlesHS, except I'm two years behind you! I also try to buy spares of aftermarket accessories that I really like because I'm old enough now to realize that small companies often don't survive once the owners retire, and replacement parts become impossible to find. It's expensive, but my LJ is a bucket-list vehicle for me, and I intend to enjoy it as long as I'm able.
 
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Ah! That's the probable reason why I've never had to press that stupid button on mine - someone must have replaced it years back. As far as I'm concerned, its a feature to NOT deal with the button. Having to press a button to remove the key is just dumb. Americans and their interlocks...

I've had many vehicles with this interlock and never really knew what it was for. Why is it a problem if I can remove the key from a non running vehicle without pushing a button?
 
I've had many vehicles with this interlock and never really knew what it was for. Why is it a problem if I can remove the key from a non running vehicle without pushing a button?
I dunno - it suddenly started appearing on vehicles with manual transmissions a number of years back. Makes even less sense than the stupid clutch/starter interlock. That one at least stops stupid people, the button doesn't even do that. *shrug*
 
I dunno - it suddenly started appearing on vehicles with manual transmissions a number of years back. Makes even less sense than the stupid clutch/starter interlock. That one at least stops stupid people, the button doesn't even do that. *shrug*

The funny part about it is that even though I think it's dumb and useless, I also hate having non-functional factory features so I would still want to preserve it, unless I got my hands on an auto steering column housing and got rid of the button entirely.
 
The funny part about it is that even though I think it's dumb and useless, I also hate having non-functional factory features so I would still want to preserve it, unless I got my hands on an auto steering column housing and got rid of the button entirely.
I understand what you mean - I tend to be OCD like that too. But in this case, I'd have figured out a way to disable it if it hadn't been predisastered already. Stupidity like that overcomes my OCD to have everything work.