Battery maintainer question

[VKSheridan]

It seems you’ve crossed a bridge that I have not. I never disconnect the batteries.

I’ve connected the maintainer right after driving (100% charged) knowing it will sit for weeks.
I’ve connected it after time has escaped me and I realize the Jeep has set for weeks.
I’ve connected it when “click” was all I’d get and took my other ride. A few days later, we’re back in business.

In fact, it was the “ESS not Ready” issue that got me to get a maintainer in the first place. Ever since, life’s been fine.

I despise ESS so I went a step further and installed an ESS Eliminator. Bypassing is an option but I still have warranty and I don’t want the dealer blaming the bypass on anything that forces me to let them under my hood. That and I hate frequently disturbing any electrical connections if I can avoid it.

I’ve never relied on a maintainer to raise the dead so I can’t speak for whether it will or not. I’ve got a jumpstart power pack for that kind of fun…. ?

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[Rock Hopper]

Found a pic I took of the plastic shielded, extension cable that drops down from the engine compartment into the wheel well.

You just tuck in the end of the cable into the frame rail. It stays in place ..... no fear it would inadvertently come out on it's own.

The cable has an easily removable, tethered, plastic cap on it... You remove cap and plug in the battery tender.. Again no need to open the hood..

When I do this I place one of these in the JL to remind me the cable is hooked up.

I do the same. Those remove before flight tags have been a lifesaver.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

For those that want to buy Wing Nuts to use..

For # 6 on the battery pic below you need M8-1.25
For #5 on the pic below you need M6-1.00

If you want quick disconnect nuts on on both, you can use a Wing Nut on one and a modded
Metric Hex Coupling Nut on the other. Do this and you can quick disconnect each when wanted and the nuts don't hit each other when loosening..

To make this.... take a stainless steel metric hex coupling nut, drill a hole in it and
then, take an aluminum nail and force it into the hole. Trim the ends on the nail and
smooth off the edges on the ends of that cut nail.

 

[nU7OuxIx]

Yes for the aux, no for the main/cranking.

I just learned this lesson the hard way:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...t-question-for-the-experts.66343/post-1785349

I’d go with a Noco-10 or better…

I have been using a NOCO Genius5 5 amp charger on mine for the past year without issue. I would say that 99% of the time, I plug it in right after parking it in the garage.

Are you saying that the 5amp version is OK if you do this, since it's just trickle charging it? If you let it sit for 2 weeks and plug it in, buy the 10 amp version, since the 5amp version can't produce a full charge?

To add, yet another variable, to the already confusing issue, what about those with 48v eTorque system? From the little I know, the 48v system is separate from the 12v system and there's nothing you can or should do to the 48v eTorque system. And those that have the 48v eTorque option, you only have the main battery to worry about.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

I have been using a NOCO Genius5 5 amp charger on mine for the past year without issue. I would say that 99% of the time, I plug it in right after parking it in the garage.

Are you saying that the 5amp version is OK if you do this, since it's just trickle charging it? If you let it sit for 2 weeks and plug it in, buy the 10 amp version, since the 5amp version can't produce a full charge?

To add, yet another variable, to the already confusing issue, what about those with 48v eTorque system? From the little I know, the 48v system is separate from the 12v system and there's nothing you can or should do to the 48v eTorque system. And those that have the 48v eTorque option, you only have the main battery to worry about.

I did it that way for 3.5 years and it was fine, but I was driving 2+ hours a day with the shitty, small stock battery. ?‍

The battery that failed on me is quite a bit bigger than stock, and a 5a trickle charge is not good enough unless you know your battery is full. I verified this with Enersys, directly. (EVIC will read 13.5-13.8 when floating. Less than that when it’s in storage/maintenance. If you see 14+, your battery is actively be charged and a trickle charger is not good enough.)

I have zero knowledge on eTorque and have no comment.

For the extra $30, I recommend Noco-10 over a Noco-5 all day. Why risk a $250 battery to save $30?

If you were to get a really big battery like Odyssey or Full River group 98 (only known to fit 3.6 Rubicon with tow package), I’d go even beyond the Noco-10; in fact, I did and went with an OBC-20a.

 

[four low]

My 2018 E-Torque 2.0T has been sitting for 6 weeks, totally out of reach ( broken ankle) so I expect it to be needing a jump, when I can get to it. I thought I understood the charging procedure, jump like a " normal " battery, since the 48 v is isolated , charged only through the BSG side , at 48 v. Then that 48v is stepped down to the 14v to the main 12v charging circuit. So, positive cable to positive on 12v battery, Negative to Negative terminal of battery, no disconnect of terminals ? I could leave a Tender on it for days too, if needed.
Thanks in advance

 

[rkwfxd]

I use a Battery Tender. I wired it into a trailer plug and just plug it into my factory towing plug on the rear bumper every time I park it.
I work from home so it is not driven every day.

 

[VKSheridan]

My 2018 E-Torque 2.0T has been sitting for 6 weeks, totally out of reach ( broken ankle) so I expect it to be needing a jump, when I can get to it. So, positive cable to positive on 12v battery, Negative to Negative terminal of battery, no disconnect of terminals ? I could leave a Tender on it for days too, if needed.
Thanks in advance

Yep, B+ to B+ and B- to B- and let it charge. Depending on your maintainer and how discharged your battery is, the maintainer might not be able to bump it back up. If you decide to help things with a jump, let it charge for five minutes minimum. I’ve heard of folks making connection and trying to crank as soon as they can get back to the cab only to discover they’re wasting their time and adding to the time needed to get enough voltage to reset the controllers…. ?

Hope your ankle’s better!

 

[four low]

Over 6 weeks not being able to either get to or even see my JL ! The garage / shop is separate from the house, about 100', snowed in, so visitation not an option yet. Hoping the YJ has done some self- assembly too.
At least getting the JL charged to run will be great
Thanks for the answer

 

[WranglerMan]

These tiny 1-2 amp lawnmower tenders are the worst you can use, buy at least a 5 amp or 10 amp smart charger for a stock setup that has that baby battery.

These tiny ones that are sold barely kick out the required 14+ volts that AGM’s want to see, I have conversed with several AGM makers over this and they all laugh when you mention a “Battery Tender”

General rule of thumb is the amp output has to be in the .20-.35% range of the aH rating of the battery for the bulk charge then you can drop to a lower float charge to maintain.

 

[Wolfy]

Lower current chargers will work just fine. They just take longer to charge. The voltage has nothing to do with the current. It will reach voltage, but is current limited. Not a problem, just slower.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

Lower current chargers will work just fine. They just take longer to charge. The voltage has nothing to do with the current. It will reach voltage, but is current limited. Not a problem, just slower.

This is incorrect. Will is right. Believe me, I had the same conviction as you and my post history reflects that… I’ve espoused the same opinion all over this forum, and then my Northstar X2 failed after 10 months.

Details here, if interested: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...t-question-for-the-experts.66343/post-1785349

I spoke directly to Enersys three times. Awesome people over there.

The high aH AGM batteries are not the lead acids we grew up with…

Noco-10 is the smallest I’d use. I gave my Deltran to my mom to use on here 1998 sedan…

 

[VKSheridan]

Amperage is flow so imagine trying to water the entire lawn with just a trickle with no worries if it will take longer…..

Will the whole lawn get watered in a day or do you merely wind up with a small soaked spot?

Without going into chemistry, newer batteries are like your lawn and require a bit more amperage to restore their electrons than their predecessors.

In simple terms, they have a shit-ton more electrons to restore in the same voltage state (hence why they’re more reliable and last longer).

Trickle them with anything less than 5 amps and it’s just like trickling when drunk, you won’t accomplish much and you’ll wind up with wet shoes.

A lot of folks swear their 5 amp maintainer works great and I suspect it does. All the way up to the day they replace their batteries because 5 amps isn’t enough to free up all the super clingy electrons as the battery ages.

Go with a NECO Genius10 maintainer and save your brain cells for the trail…..

 

[johnbyron]

I am still confused if 5amp is fine, or if 10 is the minimum. I have a NECO Genius 5 and I always charge the batteries when connected in parallel. Would that be fine or should I upgrade to the 10?

 

[VKSheridan]

I am still confused if 5amp is fine, or if 10 is the minimum. I have a NECO Genius 5 and I always charge the batteries when connected in parallel. Would that be fine or should I upgrade to the 10?

@johnbyron - A 5 amp smart-sense maintainer will work but the jury is still out on if it can preserve battery capacity. The 10 amp does better and *should* net longer battery life. Anything higher than 10 amp is fine but the extra capacity is pretty unused in most cases.

Lastly, there is no need to separate/isolate or do anything fancy when attaching the maintainer. Positive as close to the B+ post you can, Negative as close to the B- post. Just like you’d jumpstart something.

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