Community Forums

awolsmith · 04-24-2014, 09:34 PM

Just got my jeep wrangler ready to tow and I have to keep the key in the ignition on first click. The some of the dash lights stay on does anybody worry about battery of jeep draining on trips?

wagonmaster2 · 04-24-2014, 10:02 PM

Does your Jeep have the steering wheel lock which does require the key be turned on one click? My 2001 Sahara does need the key turned on (no dash lights are on) but I've read some later model Jeeps do not have the steering lock but can't remember how much later.

bumpus4 · 04-24-2014, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awolsmith

Just got my jeep wrangler ready to tow and I have to keep the key in the ignition on first click. The some of the dash lights stay on does anybody worry about battery of jeep draining on trips?

I have a '06 jeep wrangler and op manual tells me to go to run position
with ign. sw and then back off one click. On my 06 this doesn't leave the lights on but does unlock the steering wheel. Yours may be very different, depending on the model. Just saying but don't trust my memory.
bumpus4

awolsmith · 04-24-2014, 10:34 PM

The first click unlocks the steering wheel and turns on digital odometer and radio powers up but I can't remove key, 2nd click turns on all other dash lights for instance the engine lights, etc. I think the first click is the best option but wasn't sure I should pull the negative wire off the car battery or if it would take a long time to run down the battery.

Ralph A · 04-24-2014, 11:55 PM

I tow my 2011 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara. The manual said that I need the key in the Acc position but I heard differently. I removed the key and checked to see if the steering wheel locked and it did not. I called Jeep and they told me there is no steering wheel lock but the manual had not been updated. Since then, I remove the key and lock the doors when towing. We have put about 15,000 towed miles since then and no problem at all.
BTW; when I did leave the key in the Acc position I had a dead battery almost every time we stopped for the day. I installed Toad-Charge to keep the battery up and that took care of the problem. After I discovered that the key was not required, I really didn't need the Toad-Charge system.

JFNM · 04-25-2014, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralph A

I tow my 2011 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara. The manual said that I need the key in the Acc position but I heard differently. I removed the key and checked to see if the steering wheel locked and it did not. I called Jeep and they told me there is no steering wheel lock but the manual had not been updated. Since then, I remove the key and lock the doors when towing. We have put about 15,000 towed miles since then and no problem at all.

X2!

Prior to discovering that I did not have a wheel lock (2010 JK - which appears to be hit or miss), I disconnected the battery using this from CoolTech. It was always very simple to do this but slightly annoying as the horn beeps when you connect the battery. I didn't like pulling into a campground and honking my horn.

srx-6 · 04-25-2014, 07:35 AM

Awolsmith What year is your Wrangler?
About the mid 2008 model the steering wheel lock was removed so no key required for towing. If you need the key,place it in the ACC position and under the hood in the fuse box is the IOD fuse, pull it up 2 clicks and this will disconnect all accessories.

alanjan · 04-25-2014, 08:44 AM

When towing my 2008 Wrangler X, I have to put the key in ACC position (one click from off) to unlock the steering. I was unhooking the battery each time I towed but that was a pain so I installed a simple battery cut off (blade down connects battery; raised unconnects). I do use an auxiliary braking system (RVi2) that requires power during operation. I had a direct line installed from an cigarette lighter outlet to the battery. That way, very little electrical power is draining the battery during tows and I have never had a dead battery even after a long day.
Alan.

Alan Cameron
2008 National Sea Breeze 34L (converted to a 34C)
2008 Jeep Wrangler toad

JMonroe · 04-25-2014, 11:06 AM

There was a change made mid year, 2008. You may or may not need a key in the ignition.

If the steering does indeed lock with the key out you will need a key in the ignition, but only need to turn it enough to unlock the column. Our '07 was this way, and yes, it would drain the battery in one days travel.

There are a couple of ways around this. What I ended up doing was having a "dummy" key made, cost will be around $5. It will unlock the column but the Jeep won't run using this key as it does not have the chip needed to communicate with the ignition system. I then installed a simple blade switch on the negative battery post which took seconds to flip on or off. At the time we also used a Brake Buddy style supplemental brake system that used 12v power from one of the dashboard power receptacles. As this was no longer powered with my battery disconnected I rewired one of the two 12v receptacles so it drew it's power through the motorhome to Jeep electrical harness.

With our '12 there is no steering lock and I no longer use the Brake Buddy (I went to the Air Force one system) so there's no need for auxiliary 12v power to operate the brake system. I simply make my tow bar, electrical and air line connections, take the key out of the ignition and lock the doors, we're on our way.

If yours does have the steering lock it can be disabled by any competent shop.