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JPAloha

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I realize I’m not the first to do this, I had the idea almost as soon as the 4xE came out but sat on it for a variety of reasons, but saw a request for a write up and parts list on the project.

Parts needed:
Mopar:
68467793AD Charge port door
6SS58TZZAC Charge port housing (cowl panel)
ARB:
CKMTA12 Dual compressor (I have no doubt a single can be used but am stating what I have used)
0740203 1 metre long braided air hose (will depend on where your compressor is mounted of course)
0740110 90 degree elbow JIC4 to NPT 1/4”
‘Grimm off-road:
GOR10013 - JL/JT mounting bracket kit (again, you can use a different mount but it will change what you need for hose length, etc. it also provides the air chuck and bulkhead mount but you can purchase those independently)
Misc:
Everbilt 2.5” zinc double wide corner brace (Model# 859-7281)

Start by removing the drivers side cowl piece (4x T40 screws hold it in place, keep these as you’ll re-use later).
You’ll see it reveals a top fender bolt (10mm). This is what you’ll use to hold the corner brace in place.
I didn’t measure exactly where I drilled a hole in the bracket as I just eyeballed where I thought it would position the air chuck, it’s roughly a third of an inch or so. You’ll want to ensure the chuck sits far enough forward for it to be accessible but not so far forward it stops the outer door closing properly, I did have to adjust mine afterwards but I found it easy enough to drill another hole once I had the air chuck located properly.

To get the alignment of the air chuck centred to the opening in the charge door assembly I bolted the bracket down using the fender bolt, put the new cowl assembly in place and offered the air chuck to the hole and pressed it against the bracket. Once I was happy it was going to be reasonably centred on the bracket (I.e. not so close to and edge that the hole for it would leave too thin of a gap to the edge that it would weaken it) I moistened the threaded end of the air chuck and quickly pressed it against the bracket again before pulling it away again, this left a ring of moisture to mark the spot - I marked the centre of that ring with a bradawl so there was a mark in the metal where the drill bit should go.

Taking the cowl assembly back off and removing the bracket meant I could drill the hole away from the vehicle, I ended up having to use a stepper bit after running progressively larger drill bits through. I started small so I had my centre where I had marked. As you can use a variety of air chucks (some are NPT, others JIC) and decide if you’ll use a bulkhead mount or not the size of the hole you’ll need may vary. Once I had it big enough to take the bulkhead mount I filed the edge down and test fitted the bracket, chuck and cowl assembly again - for me this revealed my first fender bolt hole was too far back and left the chuck pressing against the door so it wouldn’t close fully. Needing to move the hole forwards also meant I needed to trim the bracket on the side with the fender bolt hole to prevent it from rubbing on the internal bodywork. I redrilled, trimmed the bracket and offered it all up again. This time it lined up perfectly.
As the drilling and trimming had marked the zinc coating of the bracket I primed and painted it with rustoleum satin black before reassembly. I also painted underneath the fender bolt as it revealed bare metal.

With the paint dried I assembled the air chuck and bulkhead mount to the bracket, installed one of the 90 degree elbows to the back side of the bulkhead mount and moved on to the next stage.

The Grimm off-road mount comes with an air hose that’s roughly half a metre long, while this is perfect for their chuck location under the hood it falls short of reaching the cowl area. Swapping it out for the 1 metre version solves that problem and is a relatively easy task.

As you’ll see in the photo’s the charge port door assembly has a square hole where the 4xE has an LED that indicates charge status. You can leave this as-is or if, like mine, your OCD won’t let you then you can take this optional step:
I bought this 11mm LED flush mount indicator light on Amazon, drilled and filed the hole until it fit snugly and then ran the wires alongside the air hose (with a wiring shield to protect against the heat) to where the wires for the ARB switch were now dangling. The black wire goes to ground and can be connected to the black wire on the ARB or Grimm wiring harness. The red wire connects to the purple trigger wire on the ARB switch harness, the purple wire is also used to run to the auxiliary switch to power the relay and the compressor. This means the LED only illuminates when the compressor has power to it so is a useful reminder that it’s on (you can actually see the glow from behind the charge door when closed).

To run power from the aux switch I used a length of wire that I ran through the wiring trough that runs along the back of the engine bay and connected one end to the purple trigger wire and the other to aux 1 (the only one I still had unused, lol).

After a leak test was performed, turn the compressor on an it should only run for a second or two then stop as it has built pressure. If it starts up again within 20 minutes you have a leak and should check the fittings (detailing spray aimed at the fittings will quickly show any leaks by bubbling and won’t harm anything in the process). When you’re happy that nothing leaks then put the cowl panel in place and reuse the factory screws you removed earlier (the longer ones go in from the top, the short from the side) and enjoy.

Please note there is nothing wrong with where the Grimm kit mounts the chuck and switch, I just wanted to not have to open the hood any time I need to air up. This is an expensive solution to a problem that didn’t really exist, lol 😂.
Jeep Wrangler JL 4xe charge port repurposed for ARB air compressor chuck D597A50A-0D50-48BE-959C-9BCCDD3DDAD2
Jeep Wrangler JL 4xe charge port repurposed for ARB air compressor chuck C1994427-2C64-4E58-9FB4-4E0BE29A791B
Jeep Wrangler JL 4xe charge port repurposed for ARB air compressor chuck 7FFD8B8B-E8BC-4C6F-93A7-47F0DED930E1
Jeep Wrangler JL 4xe charge port repurposed for ARB air compressor chuck A541B5E4-08A1-470C-AB7F-D0C64B0E4755
Jeep Wrangler JL 4xe charge port repurposed for ARB air compressor chuck E3E70489-62AD-44D9-9EDF-17AE185B7DA8
Jeep Wrangler JL 4xe charge port repurposed for ARB air compressor chuck E1928304-3CBD-418D-A929-651F682F8B40
Jeep Wrangler JL 4xe charge port repurposed for ARB air compressor chuck 9CAFE265-0734-4D97-BB85-DABABFC0BCD5
Jeep Wrangler JL 4xe charge port repurposed for ARB air compressor chuck B63D4C21-5971-4CAA-8946-E7DBBAB6E8A9
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Rubigone

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Looks nice i like it, good job! Wish i could do that too but then I’d have to buy the kc lighbar mount for the 4xe too, a little too much money just to get the chuck mounted to the exterior 😂
 

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LooselyHeldPlans

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Well executed. I've planned on doing this for a while, just not up there on the priority list. I asked @AllMoparParts.com for parts the day the 4xxe was announced.

When I get around to it, I'll be adding some sort of switchable 12v as well. In the next year, I'll have 8kw of batteries on board, so this might be where I install the 120v charger input. Hmmm... maybe I could rig this so that I can charge those batteries from EV charging stations....
 

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JPAloha

JPAloha

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Where did you find the part numbers? I'm guessing the cowl piece came painted?
The cowl comes in bare plastic. Part numbers are in the main post, I found a 4xE VIN and had my local parts guy look them up.
 
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JPAloha

JPAloha

Well-Known Member
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Steve
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Well executed. I've planned on doing this for a while, just not up there on the priority list. I asked @AllMoparParts.com for parts the day the 4xxe was announced.

When I get around to it, I'll be adding some sort of switchable 12v as well. In the next year, I'll have 8kw of batteries on board, so this might be where I install the 120v charger input. Hmmm... maybe I could rig this so that I can charge those batteries from EV charging stations....
That would be a cool project to see. I did think about moving the block heater connector up there also.
 

rkeen81

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Hmmmm, does euro spec go on the passenger side? I would absolutely make my passenger side match the drivers side. Charge on the left, air on the right.
 

rkeen81

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99% of Europe drives on the right like North America, why would "Euro spec" have a different charge port?
I should have said RHD cars.
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