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DIY $10 Jeep Wrangler JK ABS ESC Kill switch - Easy way


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Traditionally, in order to disable your ABS/ESC control, you have to do the voodoo "steering wheel dance" or pull out the J6 fuse from the fuse box.
Well, pulling out the fuse a few times broke my fuse puller! So, I started looking out for alternatives and finally found a solution. 
There are two ways to do it.  
One (most common method you find on youtube videos) is to intercept the wire from under the gear box... this method is tideous as it involves pulling out the 4HiLo gear knob out. This method is a serious pain-in-the-rearo! Good luck if you chose this method.. this post is not for you. :)

Second method, is to intercept the same wire from the source, which is located under the hood. Much easier. 

Here is a brief write up of how I have done it.

Things you need: 
1. Any On/Off Switch. I used an accessory push on/off button. 
2. 1-1.5m of electrical accessory wire.
3. Insulation Tape
4. Wire strippers and Wire connectors. 
5. Handy Drill with drill bit.
6. Lots of patience, Sane enough to Cut the right Wire and a Steady Hand. 

DISCLAIMER: I do not take any responsibility in case you snip the wrong wire or short anything else in the process. Do it at your own risk.  
Another Disclaimer:  This is a quick and dirty tutorial for a kill switch. Make necessary adjustments in case you want a cleaner safer way.   
Yet another Disclaimer: Apologies for the dusty pictures. Hope they help illustrate the steps! 

Okey, now that's out of the way, here we go - 

1. Locate the ESP unit under your Wrangler hood. This is usually near the Brake fluid area. Push the lock pins on either side to release the latch and it swings up to unlock. ( Fig 1 ) 
2. Unplug two more plugs that branch out from the same harness ( Fig 2 ). After doing this, its easier to pull out the entire harness from underneath the unit and towards you so that you can see it clear. 
3.  Remove the stock wraps and insulation from the thick main harness to expose the wires. Locate the Purple with light blue wire. Make sure its the right one because there is also another purple with dark blue (leave it alone!). 
4. Snip the Purple with Blue stripe wire. ( If you want to make sure you cut the right wire, you can plug everything back in, turn the car on, and it will show the ABS and Traction Symbols on the dash. Pat yourself in the back! If not, and some other symbols show, then go back to step 3 and make sure you cut the right wire! )
5. Attach some wire connectors to the ends of the striped wire. This is so that in case, in the future, you decide you do not want the switch, or you want to swap it out with something else, you can quickly do it. 
6. Drill a hole wherever you decide to place the switch. Fasten the switch to the panel. Place a metal washer behind the switch so that it doesn't press on to the cowl every time you push it. Some recommend placing metal plates, but am lazy... this is supposed to be the easy tutorial, right?  
7. Feed the switch wires through the firewall hole (fig# 4 & 5). You can fetch it from underneath the dash panel. Feed it through the right compartments to where you need it to come out.  
(PS: If you have already soldered the wire to the switch, then do step 6 in reverse. Feed a shoe lace or wire-puller-of-your-choice through the firewall and fetch the wire in from the dash side to the hood) 
8. Attach +ve end of the switch wire to one end of the snipped wire and the -ve end to the other snipped end. It doesn't matter if you get the +ve and -ve reversed as you are just extending the connection from the same wire and not dealing with a +ve or -ve literally. 
9. Once all the switch and connections are tested and verified, insulate and wrap the wires back. Make sure no wire or metal contacts are exposed. Secure with zip ties where ever necessary. (Fig6 shown for reference but I wrapped the exposed contact later with insulation tape)
10. Close everything back and go through all the work again to make sure everything is where its supposed to be. 

The Switch pushed in, means the wire is connected, so your ABS and ESC is active. 
When the switch is in the OFF position, there is a break in the connection, so your ABS/ESC will be inactive. Fig 7 shows a rough wire diagram. 

To Reset the warning lights on your dash, turn the car off, push the switch to ON position and the ABS/ESC lights should go off. 

Safety note: 
Activate the switches ONLY WHEN CAR IDLE. DO NOTE activate while driving or you may end up doing some unexpected drifting or donuts!  
Tutorial only applicable for JK (07-18) Wrangler models. Refer to your manual for wire codes if needed.  

Enjoy and Safe Off-Roading!

Follow @joshmyster on instagram in case you found this tutorial helpful. 

 

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Edited by Jocreative
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Brilliant DIY with detailed steps, pics, and 3 disclaimers - way to go, dude, 👍  

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Let's root for each other & watch each other grow.

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1 hour ago, Rahimdad said:

Very detailed explanation and most people end up doing this. This post will definitely help all JK owners.

 

32 minutes ago, skumar83 said:

This is exactly what we need on Carnity

Thanks :) 

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Nice solution but there’s an easier way without cutting into the vehicles wiring loom. 

Pull the fuse, insert 2 male spade connectors into the fuse holder and connect them to a toggle switch via an external fuse holder with the same sized fuse.

Same result but easier to remove and return the car to standard with no damage to the wiring loom. Works on any car. 

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Nice solution but there’s an easier way without cutting into the vehicles wiring loom. 
Pull the fuse, insert 2 male spade connectors into the fuse holder and connect them to a toggle switch via an external fuse holder with the same sized fuse.
Same result but easier to remove and return the car to standard with no damage to the wiring loom. Works on any car. 


On more recent cars the fuses are now smaller, so inserting the male spade becomes a bit difficult. You can take a spare or new fuse, break it open, and use these spades to solder your wires on.
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"Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further."

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@Barry you do have a point on not cutting the wiring loom, but @Jocreative solution serves as the switch inside the car than stepping out, stopping the convoy, open the hood to flick the fuse button, still time-consuming and involve some work before and after each drive.

Steering switch is classy. My two cents.

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Let's root for each other & watch each other grow.

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