I can't help you anymore other than to tell you the smart junction box may have an issue.

 

You probably need to replace the door lock actuator in your driver door.

Let me clarify..What the lock actuator is, a little device with a peg. The car tells the peg when to activate, that little peg fits in a slot/hole that controls the unlock and lock feature of the latch mechanism.

Gary

 

Hey GaryG, thanks for stopping in to the thread.

I wish it was the lock actuator. I tried that first, bought one from the same dealer before I even knew where the SJB was located. Tried it without installing it, and no change:

With any of the internal buttons OR with the remote, the driver's door only will not unlock. With the new SJB in place, the driver's door responds as you might expect it would properly from the internal switches - It unlocks and locks properly. No reaction from the remotes however.

As for entering the programming mode, I cannot get the car to do that now. I *did* get it into programming mode once upon a time with the original SJB, and managed to program the second remote fob to work with the car - but neither one would unlock the driver's door. At that time, all other functions worked... Like I would be allowed to actually start and drive the vehicle.

Right now, this thing is lit up like a christmas tree on the dashboard, and complaining about everything. I am HOPING that the SJB is also the body controller module and somehow needs to be programmed to also reset the airbags, because I also have an airbag idiot light on the dash now too.

Obviously, swapping the SJB to fix this door issue **REALLY** annoyed the other computers in the car. I will be attempting to speak with an actual tech at the dealer tomorrow, before (most likely) having it towed there on Monday.

 

Since you are having to towed anyway, did you try disconnecting the battery for a few minutes?

 

First thing I tried. No results, unhooked both the HVTB and the low volt battery.

I went to the dealer today and actually spoke with the hybrid tech. They only have one, so I know exactly who will be working on it on Monday. It is his opinion that the SJB absolutely does need to be programmed to the car's VIN to make it happy with the rest of the computers.

What he suggests happened is that when the car powered up, all the individual computers (ABS, body, engine, transmission, etc) all got onto the CANBUS as usual and announced their existence... And since they all have to communicate through the gateway device (see where I'm going yet?) that is the SJB... When they saw a gateway device that was not familiar to them (had the wrong / no coding in it) the individual modules all went "AAAAAHHHHH!!!! I'm not happy anymore! codecodecodecodecodecode!" and lit the dash up like a christmas tree.

Putting the original SJB back in place solved nothing, because the modules had already coded themselves into an emergency stop mode, and since I can't get into the OBD system to pull codes with a generic device, I have to assume that the OBD is yet another system that uses the SJB to speak through.

He didn't think it was anything more than a programming issue, so I'm hopeful that I can get this solved reasonably quickly on Monday.

Buying a 1947 ****** Jeep and using that as a daily driver is starting to sound like a good idea. All mechanical, you can fix anything on it with a screwdriver and a crescent wrench... And it will still run even after being at the bottom of a pond for 3 months.

 

For anyone finding this through Google search in the next few eternities:

If your driver's door will not unlock by using the interior switches or the key fob remote, then the Smart Junction Box or SJB is very likely the cause. I attempted to replace the door actuator first, and it did not change anything.

Replacing the SJB caused the rest of the computers to panic. The SJB cannot be replaced in your driveway, it must be programmed by a dealership while in the vehicle. If you do not do this, the result will be a completely disabled vehicle that will refuse to start.

Total costs: an hour of dealer labor ($130) and the SJB at $190 ish (don't remember exactly). Plus several days and a tow truck. Don't do it the way I did, it sucks.