JL Tazer Needs to go. Is there a better option

[WILDHOBO]

If this works it is magic... I dont need the live features. I will try this and will not unmarry

Mine has been in the glove box since April of 2022. The Oem cables are connected back to the vehicle as they would be without a tazer. I’ll occasionally reconnect it to adjust TPMS, but that’s it.

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[Moe-Jave]

On my 2018 JL the Tazer worked well. I agree with others about the occasional glitches (for a variety of reasons) but that is the nature of the beast here. It is a hack, but a very well-sorted one. I have since sold that unit but just bought a new one today...

That brings up the question of hardware differences. I see the one I just bought is the "2021 model". Apart from keeping up with firmware updates, the hardware pairing for your application might be a factor. I had not really considered that and think they probably have a few different generations of hardware by now (even in the JL/JT family). Sure, the lion's share of changes are probably handled just fine with their software, but is a point of consideration.

Personally, I like the "live" features. The auto-start/stop feature amounts to a "button press" and noticed that would not always work (say once every dozen or so starts and is almost certainly a timing issue). I also really like the rear camera on blinker use, but noticed it would mess with the audio a bit (triggers a competing audio stream is my guess, even though not actually present).

I'm also a JSCAN user. That is a great bit of software and as many have said, highly recommended. I like that I can work on other vehicles for the basic stuff (not locked down).

EDIT: This is a killer feature for me. I don't believe it was available last time I bought it. The first level of TC is just too much in the conditions I drive in.

• TC Kill – turn off traction control, stability control and ABS (excl. 4XE)

 

[Clay]

I've had a Tazer Mini on my 2020 JT for almost two years with no problems.

 

[clarkhogan]

I have one on my 20 rubi, its something I use daily

• Turn camera (rld cap restricts rear vis, this makes lane changes much less stress)
• Cargo cam (front camera)
• Fog drop delete
• Seatbelt ding delete
• Offroad pages
• upgrade 7"-8.4" uconnect
• Change all lights to LED
• Brake hold
• Flash 3rd brake light
• flash lights during tire filling

And I'm sure several more. It takes some finesse to get consistent behavior but its entirely error free.

 

[cybercat]

Remember firm 1143 is caused issues. Once it has firm 1143 it may need to be reimaged at the board level.

 

[Moe-Jave]

On my 2018 JL the Tazer worked well. I agree with others about the occasional glitches (for a variety of reasons) but that is the nature of the beast here. It is a hack, but a very well-sorted one. I have since sold that unit but just bought a new one today...

That brings up the question of hardware differences. I see the one I just bought is the "2021 model". Apart from keeping up with firmware updates, the hardware pairing for your application might be a factor. I had not really considered that and think they probably have a few different generations of hardware by now (even in the JL/JT family). Sure, the lion's share of changes are probably handled just fine with their software, but is a point of consideration.

Personally, I like the "live" features. The auto-start/stop feature amounts to a "button press" and noticed that would not always work (say once every dozen or so starts and is almost certainly a timing issue). I also really like the rear camera on blinker use, but noticed it would mess with the audio a bit (triggers a competing audio stream is my guess, even though not actually present).

I'm also a JSCAN user. That is a great bit of software and as many have said, highly recommended. I like that I can work on other vehicles for the basic stuff (not locked down).

EDIT: This is a killer feature for me. I don't believe it was available last time I bought it. The first level of TC is just too much in the conditions I drive in.

• TC Kill – turn off traction control, stability control and ABS (excl. 4XE)

The new Tazer came in today. I did not realize it was a direct mate to the SGW ports now. My previous unit from 2018 was still an OBD-2 port and did not require the SGW bypass cable but I understand most did (early 2018 JLS 2-door manual).

Anyhow, everything works as expected. I especially like that the ESS and TC states are ”remembered” now! So toggle both off and it stays off when you start the next time. It is also clear that they added a bit more delay before attempting to toggle the button state (should be more reliable).

The camera on with the blinker also seems to play nicer with whatever audio is currently playing (does not cut out).

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

• TC Kill – turn off traction control, stability control and ABS (excl. 4XE)

^^ This unfortunately I don’t care for the tazer outside of the TC kill, 3 honk kill, auto park off, sway bar disconnect 2wd, and rear locker 2wd…..

So for $300 I suppose it was worth it.
Jscan is a better bang for the buck for most other things- tire size changes, light changes etc….

 

[JamesWyatt]

Would not buy one again. Setup to marry and make changes is simply asinine, especially if the settings don't take, and you have to keep trying over and over. Then you unmarry, remarry and start over. I think it was the third marry that finally worked. The whole time, it would set the tire size to what I set it to and remember it, but the speedometer as checked by GPS would never change. So although it looked like my tire size was selected and "took", it wasn't actually working. Since I finally got it to "take" and now the speedo is accurate to GPS, I unplugged it never to plug it in again. If (when) it ever goes to the dealer for service, it's getting unmarried and tossed in the trash. I'll either get the AEV Procal or have the dealer set the tire size.

And yes, I had updated the firmware before I started. Partway through my install woes, I performed a reset/reinstall of the firmware. It's just a glitchy piece of shit product or at least my unit is.

 

[Moe-Jave]

^^ This unfortunately I don’t care for the tazer outside of the TC kill, 3 honk kill, auto park off, sway bar disconnect 2wd, and rear locker 2wd…..

So for $300 I suppose it was worth it.
Jscan is a better bang for the buck for most other things.

Yep all of those things…

JSCAN is nice, and I’ll keep it around…but really happy about the live features with this new setup and firmware revision. There just isn’t an easy alternative to the live features I really value here.

 

[drewcnit]

what I find interesting is the number of people who say that have a tazer for gear changes and tire size. Really? You got talked into the "you MUST have a tazer" thing.

Most definitely this is probably what happened. I know of multiple off-road shops that require you have a tazer or buy a tazer before they will install gears for a customer. Makes it easy for them to program it before giving it back to the customer.

I personally find the interface in JScan to be much easier to use and have no real use case for the tazer live features. I primarily bought one to install for the shop to change my gear ratio when they regeared it back in March. Since then it's been in my glove box but then again so is my OBDII reader for my JScan hookup...I'd pull that out before I pulled out the Tazer.

 

[Moe-Jave]

Most definitely this is probably what happened. I know of multiple off-road shops that require you have a tazer or buy a tazer before they will install gears for a customer. Makes it easy for them to program it before giving it back to the customer.

I personally find the interface in JScan to be much easier to use and have no real use case for the tazer live features. I primarily bought one to install for the shop to change my gear ratio when they regeared it back in March. Since then it's been in my glove box but then again so is my OBDII reader for my JScan hookup...I'd pull that out before I pulled out the Tazer.

I agree that JSCAN is much easier to use overall compared to the Tazer. The newer BT 4.0 setup is very cool and the path I went, so ad hoc connections are easy/fast (no more fumbling with bad BT connections or strange WiFi setups). If you don't need the live functions, you are better off with JSCAN. You can also work on other vehicles without being "married". One last thing -- I have not seen this mentioned before, but there are potential privacy issues with how the JSCAN app terms of service is written. If you care about that, a truly standalone device like the Tazer might suit you better. I know this is a slippery slope, so I don't want to overstate it.

...but what Tazer does for me, and anyone that wants the live features, can't be replicated unless you're willing to make something custom. That's the place I landed in. What's your time worth? It took a really long time for a reliable ESS and TC kill function to be implemented, and that makes my vehicle a lot easier to live with in a rural ranch environment. The other live features are just gravy, but I can see the iterative improvements here and I like to vote with my wallet. There is room for both in my world.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

...but what Tazer does for me, and anyone that wants the live features, can't be replicated unless you're willing to make something custom.

There are cheaper stand-alone "ESS kill" devices out there, sold by at least 2 that I'm aware of, one of them a forum sponsor.
There's a nicely made "kill license plate lamps in reverse" circuit that's literally a 5 minute plug and play install - I think the fellow MAY be a member, but for sure he sells on eBay, etc.
You can build your own if you are well equipped with the tools, wires, pins, connector shells and more but by the time you but that stuff, unless you own the correct/proper crimp tools.........
So two of the most popular reasons can be had pretty cheaply as plug and play, minutes to install, devices - which the dealer will never ever notice and you can leave them in place forever.

 

[JamesWyatt]

Does anyone know: is it really necessary to unmarry the Tazer when taking in the Jeep for service if all I used it for was to set the tire size? Does it leave a fingerprint in the system that a Tazer was or is being used?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Does anyone know: is it really necessary to unmarry the Tazer when taking in the Jeep for service if all I used it for was to set the tire size? Does it leave a fingerprint in the system that a Tazer was or is being used?

If all you used it for was to reset tire size, why leave it in place at all?

 

[Moe-Jave]

There are cheaper stand-alone "ESS kill" devices out there, sold by at least 2 that I'm aware of, one of them a forum sponsor.
There's a nicely made "kill license plate lamps in reverse" circuit that's literally a 5 minute plug and play install - I think the fellow MAY be a member, but for sure he sells on eBay, etc.
You can build your own if you are well equipped with the tools, wires, pins, connector shells and more but by the time you but that stuff, unless you own the correct/proper crimp tools.........
So two of the most popular reasons can be had pretty cheaply as plug and play, minutes to install, devices - which the dealer will never ever notice and you can leave them in place forever.

True. Also, I’m sure I could build a simple timer circuit for the button toggle, but this is the easy button for me.

Still, nothing for TC kill or button state memory anywhere else so far as I know. Recall our early discussion on this topic? I’m happy Tazer finally added it. The latest firmware is very nice.

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