Does 12V Power Fuse Need to Bed Pulled for Trailer Towing with a 2021 Jeep Gladiator

Question:

I recently installed a 200aH LiFePo battery on my E-Pro 19FDS and I have been advised that I should disconnect the tow vehicle charge line while towing. I found the post regarding the F36 and F37 fuses needed to be in place for that particular issue. Since his problem was not charging and you stated that it was probably the F37 fuse missing. In my situation I would like to disconnect the charge line and have brakes/lights/backup camera/etc still function. Can I just pull the F37 fuse to accomplish the fix in my situation? If not what fix would you recommend? Thanks

asked by: Robin B

Helpful Expert Reply:

Yes, you can pull the F36 or F37 fuse (which ever is for the 12V power) to keep the battery on your trailer from draining the battery on your 2021 Jeep Gladiator. It's definitely one of those 2 fuses but I'm not 100% sure which one so you'll just need to test on your end.

With that being said, normally the thought is to have the 12V power pushing a charge back to the battery while you're towing since the alternator is sending back a charge and then to prevent the 12V power from going to your trailer when you're parked since the alternator isn't actively charging your start battery so I find it intriguing that you've been told opposite. You might want to double check with why you received that information and double check it with your local Jeep dealer.

Really what you need to do is install a Redarc In-Vehicle BCDC Battery Charger # 331-BCDC1225D with the Wiring Kit # e79ZR which reads the batteries involved in the charge process and adjusts the flow of power to give your trailer battery the best charge possible. It also has a built-in battery isolator so your trailer battery won't pull power when the Jeep is off.

The great thing about this setup is that you can end up connecting some solar panels to the BCDC as well and it will pull from the solar panels first and then get whatever else it needs from the tow vehicle battery. The solar panels will also actively charge the battery when you aren't connected to your Jeep.

Attached is an installation video of the BCDC being installed for you to check out.

expert reply by: Jon G