battery charger

[Reinen]

OK, I definately missed something. The charger I would be reffering to would be the one that is now under the hood. I'm wondering why that has to be under the hood and not outside on a work bench that could just as easily be plugged in with the charger cable that would run from the battery to the outside with a charger connector on it. That's the way all my cars have the trickle chargers hooked up. All that's under the hood is that tiny 2-wire coming from the outside with the wires themselves terminated to the battery. The other end just gets plugged into the charger as needed. That connector is in the grill or near the bumper out of sight. Or is this battery used for more then just a trickle charger? In that case I could see a reason for getting the charger in the engine bay as close to the battery as possible.

That's how everyone did it back in the days when battery chargers were big, metal, not waterproof and more expensive. Now battery chargers are small, waterproof and cheap. This makes mounting it in the vehicle an option for convenience and simplicity of use.

Instead of

1. Get battery charger
2. Unravel cord and plug in battery charger
3. Unravel cord and plug in Jeep
4. [CHARGE BATTERY]
5. Unplug Jeep and coil the cord
6. Unplug Charger and coil the power cord
7. Find some place to store the battery charger and bundles of cords

An internally mounted charger turns it into

1. Pull retractable cord and plug in Jeep
2. [CHARGE BATTERY]
3. Unplug Jeep and let the retractable cord retract

This makes a big difference when the Jeep sits long enough to need a trickle charger but you do drive often enough that dealing with an external battery charger every time you drive is a PIA.

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[billjr]

That's how everyone did it back in the days when battery chargers were big, metal, not waterproof and more expensive. Now battery chargers are small, waterproof and cheap. This makes mounting it in the vehicle an option for convenience and simplicity of use.

Instead of

1. Get battery charger
2. Unravel cord and plug in battery charger
3. Unravel cord and plug in Jeep
4. [CHARGE BATTERY]
5. Unplug Jeep and coil the cord
6. Unplug Charger and coil the power cord
7. Find some place to store the battery charger and bundles of cords

An internally mounted charger turns it into

1. Pull retractable cord and plug in Jeep
2. [CHARGE BATTERY]
3. Unplug Jeep and let the retractable cord retract

This makes a big difference when the Jeep sits long enough to need a trickle charger but you do drive often enough that dealing with an external battery charger every time you drive is a PIA.

OK, I understand now. I guess I need to come into 2025 more and more. Sorry I questioned the idea but then again I just wanted to know what the train of thought was and you helped me understand. I always try not to ask things I should know but I screwed up here. Thank you for replying and explaining it to me I appreciate it.

 

[Reinen]

OK, I understand now. I guess I need to come into 2025 more and more. Sorry I questioned the idea but then again I just wanted to know what the train of thought was and you helped me understand. I always try not to ask things I should know but I screwed up here. Thank you for replying and explaining it to me I appreciate it.

Nah, you didn't screw up. You just didn't see the point, asked, and now you know. Nothing bad about that.

 

[billjr]

Nah, you didn't screw up. You just didn't see the point, asked, and now you know. Nothing bad about that.

That's true and like I said I do appreciate the help.

 

[Terrymo]

That's true and like I said I do appreciate the help.

There’s no one right way to do it. The under hood temperatures are probably not doing the charger any favors. So far it has worked for me.

 

[TNriver]

It is also handy to have onboard if you park it several different places or travel. It is nice for going to a separate vacation home or using at an Airbnb on vacation.

 

[BrntWS6]

Herw is what i did. I have also disconnected the secondary battery. I dont use ESS and it was just one more thing to replace.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...arger-mount-inlet-install-lots-of-pics.44466/

 

[TNriver]

Herw is what i did. I have also disconnected the secondary battery. I dont use ESS and it was just one more thing to replace.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...arger-mount-inlet-install-lots-of-pics.44466/

I wanted to mount my 110V AC port plug somewhere near the front bumper, but I never decided on the right location with my aftermarket bumper.

I want somewhere close up at the front like your setup that is somewhat hidden.

 

[billjr]

There’s no one right way to do it. The under hood temperatures are probably not doing the charger any favors. So far it has worked for me.

Good point. Plus I'm in a bit of a different situation then most guys here. I think in my case I'm still just as well off doing it the old way for my needs. Thank you for responding, I appreciate it.

 

[billjr]

Herw is what i did. I have also disconnected the secondary battery. I dont use ESS and it was just one more thing to replace.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...arger-mount-inlet-install-lots-of-pics.44466/

Really nice job, thanks for the post.

 

[wazzabie]

According to the Battery Tender website the 1.25 amp charger works with AGM batteries. https://www.batterytender.com/blogs/battery-tender-blog/best-agm-battery-chargers

 

[wazzabie]

@wazzabie

What is really important is that the charger/maintainer you use is for use with "AGM" batteries. IF, it is not for use with AGM batteries then do not use it as it can damage an AGM battery.

Another really important point is that you do connect the charger/maintainer's leads up so the JL's "IBS Sensor" is in the mix.

Yes, many JL Owner's use an 1.5 amp AGM ready, charger / maintainer but such a low amp unit is better at maintaining an already charged up battery.....

...Whereas a 5 amp + unit AGM ready, can charge / maintain say a partially depleted battery.

I can tell you most long time JL owner's that have done their homework... and found out by hands on experience in regard to a JL ..... they use a 10 amp or greater AGM maintainer / charger. They found a 5 amp or less maintainer / charger just was not as up to the task as a 10 amp or higher amp unit.

.

I'm ok if it takes along time to charge using a 1.25 amp charger. My understanding is that the lower amp chargers are better for the battery because the higher amp chargers are more prone to causing damage. A 10amp would be faster but would it be just as safe as the 1.25 amp slow charge?

 

[Rhinebeck01]

I'm ok if it takes along time to charge using a 1.25 amp charger. My understanding is that the lower amp chargers are better for the battery because the higher amp chargers are more prone to causing damage. A 10amp would be faster but would it be just as safe as the 1.25 amp slow charge?

@wazzable

If you look back at the forum posts since 2018, you will see where many owner's came to realize / found out some the hard way... that using the small amp tender / maintainers was not the way to go.

Do know that most long time forum member's are using a 10 amp charger / maintainer and for valid reasons..

I encourage you to research about the JL and it's dual battery system and about 12v vehicle batteries.

Or, you can wait for another AI assisted post by someone (undoubtedly soon to follow this post) that breaks things down for you / explains things to you. Sorry, I don't have time to repost /regurg all the related info...

 

[Terrymo]

I'm ok if it takes along time to charge using a 1.25 amp charger. My understanding is that the lower amp chargers are better for the battery because the higher amp chargers are more prone to causing damage. A 10amp would be faster but would it be just as safe as the 1.25 amp slow charge?

A modern 10 amp charger designed for AGM batteries made by a reputable company like NOCO or CTEK is not going to harm your battery. If, for a rough example with some approximations, an 80 amp hour AGM battery is at 50% depth of discharge, a 10 amp charger may take 6 hours for the battery to reach full charge, while a 1 amp charger may take 60 hours.

 

[Flip]

@wazzabie

If you didn't know that IBS doesn't stand here for irritable bowel syndrome but rather intelligent battery sensor I would not fault you.

The charging needs you describe will only apply to your 12V battery. Off that battery's ground connection is the small IBS device , as shown on page 4 of this link https://static.oemdtc.com/NHTSA-PDF...5MDQ1NzMkbzEkZzEkdDE3NjI5MDQ2MTckajE2JGwwJGgw in the picture on the left, which also shows "a" place (IMO not the only place) that your charger's ground connection can be attached such that this IBS remains informed as to your 12V battery's state even as its charged from the external charging device you seek guidance on.

In the paragraph above this picture is the following sentence " Please note to charge through the IBS or tie negative clamp to Body/engine ground."

What this means to me is that you can attach the negative/ ground side of your charger to the point of this link's picture pointed to in purple below, or the body ground circled in orange.***

(The IBS is somewhat obscured in this picture pointed to in green, and the cable at this point has at its distal end the body ground.)

***There is more here than meets the eye IMO, is it regards attaching the charger's ground to that circled in orange. What I mean by that is while you may, if you wish, literally attached your charger's ground there, more to my point, and as you may be aware, many circuits in your vehicle use its metallic structure as a return path for electrical current: current that ends up at the point circled in orange, to then find its way back to the battery's ground via the aforementioned cable.

So attaching a charger, at least a trickle charger to pretty much any place on the vehicle with a direct connection to the battery, including the rear cargo port (by default if equipped), the ODB 2 port (by your left knee's pin 16 (hot) and 4 (ground) https://www.flexihub.com/oobd2-pinout/ or a tow harness, are all fine places to trickle charge from. This doesn't include your console's cigarette lighter plug, which is only energized when the vehicle is on.

Do though save the heavy amperage charging, including jump starting need be, for connections occurring only under the hood.

I'm going with purple.

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