Community Forums

CoolTech · 05-10-2009, 02:33 PM

Quote:

I gather you are advertising for Cooltech?

Yes. (We're paid sponsor's here... unless something changed.)

DonnaB · 05-10-2009, 03:08 PM

I have a question here. We used to have an issue with the battery dying after towing a while. I learned here to pull the IOD fuse to avoid this. We did not want to do the battery disconnect switch because our Blue Ox Brakesafe uses the battery.

However, we now find that the breakaway isn't working. At first we thought it was broke, but now realize it is connected so that when the IOD is pulled, it is "off". Looking to see if anyone has addressed this already and how. We need to wire it differently so that this fuse doesn't affect it.

Thanks for your solutions up front.

CoolTech · 05-10-2009, 04:59 PM

Donna,

I think there are two potential solutions here - but choosing one over the other might depend on how the Brakesafe is currently wired.

One solution would be to wire the Brakesafe to a hot circuit (even with the IOD fuse lifted) or, directly to the positive terminal to the battery to be absolutely certain. With this solution, you would continue to lift the IOD fuse while flat-towing.

A second potential solution would be to leave the positive wire on the Brakesafe as it is today, and add a ground wire from the Brakesafe directly to the ground terminal of the battery AND to add a battery disconnect switch. The battery disconnect switch "opens" the ground cable - so you could use that instead of lifting the IOD fuse... as long as you have the Brakesafe ground wire on the battery side (so that it does NOT become disconnected).

I would advocate this second solution... because there's another problem you likely have and may not know. The "problem" with auxillary braking devices and leaving the battery connected, is that when the device depresses the brake pedal, the Jeep will illuminate the brake lights. While you might think that this is OK, the issue is if you have your turn signal on, then the Jeep's brake will over-ride the turn signal since they share the same bulb. This is NOT an issue when the Jeep's battery is disconnected per the instructions in the Jeep's Owner's manual. Alternatively, if you prefer to lift the IOD fuse, you will also need to remove the Jeep's brake light fuse to prevent the Jeep from "talking" to the brake lights when you don't want it to.

wagonmaster2 · 05-10-2009, 08:03 PM

Hey Swannee - Is it or has it been any harder and more complicated to rig up your new Wrangler with tow bracket and light harness than it was with your '99? I have a 2001 Sahara and the tow bracket for the front end is very simple to bolt on and the wiring harness is fairly simply also. At the time I did mine I was told the Jeep Grand Cherokee took a lot different wiring harness with more diodes than for the Wranglers. Hope they haven't complicated things too bad on the new Wranglers cause that is definitely one of the attractions for the Wranglers, that is other than being fun to drive and ease getting around in tight narrow places.

Wagonmaster2

CoolTech · 05-11-2009, 08:41 AM

The new JK (2007+) Wranglers are pretty easy to set up for towing. Maybe this wasn't the case when the model first came out, but now all of the "usual" tow bar companies have a solution. The light wiring too, is straightforward - with plug & play kits available.

The new Wrangler is available in both 2-door and 4-door versions. Myself, I like the roominess and added flexibility of the 4-door although, to your point, the 2-door enjoys a smaller turning radius and is more manueverable in tight places.

John Hilley · 05-11-2009, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renipladlo

Does anyone have a good place for accessories for the jeep, want a spare tire cover so the sun does not just eat it up. Guess I will just have to remember to rotate it into the mix every 5K miles or so. Need to get a lock for it too.

Quadratec, 4WD, Morris 4x4 Center

wa8yxm · 05-11-2009, 11:14 AM

There are many Jeeps. now a stock jeep is a bit rougher ride than say a Chevy Malibu but not that bad, You do need to learn to SLOW DOWN a bit on corners since the jeep is a bit top heavy but again not that bad.

Jeep suspension is kind of "Optional" you can order it with very firm suspension for off roading and better control, or "softer" suspension for a better ride. I would suggest adjustable (Air-shocks) suspension.

Advantages to JEEP are multiple.. Ease of towing (Put transfer case in neutral tow 4 down) (4 down is far and away the easiest way to tow)

And where as many 4-wheel drive owners don't want to worry about what condition the road is in.. The true JEEP owner does now worry about the condition of the road either.. IN fact, he don't worry about the road.. I mean, who needs roads?

Many's the time I wished I was wrangling a jeep

You might, however, wish to consider other jeep models.

donie · 05-30-2009, 08:47 AM

FWIW, we bought a Wrangler at the end of April and are have plans to have ot set up to flat tow behind our Class C.
We got the hardtop 4 door 4X4 and it rides, IMHO, great.
Quiet enough to carry on a conversation and listen to the radio.
Just got back from a trip to Utah to try the Jeep out and got between 16-18 on the road.