After reading up on the subject quite a bit I decided to go outside and take a look at this system on my 08 rubicon. I jacked one side of the rear and turned off the traction control. Then I let off the clutch to see what would happen. I was surprised when the tire in the air went spinning just like any other open diff and nothing continued to happen as the rpms increased. I have seen videos of the system and it seemed to be quite effective, but this display really has me doubting the system.

If It cant get me moving on dry pavement then how should I expect it to get me out of a sticky situation. (I know I can engage my lockers, but im looking out for my X freinds.)

I suppose the main question I have is, is the system even active in 2wd?

Thanks everyone

 

the BLDs need some resistance to work effectivly they will not lock the tire enough to send power to the stopped tire, it is not a locker it is a traction aid, and no the ESP will not turn off the BLD
when you spin the tires in say some gravel and both tires spin that is the BLDs working for you

 

That's correct. Repeat your test and just TOUCH the brakes or SLIGHTLY engage the E-brake...that'll tell you.

 

I've had wheels in the air and no problems. Just apply the brake and hit the gas. The lifted wheel stops spinning completly. This trick is easier for us with the Auto's. I can't wait to see how well this works with the new Atlas Rubi-Crawler. The brakes do affect power to the rest of the wheels too. With the 37's and 3.73 gears and 2.72:1 low range... I'm way lacking in the power dept. now. 5.13's going in soon. then I'll be adding the Rubi-Crawler.

 

If you really want to test it, jack up only the right rear wheel and then try. It will detect no traction on the right and transfer power to the left as the left has traction. However, when the left wheel grabs its going to yank your jeep off the jack stand and do lots of damage when she goes through the wall of your garage and possibly seriously injures you or someone else. These things work. I've watched my wife crawl over obstacles in ours. When one wheel begins to slip, maybe 6 inches, it transfers torque, gains tracton and eases through it. Also have seen them work in our xterra. Who ever invented these things deserves to be rich.

Your test may have been flawed as neither wheel had any chance of gaining traction as both were in the air to spin freely.

 

The OP jacked up only one rear wheel.

 

To my knowledge and testing, the BLD only works in 4wd. In 2wd it will splin for ever. In 4wd, you can have two tires in the air, and the jeep will move.

 

BLD works on all modes. I see it most often when pulling out from a stop sign or red light in 2wd.

 

BLD most definatly works in 2WD. I did a snow wheeling run in 2WD. I wouldn't have made it too far if the BLD didn't work.

 

Hmm... At the bottom of my road its basically a steep u-turn. My JK will spin the inside tire quite fast the whole way around to get up it. Of course my J10 with a detroit doesnt, but my Focus would spin its front inside tire the whole way. Which is what lead me to think it didn't do anything in 2wd. Now after a few moments the traction control kicks on and it drops the throttle so that it almost kills the engine (6sp) but never does that tire stop spinning unless I try very hard to just creep up it and not spin.