Community Forums

gaige1992 · 06-26-2018, 11:40 AM

on my 2008 jeep wrangler I have to unhook the negative cable from the battery when towing, leaving me no voltage for a supplemental brake in the jeep to slow it down, anyone else have this problem, or know a fix. I am new to this site and would be very appreciative for some help. Thank you in advance
John

FIRE UP · 06-26-2018, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaige1992

on my 2008 jeep wrangler I have to unhook the negative cable from the battery when towing, leaving me no voltage for a supplemental brake in the jeep to slow it down, anyone else have this problem, or know a fix. I am new to this site and would be very appreciative for some help. Thank you in advance
John

John,
Well Sir, it's unfortunate that you purchased one of the only year model Jeep Wranglers that you have to do that, when prepping for towing. While we've owned, towed, modified and used 9 different Jeep Wranglers both on and off road Jeeps for well over 35 years, I am only moderately aware of the technicals of your '08. As for what to do, well, one way out is another form of auxiliary braking that does not involve ANY 12v operation, i.e. Ready Brake or, if you have a diesel coach, an M & G braking system, possibly an AF-1 brake etc.

Yes, it may cost you a bit up front, but, you'd be done with any issues that you're presently experiencing. And, most of those are transferable. So, just some thoughts here.
Scott

SarahW · 06-26-2018, 01:08 PM

Hello John. Many of us towing Jeeps are using a surge brake. If you haven't bought your towing setup yet, check out the Ready Brute Elite towbar. It's a quality product with built-in surge brake.

CoolTech · 06-26-2018, 10:13 PM

John,

Jeep discontinued the steering wheel lock mid to late 2008 production run. Can you check to see if your Wrangler has the steering wheel lock? (Turn the key off and remove and see if you can rotate the steering wheel without it locking.)

1. If you have the steering wheel lock:

You must place the key in the first position to un-lock the wheel. With the key in this position, your Jeep will draw a small amount of power. I used to be able to tow mine about 4-hours max and the Jeep still had enough battery to start itself. Much beyond 4 hours and you might run the battery down too far. My recommendation is to look at purchasing something like RVi Battery Towed Charger. This will allow your MH to continuously charge the Jeep's battery and you should be able to tow indefinitely.

2. If you don't have the steering wheel lock:

You don't need to have the key in the ignition at all, so you won't have a problem.

Notice that in either scenario, I think you can leave your battery connected without consequence. We used the Cool Tech wiring harness and it worked flawlessly.

Hope this helps.

MSHappyCampers · 06-27-2018, 09:27 AM

Hi John!

Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

srx-6 · 06-27-2018, 03:20 PM

John
I also tow a 2008 Wrangler. Jeep did away with the steering wheel lock sometime during the 2008 production year. Mine has the steering lock, yours may or may not. If not, there is no need to leave the key in the ignition. The only battery drain will come from your braking system if it requires power. If you do need to leave the key in the on position to unlock the steering wheel what I do is pull the IOD fuse in the fuse box. This will disconnect all accessories so you have no battery drain while towing. The fuse is a bit difficult to pull up, just pull until you feel two slight clicks and that is it(do not try to remove it). When unhooking just push it down and you are ready to go. You will keep all radio presets but will need to reset clock.
Hope this helps.

HighDesert · 06-28-2018, 11:19 AM

I tow a 2008 Jeep JK Sahara and use the ready brake elite tow bar with the surge brake setup, which works really well. I do have a disconnect with on my battery to remove power when being towed and I do have the steering wheel lock so just use a "dumb" key in the ignition to move to accessory position (which requires having the battery disconnect).

gaige1992 · 06-30-2018, 03:19 PM

I want to thank everyone for responding to my message. I do have the early model 2008 wrangler so I do have to leave the key in the ignition, I have found a place that will wire the battery in my mh to the jeep where by I can plug the supplemental brake into it. also I am going to have him wire a switch into my negative cable on my jeep battery so that I don't have to remove it. as well he is going to put new bulbs in the tail lights and run a power cable to the front of the jeep so I don't have to use battery power from the jeep.