Troubleshooting A Dead Battery On A Jeep Wrangler While Flat Towing With The Blue Ox Patriot

Question:

Braking is still weak with the seat as far forward as it can be without depressing the brake pedal BUT., I have a bigger problem that I can’t live with, please help! *** I’ve had the Blue Ox system now for a couple years. I tow a new Jeep Wrangler which has an always on outlet in the back. EVERY time I’d tow my jeep using the BO brake system the battery in my tow vehicle was dead at the end of the journey. Took the new jeep in to have checked out, everything read fine but they replaced the battery anyway. I got tired of messing with it and started using a dedicated jumper battery for it so it didn’t use any of the jeep electrical systems. That worked for two or three trips, I just pulled into a campground, and the battery is dead again on the jeep. The only electrical connection between the tow vehicle in the RV is the blue wiring harness. Maybe I’m mistaken, but I thought that only fed the lights. Please send the cavalry.

asked by: Tom M

Expert Reply:

The Blue Ox Patriot Radio Frequency, Portable Braking System # BLU37TR is going to drain the battery while you tow. If you just ran a jumper from the main battery to a second battery then it would still drain both batteries while towing. Diode wiring should not be draining your battery since it receives it's power from the motorhome so I doubt that is the cause of the issue.

For the power issues I recommend reaching out to Blue Ox and seeing if there might be an update needed to the system. To prevent the battery from being dead I recommend installing the Roadmaster Battery Charge Line Kit for Towed Vehicles # RM-156-25 to keep the battery charged while you tow. If your motorhome doesn't have a charge line ran already then you'll also need part # RM-156-75.

expert reply by: Kevin C