2018 JL wrangler OEM Mopar tow hitch wiring (sacramento)

[petar7408]

Hello all,
Just bought a 2018 JL wrangler and none of them had the tow hitch installed (crazy right?) I searched but couldn't find the answer to my question.
I like OEM stuff in general, so I bought the hitch and wiring harness from an online dealer. I found a video of the installation and it looks like its too much for me to chew off- but the question is- do i NEED to do the whole install? I only have a simple trailer I need to pull with the simple plug for brake lights and turning. To get just that functionality, do I need to go all the way to the battery and do all that wiring??

Also, if anyone is near the sacramento (roseville) area, I would be happy to pay you to help me install the wiring if you have already done this.

Thanks so much, love the jeep!

Sponsored

 

[Bronx]

Hi Petar,

In my opinion the hardest part of the wiring installation is running the power wire from the engine compartment to the tail light. Since that part is a requirement it's best to just do the entire installation. The rest of the stuff is much easier.

I just did the Mopar hitch wiring installation on my 2018 Sahara a couple weeks ago and the job, while extremely time consuming, wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. If you take your time, watch the videos on the Web that shows how to install it, and are even somewhat handy with tools you should have little trouble installing it.

It took me 4 days to install mine, but don't let that scare you. First, I only worked on it a litle at a time, maybe a maximum of 1-2 hours each day. I also did the hitch wiring and installed Mopar aux switches at the same time so the project took me longer than doing the hitch wiring alone.

I got the most out of watching the CJ Offroad video, but I watched it and the Quadratec video multiple times for almost a week before I started the project to make absolutely sure I understood what was involved. There was a difference between CJ's wiring at the passenger tail light and my harness. He had to disassemble a connector to add the red power wire, while my harness had the red wire on a separate connector. I think it made that part of the installation easier for me than trying to disassemble the connector.

While I didn't do this, it has been said in other threads that it's easier to remove the entire fender flare than to pop those 4 plastic rivets. I did pop the rivets and pulled out the push pins, and replacing them wasn't a problem for me. The kit comes with replacement rivets and I already had the tool. I did break one of the push pins when pulling it out, but Lowes had pins that were close enough to work. Also, if I was to remove the entire fender flare I'd want to first get some of those clips that hold it in place in case I broke one (or more). Nobody local to me sells them that I'm aware of.

I'm in Thousand Oaks, not close enough to come over to help so sorry about that. If you don't feel comfortable tackling this project it might be best to have the dealer do it. Whatever you decide I wish you success with the project.

 

[normaleagle05]

I just did the install last night and this morning. Really easy overall, just a little time consuming. I removed everything last night and installed and reassembled this morning. Maybe 5 hours total while taking my time.

You DO NOT NEED to remove anything from the fender liner. I slid under the Jeep on a mechanics creeper, pulled back the inner edge of the liner, and could see/reach the grommet. Run a wire hangar out from under the dash and electrical tape the wire to it. Pull it through from the inside.

The toughest part of the install has been my Curt hitch will have to be drilled out to get to the right bracket mount hole and I didn't have a pair of pliars small enough to easily extract one of the driver tail harness wire covers to install the yellow wire. I found a work around.

 

[Bronx]

Normaleagle,

I also have the Curt hitch with the Mopar harness and had to drill a hole in the Curt to mount one side of the 4/7 pin connector mount. Drilling through that monster dulled my bits horribly. Ended up driling a 1/2" hole to give me some slop in case I mis-measured and didn't get the hole exactly on center (which I didn't).

I did see the firewall grommet before I popped the 4 rivets, but it looked too far for me to get at it without pulling the fender liner back. If I was younger I probably would have at least attempted it, but at 62 I'm not as nimble as I used to be!

 

[ddeaver]

Naïve question: Does adding either (wiring or aux switches) require a BCM flash? Seems all electrical point-to-point so I would think not, but am curious. Meantime I'll go watch the videos since I prefer to have both the switches and the wiring.

Hi Petar,

In my opinion the hardest part of the wiring installation is running the power wire from the engine compartment to the tail light. Since that part is a requirement it's best to just do the entire installation. The rest of the stuff is much easier.

I just did the Mopar hitch wiring installation on my 2018 Sahara a couple weeks ago and the job, while extremely time consuming, wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. If you take your time, watch the videos on the Web that shows how to install it, and are even somewhat handy with tools you should have little trouble installing it.

It took me 4 days to install mine, but don't let that scare you. First, I only worked on it a litle at a time, maybe a maximum of 1-2 hours each day. I also did the hitch wiring and installed Mopar aux switches at the same time so the project took me longer than doing the hitch wiring alone.

I got the most out of watching the CJ Offroad video, but I watched it and the Quadratec video multiple times for almost a week before I started the project to make absolutely sure I understood what was involved. There was a difference between CJ's wiring at the passenger tail light and my harness. He had to disassemble a connector to add the red power wire, while my harness had the red wire on a separate connector. I think it made that part of the installation easier for me than trying to disassemble the connector.

While I didn't do this, it has been said in other threads that it's easier to remove the entire fender flare than to pop those 4 plastic rivets. I did pop the rivets and pulled out the push pins, and replacing them wasn't a problem for me. The kit comes with replacement rivets and I already had the tool. I did break one of the push pins when pulling it out, but Lowes had pins that were close enough to work. Also, if I was to remove the entire fender flare I'd want to first get some of those clips that hold it in place in case I broke one (or more). Nobody local to me sells them that I'm aware of.

I'm in Thousand Oaks, not close enough to come over to help so sorry about that. If you don't feel comfortable tackling this project it might be best to have the dealer do it. Whatever you decide I wish you success with the project.

 

[Bronx]

I'm not 100% sure about this, but I think you need a radio flash if you're going to use a brake controller. The radio does need to be updated by the dealer (or using a Tazer JL) to enable the aux switches. That is specifically spelled out in the aux switch installation instructions. Unlike the aux switch instructions, the tow hitch harness makes no mention of updating the radio. However, there is a setting in the Tazer to Enable/Disable trailer tow settings.

My little motorcycle trailer is only a 4 wire, and it works without needing to flash the radio.

 

[petar7408]

Thanks for the replies guys, it seems I have to do the whole darn thing then.. I'm still hoping there someone from this area that could help me, I hate getting 5 hours into something and being stuck lol

 

[Bluebeast]

I just did the wiring over the weekend, alreadyhad the hitch installed. Took about 8 hrs including lunch, searching for a metal clothes hanger for about 30 minutes (stupid plastic hangers everywhere) and a few other breaks. I'm in the Lincoln area if ya need any help.

 

[petar7408]

I just did the wiring over the weekend, alreadyhad the hitch installed. Took about 8 hrs including lunch, searching for a metal clothes hanger for about 30 minutes (stupid plastic hangers everywhere) and a few other breaks. I'm in the Lincoln area if ya need any help.

Sweet! I know the 2nd time around would be much easier for you haha. I could pre do- whatever I could and drive to you or if you are around roseville we could plan a time? Let me know what works. I would try to run the wires everywhere to hopefully need help for just an hour or two. let me know, I would pay you for your time (and not ask you to do the whole thing either)

Thanks!

 

[Bluebeast]

2nd time should go a lot better! Shot you a pm so we can find a time.

Sponsored