Aux Battery Delete Question

[mpauly]

Sorry if this already exist. I am not on here often and have limited access. I have been wanting to delete the Aux Battery in my 2019 Rubicon 3.6L Unlimited. I have viewed many youtube videos and have come across lots of conflicting information. I overland alone most times and am concerned about the aux battery leaving me stranded on top of a mountain or in the desert. I am planning a solo trip to Alaska either this year or next. No one from IA want to travel 4K miles to the Denali Highway. My question is if I remove the aux battery and pull fuse 42 as in most forum post and videos, can I just insulate the leads and leave them in the empty box without my jeep giving me dash lights or throwing codes? One video has the negative lead taped off and pulling the positive lead back to the main battery to fool the jeep into thinking its still connected to the aux battery. I cant get my leads pulled up into the main area to save my life. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post.

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[Whiskeybiskit]

I disconnected the aux negative and wrapped the $h!t out of it with electrical tape, pulled fuse 42, have had no issues for months now. The ess will still function off the main battery if you so desire, or you'll have to push the button to turn it off. I have mine permanently set to off with a smart start/stop bypass.

 

[AndySpill]

If you want to run with one battery:

1) Remove the cable on the negative terminal of the main battery that does NOT have as its distal end, the body ground located under the hood, near the surface, on the passenger's front fender.
2) Wrap this loose cable in a thick sock and electric tape.
3) Pull Fuse 42.

Removal of the Aux battery is not required.

These steps are peer reviewed ones that your fellow dual AGM battery JL owners have logged 1000s of collective miles doing without a hitch.

Pulling Fuse 42, as you may appreciate, prevents the vehicle from making the Aux battery the sole source of power. With this fuse's removal all calls for power go to both batteries, of which the Aux has been, by removing it from making a complete circuit in step 1) taken out of the vehicle's electrical schematic, leaving onlythe main battery as the sole battery providing current and getting charged by the alternator.

There is extremely little to go wrong here.

That said, if you're overlanding and want to make sure you have ample power, consider "toys" like the Genesis Offroad dual battery kit https://www.genesisoffroad.com/Wrangler-JL_c_39.htmlor the Cascadia 4x4 Rubicon hood battery charger https://www.cascadia4x4.com/collect...diator-jt-vss-system-30-watt-hood-solar-panel

 

[THAW]

2) Wrap this loose cable in a thick sock...

Is that a joke?

 

[AndySpill]

No Foster. Wrapping the conductor in cloth which itself is wrapped with electric tape (you left that part off) is not a joke.

Unfortunately it is only an excellent insulator against electrical current, not your posts.

 

[mmcbeat]

I have a question. Thought about starting a new thread but thought it might be better to add a subtopic to this one. I could have missed it but don’t think so.

With a brand new Wrangler, do you guys disable the auxiliary immediately or wait a couple of years for it to go bad then disable?

Pros?
Cons?

Thanks
OP - hope you don’t mind my post, if you do I will delete it.

 

[Whiskeybiskit]

I have a question. Thought about starting a new thread but thought it might be better to add a subtopic to this one. I could have missed it but don’t think so.

With a brand new Wrangler, do you guys disable the auxiliary immediately or wait a couple of years for it to go bad then disable?

Pros?
Cons?

Thanks
OP - hope you don’t mind my post, if you do I will delete it.

The first time my 2019 jl sport s aux battery died and took the main with it, I changed both. The second time it happened, about 2 years later, did the delete and just bought a main battery. Was not keen on forking over money for 2 batteries everytime because the aux battery is a parasite.

 

[mmcbeat]

The first time my 2019 jl sport s aux battery died and took the main with it, I changed both. The second time it happened, about 2 years later, did the delete and just bought a main battery. Was not keen on forking over money for 2 batteries everytime because the aux battery is a parasite.

I had a 2019 too, at about 2 1/2 years the auxiliary went out and took the main with it, replaced under warranty. When I traded it in both batteries seemed OK. I will probably do the same with my 2024 but was wondering if there might be any benefit to disabling the auxiliary from the git go. Thanks.

 

[MeefZah]

I have a question. Thought about starting a new thread but thought it might be better to add a subtopic to this one. I could have missed it but don’t think so.

With a brand new Wrangler, do you guys disable the auxiliary immediately or wait a couple of years for it to go bad then disable?

Pros?
Cons?

Thanks
OP - hope you don’t mind my post, if you do I will delete it.

Do it now. No reason to wait. If anything, waiting might could kill your main battery sooner. I looked at this like preventive maintenance and prolonging the life of my OEM battery. I did mine on my 2024 at maybe 500 miles or so and less than a couple weeks of ownership.

There's several monster threads discussing this with a lot of fantastic detail if you want to do a deep dive.

 

[Whiskeybiskit]

I had a 2019 too, at about 2 1/2 years the auxiliary went out and took the main with it, replaced under warranty. When I traded it in both batteries seemed OK. I will probably do the same with my 2024 but was wondering if there might be any benefit to disabling the auxiliary from the git go. Thanks.

The only benefit I could see is the main battery lasting longer without being tied to the aux. How much longer, hard to say.

 

[rickinAZ]

You don't actually need to remove the aux battery, just isolate it, as others have said. If you have a particularly finicky dealer, you can quickly reverse the setup for dealer visits.

 

[rmartino99]

I disconnected the aux negative and wrapped the $h!t out of it with electrical tape, pulled fuse 42, have had no issues for months now. The ess will still function off the main battery if you so desire, or you'll have to push the button to turn it off. I have mine permanently set to off with a smart start/stop bypass.

I did the exact same thing but my warning light still comes on, I thought diconecting battery, pulling fuse and connecting the bypass would keep light from coming on.

 

[PT's19Rubi]

I disconnected the aux. battery at the main battery's negative post. I have not yet removed fuse 42. I have no warning lights.

 

[GaJeepReLAXing]

I have a 2018 JLU bought with 48.5K. Had issues with battery almost one week to the day after I bought it… Replaced primary battery and bypassed Aux… Alarm issues came back within three days. Most of the Christmas tree alarm issues I had didn’t totally resolve after removing the aux battery. Instead, I believe, it effected the CANBUS behind the glove box. Got so bad I had to leave the glove box out and press down on the wires whenever the lights fired up.

Replaced CANBUS last week and no Christmas tree for a week now. Knock on wood… but I do think the auxiliary battery going bad has something to do with the CANBUS issues. There’s a point on the CANBUS that picks up all sensors used by aftermarket radio installers if you install a Stinger Radio. Used for their monitor screen that looks at most sensors.

Electronica are nice.. but wished I had bought the 2017 JKU with manual windows I was looking at… however … love the look of my Silver Bullet!

 

[Austin23]

If you want to run with one battery:

1) Remove the cable on the negative terminal of the main battery that does NOT have as its distal end, the body ground located under the hood, near the surface, on the passenger's front fender.
2) Wrap this loose cable in a thick sock and electric tape.
3) Pull Fuse 42.

Removal of the Aux battery is not required.

These steps are peer reviewed ones that your fellow dual AGM battery JL owners have logged 1000s of collective miles doing without a hitch.

Pulling Fuse 42, as you may appreciate, prevents the vehicle from making the Aux battery the sole source of power. With this fuse's removal all calls for power go to both batteries, of which the Aux has been, by removing it from making a complete circuit in step 1) taken out of the vehicle's electrical schematic, leaving onlythe main battery as the sole battery providing current and getting charged by the alternator.

There is extremely little to go wrong here.

That said, if you're overlanding and want to make sure you have ample power, consider "toys" like the Genesis Offroad dual battery kit https://www.genesisoffroad.com/Wrangler-JL_c_39.htmlor the Cascadia 4x4 Rubicon hood battery charger https://www.cascadia4x4.com/collect...diator-jt-vss-system-30-watt-hood-solar-panel

I used this exact method 6 months ago, and it works like a charm. Zero issues.

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