BWI Bronco Stabilizer Bar Disconnect Technical Information

[BLUCYFR]

I just rewired mine to match the in series 6Volt suggestion. Wire 1 should go to your aux switch, wires 2&3 get tied together, wire 4 to ground. Worked perfectly for me.

Right, wire #1 to the switch.

Yeah that's another nice thing about this install, it works with any of the numbered upfitter / AUX switches. Current draw is around 2.6A and they are all rated for at least 10A.

I've used mine several times on the trail now and it's working great!

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[GreyZ]

I have the hero switch, but am interested in being able to disconnect the sway bar at higher speeds. I wonder what issues it would cause to leave the factory plug disconnected and just run it though the aux switches as you guys have done.

 

[2door]

I have the hero switch, but am interested in being able to disconnect the sway bar at higher speeds. I wonder what issues it would cause to leave the factory plug disconnected and just run it though the aux switches as you guys have done.

Your Bronco's not gonna like it.

 

[shurdba]

I found the info in this site invaluable for doing this mod on my 2024 Wildtrack and wanted to share some things that I learned. I am new to this forum, but have been wheeling and mod'ing jeeps for 15+ years now.

1. The new part number is MB3Z-5482-X. It has good availability and can be found online for ~$1300 shipped.
   • The raptor part number is NB3Z-5482-B. No idea what the difference is.
2. Highly recommend the wiring harness pigtail: https://www.ebay.com/itm/254762922777
3. The 4 wheel parts transmission skid plate 61271W works wonderfully with (and without) the new sta-bar disconnect. It fits great with about 3/8" clearance to the new sta-bar, and gives a nice smooth under-belly surface with no blocky thing hanging down to get hung up on rocks like some skids I've seen. My Wildtrack has the 2.7L and this fits with the extra diagonal supports that the larger engine has (hence the triangular shape). Plus it's cheap compared to all the boutique shop options. https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/4-wheel-parts-transmission-skid-plate-61271w/_/R-4WPBR-61271W
4. The electronics on the sta-bar consist of 2 identical hydraulic solenoids, and two pressure sensors. No safety keeper pins or anything else. To hook up we need to wire the 2 solenoids to a switch and that's it - we just ignore the pressure sensors since those would need to go through a computer to be useful.
5. When routing the wiring, attach the plug on top of the crossmember facing the front of the vehicle and bring the wires toward the front then up just behind the A-arm mounts on the left side. This avoids the super-hot catalytic converter (though I did still use some fire sleeve, just to overkill it a little https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C45M7Q5J/?th=1).

Now here's the thing that I've done differently than everyone else I've seen online... and I think it's pretty important.

I think these solenoids are meant to operate at 6 volts - and here's why:

I hooked one up to a bench-top power supply. At 12 volts one solenoid draws just over 5 amps. That's 60 watts, more if you consider the voltage with the engine running is more like 13-14V.

That's really high for a solenoid this size. When it's just holding in place, all of that power gets converted to heat, and these things get hot hot hot! In my 60 degree garage I computed the part would get to ~215 degrees F (without hydro fluid) (an no, I didn't let mine get to full temp in testing it, this is an extrapolation).

This high temperature is really bad for the hydraulic fluid, which starts breaking down at 140 deg F with significant system damage occuring at 180F (thanks google!). Also the magnetic wire inside degrades faster at higher temps.

I did try to find some specs on these solenoids, but struck out. Here are the numbers printed on the side:
4332208
17w23-00045
22334325

Now one thing that most solenoid mfg's typically do is put the designed power in Watts somewhere on the unit. I think that's what the "17w" is.

Now the good part - at ~6.6 volts the unit draws ~ 2.6 amps, which is ~17 watts. So if we wire the two up in series they each see half the voltage from the battery, so 6-7 Volts, which is perfect to keep it in this 17 Watt range.

For this part of testing I put 7 volts to it on the bench and let it sit for several hours. The final temperature in my 60F garage was 125F. (I extrapolated this data to find the 215F @ 12V above).

I also turned the voltage way down to see where the solenoid would actuate. It works down to about 2.5-3 volts with no load on the sta-bar (or the little I could do by hand). So I think 6V is going to be plenty, and if it doesn't actuate under high load it will when closer to level, which is what the Jeeps do.

I did wire mine up this way and installed it. So far I've only tried it with one tire on the curb in the neighborhood and it worked great.

Now it is possible that the official ford install does something fancy like a 12v pulse for a half second then a lower holding voltage, but we're not going to get that done on this aftermarket install, so a straight 6v it is!

So to wire it up in series like this, what you want to do is connect the - from one solenoid to the + from the other, then the remaining two wires go to the battery. Looking at the wiring pigtail from the side with all the wires coming out and the red tab on top - starting at the upper left wire 1 goes to battery +, wires 2-3 get connected together, and wire 4 goes to battery -. I tried to get a couple of pics showing which wires I mean. The red electrical tape flag on the left goes to +, the black flag on the right to -.

Another nice thing is that any of the upfitter switches can handle the 2.6 amps of this setup, while only switch 1 can handle 11-12 amps if you use the full 12 volts.

I really hope this helps the next guy or gal interested in doing the mod. Once I did my testing and decided how to wire it up it was an easy mod, took a Saturday afternoon.

I was very disappointed that my new $70k vehicle didn't come with this feature that's been on my jeep since 2007 - C'mon Ford!!

But I will say it's a great design since it can release in any position, then when power is removed it will only move towards center, and stay there when it gets there.

Now I don't know anything here for 100% sure, just what I was able to reverse engineer, so take it all with the appropriate amount of salt grains. And yes, I am an engineer, but not an automotive one.

Great job! I'll be changing mine this weekend.

 

[Mystery]

Hi All, I just finished this install today and wired it like the recent posts recommend. All in all It was a pretty easy install.

I was wondering if anyone knew if the electronic/hydraulic part rotates at all. I ask because my transmission skid plate says it doesn't fit with models with the sway bar disconnect feature but it surely seems to fit just fine. Clearance is tight but it would bolt up, I am just not sure if it would have room to rotate if it does and doesn't rotate in its footprint. The very first post in this thread shows two animations and in the 2nd one it rotates.

I don't want to put the skid back on and cause damage to the sway bar if it does rotate so hoping someone out there knows this answer. Or if it does rotate does it actually stay in its footprint? My concern would be breaking one of those hydraulic lines that protrude if it actually rotates.

Thanks all! Happy wheeling!

 

[Scott M]

I was wondering if anyone knew if the electronic/hydraulic part rotates at all. I ask because my transmission skid plate says it doesn't fit with models with the sway bar disconnect feature but it surely seems to fit just fine. Clearance is tight but it would bolt up, I am just not sure if it would have room to rotate if it does and doesn't rotate in its footprint. The very first post in this thread shows two animations and in the 2nd one it rotates.

Yes, it rotates.

The first animation is the bar unlocked (de-latched) with the passenger arm stationary and the driver's arm free to move. (note in the opposite situation, with the driver arm stationary, the passenger side arm and hydraulic cylinder would rotate.)

The second animation is the bar hydraulically locked (latched). In this case, the torsional rigidity of the bar will resist the independent articulation of each wheel (exactly how a standard sway bar works). The hydraulic cylinder will rotate in this case as well.

The third video "BWI Operational video" goes into detail of both cases. At around 1:05 it shows the Stabilizer Bar in the 'Latched' hydraulically locked condition.

I do not know exactly how much it moves outside of its footprint, but you should be able to find out by unlocking the bar (unlatched/disconnected state) and jacking up the passenger front tire.

 

[Mystery]

Yes, it rotates.

The first animation is the bar unlocked (de-latched) with the passenger arm stationary and the driver's arm free to move. (note in the opposite situation, with the driver arm stationary, the passenger side arm and hydraulic cylinder would rotate.)

The second animation is the bar hydraulically locked (latched). In this case, the torsional rigidity of the bar will resist the independent articulation of each wheel (exactly how a standard sway bar works). The hydraulic cylinder will rotate in this case as well.

The third video "BWI Operational video" goes into detail of both cases. At around 1:05 it shows the Stabilizer Bar in the 'Latched' hydraulically locked condition.

I do not know exactly how much it moves outside of its footprint, but you should be able to find out by unlocking the bar (unlatched/disconnected state) and jacking up the passenger front tire.

Scott thanks for the explanation of the videos. This helps a lot and I will do my best to test it out this weekend. I really hate to buy new skid plates but if that is what is needed to have a sway bar disconnect to minimize those tippy moments, then that is my fate. I decided to go this route after being at Uwharrie over Veteran's Day weekend and experiencing a vehicle that had already done the install of the sway bar disconnect on the same obstacles as mine and it was a major difference. I quickly deemed it my next required upgrade.

Thanks again for the detailed explanation on those videos.

 

[geargeek]

I'm preparing to install my sta-bar disconnect and decided to try to get a baseline reading from the pressure sensors. The pressure sensors are labelled with: 85PP90-01, which is similar to numbers printed on some fuel rail pressure sensors, but I couldn't find any specs in a cursory search. Assuming they may be 0-5V voltage sensors, I fed the sensors 5V. The return signal for both was 0.66V (whether or not the solenoids were energized). No idea what pressure that correlates to - depends on the sensor.

It's something I could check in the future if it fails disconnected, but in the end it doesn't really matter because the unit is not serviceable - would just have to buy a new one.

I am putting a little dielectric grease in the connectors to help prevent corrosion, as this has been a problem for some stock installations.

Now if that darn skid plate would just get here...

 

[Scott M]

I did try to find some specs on these solenoids, but struck out. Here are the numbers printed on the side:
4332208
17w23-00045
22334325

Now one thing that most solenoid mfg's typically do is put the designed power in Watts somewhere on the unit. I think that's what the "17w" is.

FYI The line 17w23-00045 is the date of manufacture and serial number. 17w23 represents the 17th week of 2023. 00045 is the serial number. The solenoids on the disconnect I just received are labeled 49W23-05369 and 49W23-05375. both manufactured in the 49th week of 2023.

Not sure if that invalidates your other conclusions about their Voltage however. The thermal testing does seem valid - if they are getting that hot at 12V, then Ford must be using PWM at a low duty cycle.

 

[Scott M]

Since I was curious of the weight difference, I weighed my new BWI disconnecting bar and my standard sta-bar:
BWI Disconnecting sta-bar: 45.4 lbs
Standard sta-bar: 23.8 lbs

 

[jh3113]

This looks like an awesome mod and something I might try soon. Where are folks getting the best prices for the assembly? Just any of those online Ford OEM parts dealers?

 

[jsoa]

This looks like an awesome mod and something I might try soon. Where are folks getting the best prices for the assembly? Just any of those online Ford OEM parts dealers?

I believe I bought mine from https://ford.oempartsonline.com/

 

[jsoa]

was cleaning my IAG skids and noticed this on the inside of the transmission skid

so the sway bar does rub a little when disconnected (as I used it for the first time recently)

 

[Copperhorse73]

was cleaning my IAG skids and noticed this on the inside of the transmission skid

so the sway bar does rub a little when disconnected (as I used it for the first time recently)

Thanks for that! I have the sway bar on order and was planning on using the IAG skids. Their site didn’t say if it cleared or not. Back to the drawing board I guess

 

[AdamF@IAG]

was cleaning my IAG skids and noticed this on the inside of the transmission skid

so the sway bar does rub a little when disconnected (as I used it for the first time recently)

That is unfortunate. We just checked the clearance last week and saw it was close, but did clear. I will definitely check it again tomorrow for the rotation. Truthfully, only our Braptor has the disconnect and we don't take it off-road. So we didn't experience the rubbing. It looks like it could be remedied with some washers or spacers between the x member and skids. Moving forward, I can alter the geometry of the skid to give more clearance.

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