Community Forums

djpauls · 10-27-2019, 04:04 PM

Setting up 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee with Roadmaster Tow Bar and Air Force One braking system. I am confused about disconnecting the battery for towing. One page in the owner's manual says to disconnect yet the step by step procedure does not mention it. The dealer seems to think that it doesn't have to be disconnected. For those of you with late model Jeep Cherokees as a toad. Do you disconnect the battery?

Thanks

KenNJ · 10-27-2019, 05:51 PM

We have the 2019 Grand Cherokee and do not disconnect the battery. Our plug from the coach to the auto which controls brake and turn signal lights uses one line to keep our battery charged as well.

We are now on our second GC towing over 30k miles and never have we disconnected the battery. I would not recommend doing it. Hope this helps

djpauls · 10-28-2019, 07:58 AM

"We have the 2019 Grand Cherokee and do not disconnect the battery. Our plug from the coach to the auto which controls brake and turn signal lights uses one line to keep our battery charged as well.

We are now on our second GC towing over 30k miles and never have we disconnected the battery. I would not recommend doing it. Hope this helps"

Hi Ken,
Did you run the charge line because the battery was going dead or just as a precaution?

Thanks for your help!

cti2000 · 10-28-2019, 03:06 PM

I have a 2019 GC and did include a charging line from the MH 7 pin connector. I connected this to a Toad Charge charger to keep the battery fully charged. This is because I use a Brake Buddy for a braking system and it uses 12V power from the GC. The key-less ignition is OFF, so if I didn't use a braking system requiring power a charge line would not be needed.

Looking at the 2020 Jeep GC Owners, (page 261) I see it does say to disconnect the negative battery cable. My 2019 manual DOES NOT say this. Something must have changed.

KenNJ · 10-28-2019, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djpauls

"We have the 2019 Grand Cherokee and do not disconnect the battery. Our plug from the coach to the auto which controls brake and turn signal lights uses one line to keep our battery charged as well.

We are now on our second GC towing over 30k miles and never have we disconnected the battery. I would not recommend doing it. Hope this helps"

Hi Ken,

Did you run the charge line because the battery was going dead or just as a precaution?

Thanks for your help!

Purely as a precaution and I also have the brake buddy however. Consider the minute you disconnect that battery your radio station presets, blue tooth devices etc will loose their settings. For me that would be a huge pita. In our GC we have memory for our seats as well.

I would call Jeep or your dealer and ask why they want you to do that.

EA37TS · 10-28-2019, 07:37 PM

We tow a 2019 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk and the owner's manual does not say anything about disconnecting the battery. We have an Invisibrake installed and when the parking or headlights are on the InvisiBrake charges the battery. We also had the installer put in a dedicated charging line in case I forget to turn on the motorhome's lights while travelling.

van-gogh · 10-29-2019, 04:32 AM

With both of my former Jeeps a Liberty and Commander I never had to or even think of disconnecting the battery. Liberty was a great vehicle for towing. The Jeep Commander not so much.

I tell you all of this because each vehicle is different and I would follow the dealer's handbook for your vehicle. After all, they built the thing and know it inside and out.

jim7489 · 11-04-2019, 01:15 PM

I will be towing a 2018 Jeep GC . I will not be going on any long trips. Do I have to charge the battery on the Jeep while traveling or just start it up each evening.

Limey0001 · 11-04-2019, 01:23 PM

We have just done a 5500 mile trip from the east coast to Las Vegas and back with a 43 DP towing a new 2019 Jeep grand cherokee with an airforce one system fitted. No issues. After hooking it up and selecting neutral in the transfer box ( Light lit up) switched the ignition off and even locked the doors. Never had any battery issues. The airforce one gets it s power from the main battery , only when applying brakes.. We drove it for up to 7 hours at a time.

jim7489 · 11-04-2019, 01:48 PM

I will be using a Brake Buddy, any need to keep the battery charged ?

jim7489 · 11-04-2019, 01:50 PM

On my 2018 Jeep GC i will be using a brake buddy, do I have to worry about keeping the battery charged ?

neub · 11-04-2019, 01:53 PM

Yes, install a charging wire from your motorhome to the jeeps battery. I also have a 2018 GC and use brake buddy. Ran a fused hot wire from the jeeps battery to an addition cigarette lighter plug i installed under the dash.

jwlce · 12-28-2019, 07:11 AM

Hi I Just purchased a 2020 Grand Cherokee and noticed the same issue in the manual. I looked at the 2019 manual and it does not have the battery ground disconnect requirement. I do have a contact at FCA and hopefully they can provide a definitive answer for the Battery disconnect requirement. My concern it that it may be related to a change in the electric power steering or some of the other safety systems between the 2019 and the 2020. Or hopefully the battery ground disconnect doesn't really matter other than battery drain. I will post here if I get a definitive answer that I can trust.
Best

jim7489 · 12-29-2019, 11:30 AM

I just have a 4 wire flat connection for my lights, no battery connection. Was going to use a brake buddy. Didn't think it would use much of the battery.
What if I just started the vehicle each night. Not going to use the setup too much.