So, what's this wire for?

[linuxos77]

I've recently done a battery swap and AUX delete on our Wrangler, so been poking around the fuse box. I noticed something weird (I think), there's a wire/nut not like the others (middle one with gold nut) on the studs from my fuse box. It's quite thin. I bought this previous rental in 2021 (it's a 2020). There's nothing aftermarket on it, any clue what it could be? Even the wrap looks wrong.....

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[Reinen]

That post is typically unused. It's an add-on and could be anything. Follow the wire to see where it leads. My guess would be to a tracking device since it was previously a rental.

 

[1Evil55]

tracker or aux lights you weren't aware of

 

[linuxos77]

Tried half ass following it but goes deep down into the engine bay, some day if motivated enough I may dive deeper. So guessing no harm in disconnecting it?

 

[Ratbert]

Tried half ass following it but goes deep down into the engine bay, some day if motivated enough I may dive deeper. So guessing no harm in disconnecting it?

If you disconnect it and something obvious doesn't work, then yeah you're fine.

If the FBI or some other agency starts sniffing around, the no, you're not fine.

 

[linuxos77]

If you disconnect it and something obvious doesn't work, then yeah you're fine.

If the FBI or some other agency starts sniffing around, the no, you're not fine.

It would be the Mounties, this was a former Canadian rental.

 

[John VonJeep]

It would be the Mounties, this was a former Canadian rental.

 

[Reinen]

Tried half ass following it but goes deep down into the engine bay, some day if motivated enough I may dive deeper. So guessing no harm in disconnecting it?

I can't guarantee there is no harm in disconnecting it but there likely won't be as it's not part of the stock Jeep. Worst case scenario, you know how to fix it.

 

[Bobby Hank]

It would be the Mounties, this was a former Canadian rental.

For God’s sake don’t take your weapons on a boat trip and have an accident first.

 

[C.Sco]

Almost certainly it's for a tracking device / Lojack sort of thing. That doesn't necessarily mean the tracking device is still in there, it's probably more likely that the fleet company took it out before selling it, and since the wire is only worth like 50 cents they just left it. I wouldn't waste too much time digging around for the device, but if you do want to, it probably is (or was) tucked somewhere in the engine bay or stuck to the frame or body somewhere hidden. If it was in the dash it probably would be wired for power inside the dash, not the engine bay fuse box.

In any case, should be no harm in disconnecting that wire. And if the tracking device is still in there, probably it needed that wire to work, so disconnecting the wire probably would deactivate it.

 

[Terrymo]

Don’t remove it yourself. Time to call in an expert

 

[cripton805]

It could also be an aftermarket hitch wiring.

 

[DubaiMarauder]

I've recently done a battery swap and AUX delete on our Wrangler, so been poking around the fuse box. I noticed something weird (I think), there's a wire/nut not like the others (middle one with gold nut) on the studs from my fuse box. It's quite thin. I bought this previous rental in 2021 (it's a 2020). There's nothing aftermarket on it, any clue what it could be? Even the wrap looks wrong.....

Look under your steering column for a little black box somewhere on the trim within reach of the driver. It will be approximately 1/2" x 1" in size with an LED and a single button on it. If you find this, it's a MOPAR EVTS system, typically installed by dealers as a "security vehicle tracking system" they can slap on and charge an extra $3k for. It's a complete scam. AutoNation typically puts them on every new vehicle so they can justify the forced upsell.

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