Sponsored

disconnect battery for winter storage

modeler

Well-Known Member
First Name
d
Joined
Oct 2, 2018
Threads
42
Messages
151
Reaction score
19
Location
Toronto
Vehicle(s)
rav4
We only need one car now due to work from home, so I want to disconnect the battery to avoid it draining to dead.
I unscrew the ground pole from the main battery and test the lock and horn still there, presumably from the secondary battery for ESS.
So now I am draining the sec battery, right? so what other choices do I have without having to get to the secondary battery? I have no battery tender and not interested to get one either.

BTW on my way to the battery thing, I also open the air filter box, and one screw over the box get dropped and disappeared since. I rocked my jeep back and forth and recover nothing. where to buy a screw? where is that screw size.
Sponsored

 

WranglerMan

Well-Known Member
First Name
Will
Joined
May 8, 2018
Threads
100
Messages
3,384
Reaction score
2,693
Location
Katy Texas
Vehicle(s)
2018 Wrangler JLU Sahara
Occupation
Gas Pipeliner
Vehicle Showcase
1
A tender like a Deltran Tender plus is pretty darn inexpensive and nothing to disconnect just hook it to the positive and negative main and let it go and your JL will be happy, also if it will stay parked for an extended period I would suggest just starting it once a week to keep the fuel moving

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00068XCQU/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_x0RRFb01Q97M4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Also here is a snippet from the manual on storage, for me personally I would invest in a tender as it will save you headaches in the long run

Jeep Wrangler JL disconnect battery for winter storage AB699C19-AEA9-4E5F-AEB1-CE3913900C11
 

Gee-pah

Banned
Banned
Banned
First Name
Andy
Joined
Nov 19, 2019
Threads
59
Messages
1,658
Reaction score
1,264
Location
SanFrancisco
Vehicle(s)
JL Wrangler
We only need one car now due to work from home, so I want to disconnect the battery to avoid it draining to dead.
I unscrew the ground pole from the main battery and test the lock and horn still there, presumably from the secondary battery for ESS.
So now I am draining the sec battery, right? so what other choices do I have without having to get to the secondary battery? I have no battery tender and not interested to get one either.

BTW on my way to the battery thing, I also open the air filter box, and one screw over the box get dropped and disappeared since. I rocked my jeep back and forth and recover nothing. where to buy a screw? where is that screw size.
I think--and I may be wrong, disconnecting the ground cable from the main battery will prevent the vehicle itself from being a point of ground.

The implications for this, I believe, come in the form of an example in my simple (not factory) 4 pin trailer hitch that I installed:

The negative/ground wire from that device merely connects into a, provided with the 4 pin harness kit, self taping screw that connects to the body of the rig. At the risk of telling you that you may know, the 4 pin harness, and other devices like it that use the vehicle body as the ground/negative is capable of completing its circuit because electrons can travel through the vehicle body, to the body ground on the passenger's front quarter panel, and back to the (main) battery.

I think what you did might prevent my 4 pin harness and other current drawing things that use the vehicle's body as ground from working, but NOT prevent those appliances that have a dedicated ground wire leading back to the Power Distribution Center (PDC-that black box on top of the engine bay nearest the front passenger's seat) from operating. And in your case the power your provided those items seems to have come from both batteries, not just the ESS/Aux one.

I'm with @WranglerMan here. The best play IMHO here is a trickle charger as even untapped batteries will, due to natural processes, lose some charge with time. But if you want to go the "disconnect the batteries route," assuming you have a 3.6L JL you need to do two things:

1) Disconnect all cables from the main battery's negative terminal, (which will still leave power on the ESS/Aux battery so step 2 is needed) and
2) Disconnect the cable from the main battery's negative group of cables that is closer to the passenger's side of the vehicle. This cable is the one that comes from the negative side of the ESS/Aux battery.

The other factory cable the forms the group of cables attached to the negative side of the main battery is the battery side of the ground you seem to have disconnected.

As it regards the air filter screw--is there another screw like it you can undo to take as a sample to someone to match it?
 

Gee-pah

Banned
Banned
Banned
First Name
Andy
Joined
Nov 19, 2019
Threads
59
Messages
1,658
Reaction score
1,264
Location
SanFrancisco
Vehicle(s)
JL Wrangler
We only need one car now due to work from home, so I want to disconnect the battery to avoid it draining to dead.
I unscrew the ground pole from the main battery and test the lock and horn still there, presumably from the secondary battery for ESS.
So now I am draining the sec battery, right? so what other choices do I have without having to get to the secondary battery? I have no battery tender and not interested to get one either.

BTW on my way to the battery thing, I also open the air filter box, and one screw over the box get dropped and disappeared since. I rocked my jeep back and forth and recover nothing. where to buy a screw? where is that screw size.
If you don't want to use a battery tender, or lack access to A/C power, would you consider using a solar trickle or full solar charger? The latter's not cheap.
 

redracer

Well-Known Member
First Name
Robert
Joined
Aug 22, 2017
Threads
20
Messages
558
Reaction score
619
Location
Manteca, CA
Vehicle(s)
2023 4xe Rubicon
There is a writeup here somewhere about how to isolate the batteries.... but in short, disconnect the other negative cable from the top of the battery clamp in addition to the clamp itself. There are two cables on top of the battery clamp, one goes to the body ground, the other to the Aux battery. I believe that it is the one off to the side of the smart charge module on the battery clamp.
 

Sponsored

Gee-pah

Banned
Banned
Banned
First Name
Andy
Joined
Nov 19, 2019
Threads
59
Messages
1,658
Reaction score
1,264
Location
SanFrancisco
Vehicle(s)
JL Wrangler
There is a writeup here somewhere about how to isolate the batteries.... but in short, disconnect the other negative cable from the top of the battery clamp in addition to the clamp itself. There are two cables on top of the battery clamp, one goes to the body ground, the other to the Aux battery. I believe that it is the one off to the side of the smart charge module on the battery clamp.
Robert: good intentions noted, yeah, that writeup you refer to was, among other places, about ...3 posts above.

...not that we all haven't at time posted into a thread 411 already discussed there, but far more importantly, having just read yours, knowing how to do this, I found yours hard to follow.

..disconnect the "other..."

...."it" is the one off to the side of the smart charger (A.K.A IBS)

what's the "other," what's the "it"...?

Here's where I think a diagram that wasn't necessary prior to your post may now be required:
Jeep Wrangler JL disconnect battery for winter storage 1605322089677
 

SouthCo

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
Jan 12, 2019
Threads
7
Messages
573
Reaction score
556
Location
MD
Vehicle(s)
2018 JLU Billet Silver Sahara
If you can't disconnect both batteries and don't want to buy a battery tender, another option is driving it.... Why the opposition to getting a battery tender? They are cheap...
 

cnyjl

Well-Known Member
First Name
Curt
Joined
Nov 12, 2017
Threads
14
Messages
384
Reaction score
511
Location
Central New York
Vehicle(s)
2018 Billet JLUR, 2019 Ram Rebel Crew, 2019 HD FLTRXS, 2018 HD FLFBS ANV
We only need one car now due to work from home, so I want to disconnect the battery to avoid it draining to dead.
I unscrew the ground pole from the main battery and test the lock and horn still there, presumably from the secondary battery for ESS.
So now I am draining the sec battery, right? so what other choices do I have without having to get to the secondary battery? I have no battery tender and not interested to get one either.

BTW on my way to the battery thing, I also open the air filter box, and one screw over the box get dropped and disappeared since. I rocked my jeep back and forth and recover nothing. where to buy a screw? where is that screw size.
Here's a quadratec link on the air box screw. The mopar number is listed so any dealer could get it for you if they don't already stock it.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/mopar/a...NPoOYuqNm42IdpKjgnc2qnGDMK3hjsckaAs40EALw_wcB
 

Gee-pah

Banned
Banned
Banned
First Name
Andy
Joined
Nov 19, 2019
Threads
59
Messages
1,658
Reaction score
1,264
Location
SanFrancisco
Vehicle(s)
JL Wrangler
If you can't disconnect both batteries and don't want to buy a battery tender, another option is driving it.... Why the opposition to getting a battery tender? They are cheap...
Maybe not for the op Steve, but lack of access to shore power...in which case there are solar charges...low and high end....

high end JL Rubi

high end non JL Rubi

low end
 

redracer

Well-Known Member
First Name
Robert
Joined
Aug 22, 2017
Threads
20
Messages
558
Reaction score
619
Location
Manteca, CA
Vehicle(s)
2023 4xe Rubicon
Robert: good intentions noted, yeah, that writeup you refer to was, among other places, about ...3 posts above.

...not that we all haven't at time posted into a thread 411 already discussed there, but far more importantly, having just read yours, knowing how to do this, I found yours hard to follow.

..disconnect the "other..."

...."it" is the one off to the side of the smart charger (A.K.A IBS)

what's the "other," what's the "it"...?

Here's where I think a diagram that wasn't necessary prior to your post may now be required:
Jeep Wrangler JL disconnect battery for winter storage 1605322089677
Yes, I can be the king of vagueness. That's my super power. ... But I wasn't wrong.
 

Sponsored

Jebiruph

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jerry
Joined
Feb 18, 2018
Threads
56
Messages
2,133
Reaction score
2,711
Location
Iowa
Vehicle(s)
2018 JLU, 2019 KL, 2020 JT
Robert: good intentions noted, yeah, that writeup you refer to was, among other places, about ...3 posts above.

...not that we all haven't at time posted into a thread 411 already discussed there, but far more importantly, having just read yours, knowing how to do this, I found yours hard to follow.

..disconnect the "other..."

...."it" is the one off to the side of the smart charger (A.K.A IBS)

what's the "other," what's the "it"...?

Here's where I think a diagram that wasn't necessary prior to your post may now be required:
Jeep Wrangler JL disconnect battery for winter storage 1605322089677
It would be better to leave the IBS connected to the battery so it maintains the battery status. Just disconnect both cables.
 

Gee-pah

Banned
Banned
Banned
First Name
Andy
Joined
Nov 19, 2019
Threads
59
Messages
1,658
Reaction score
1,264
Location
SanFrancisco
Vehicle(s)
JL Wrangler
I posted about solar chargers prior. The one that is cheaper and merely a trickle charger cannot connect into the front dash cigarette lighter plug and be expected to work while the vehicle is parked.

It could be plugged into the cigarette lighter plug in the cargo area of those JLs equipped with this plug (and that plug hasn't changed from its factory settings).

The dash plug is energized in the "accessory" or "switched" fashion. It provides power when the vehicle's starter button is in the "on" position.

The cargo plug is energized in the "battery" or "non-switched fashion." From the factory (although changeable to accessory/switched with the flip of a fuse as per the owner's manual) it is always on.
 
OP
OP

modeler

Well-Known Member
First Name
d
Joined
Oct 2, 2018
Threads
42
Messages
151
Reaction score
19
Location
Toronto
Vehicle(s)
rav4
Succesfully disconnect the wire, Jeep over torque the screw connects two wire. And Wow, a lot of sparks on the connector btw ground and second battery, something must be running to cause the spark. Interesting.

I didn't want batt tender simply don't want another thing in garage, and don't want to drag extension cord over to trip my son or some one.

Probably will charge the battery once with my smart charger to make sure both battery is up to state.
Sponsored

 
 



Top