Baja km

I pulled the j13 fuse while towing my 2008 JK as suggested in the manual, but I cannot get it to re-seat. I have done this several times before, but this time it won’t go back into the fuse box. Any suggestions on how to get it back in or all the way out so I can replace the fuse if it’s damaged?

a64pilot

Only way I know to get it out is to take a pair of pliers and pull it, I wouldn’t wiggle it much because you could break it off. Penetrating oil could help.
I suspect you have one or both of the fuse blades on the outside of the female connector as opposed to inside of it.
I’d go back with just a bit of silicone grease on the blades, this prevents corrosion and of course grease is a lubricant making removal and re-insertion easier.
On aircraft we use Dow Corning DC-4, but silicone grease is also “plumbers grease” that you can buy in any home improvement store. and it’s also “light bulb” grease in an auto parts store. It’s good to put on the base of light bulbs to prevent corrosion, especially boat trailer lights.
Curious why does the manual suggest this fuse to be removed?

resharp001

This seems very strange to me. I towed my '13 automatic for years. Have never heard anyone need to do this. I searched the '08 owners manual as well and I don't see mention of this when searching the document for "J13" either. Curious where the OP sees this suggestion in the manual. That is a big 60A ignition fuse.

a64pilot

I found what it is in another open thread, basically it’s the “keep alive” power for whatever needs continuous power, back in the day it was just a clock, today who knows. It must have other functions though for it to be 60 Amps, that’s a bunch of power.
I assume those other functions are why you need to remove the fuse for towing. I can’t imagine it’s the small amount of parasitic load from the keep alive circuitry.
‘I’m setting up my 16 to tow as we speak, I will install a charge wire to connect the towing vehicles electrical system to the jeep battery to keep it charged because I need to power the compressor that works the brakes, too easy not to do, no need to run down the Jeeps battery.
I’m not aware of any fuses I need to pull on my 16, I guess I need to read the manual. Several, most it seems cars require quite a bit to be towed, the Jeep not requiring all that is a big reason I picked it to tow.

resharp001

So, the only thing you should need power for is a supplemental brake system, but you're going to be driving for days non-stop before that is going to kill the battery, at least in my experience. Not to mention that all the reputable models have an internal battery on those systems as well that is actually operating the mechanical motion of the brake. I believe that plugging it in was only powering a very minimal LED on the Patriot brake I used back in the day, though i guess topping off the internal battery as well.....still, never ran battery down on the jeep for me. I'd put TC in N, transmission in P, pull key, close doors, lock it. Running a power line to the jeep certainly not going to hurt though.

a64pilot

Mine is an older Brake Buddy, according to them it does not have a battery in it.
Even if it did, it would require power from somewhere to keep its battery charged. I have no idea how much power it draws, depends on how your driving i’d suspect with Interstate driving pulling almost none while stop and go might pull a lot.
Running one 18ga. wire through a 15 amp CB to the battery is just too easy to keep from cycling the Jeep battery, having to charge a low battery frequently causes wear on both the battery and the alternator and I can prevent it for less than $10.
I’m running wires and installing a 6 way plug anyway, what’s one more wire? 7 and 6 way plugs have a pin dedicated for battery charging

Baja km

Long tow draws down the power. The j13 fuse is in a plastic cradle that is designed to assist in lifting the fuse. This time it will not go back into the block. It is stuck out of the block but retained by the plastic cradle so I can’t completely remove it to see why it won’t re-seat. I am looking for suggestions to get the fuse and plastic cradle out or the fuse back in.without breaking the plastic cradle or fuse. Any thoughts?

a64pilot

I had no idea what you’re talking about by cradle and block, so I tried looking for a pic and came up with this. I think it shows what your talking about, but even seeing the pic doesn’t give me any idea sorry.
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-e...-4-door-21147/

a64pilot

Apparently this fuse box is more than a simple fuse box, it’s a TIPM or something like that, I bumped into a service that repairs them for $300.
So I would be careful, don’t just get out a bigger hammer.

Baja km

It’s the stock 2008 Rubicon Unlimited fuse box.