Permanent battery pigtail

[Sweet lil Danish]

Hey guys,

I’m pretty new to the jeep and am extra dumb when it comes to anything electrical.
What I’m wanting is to add a permanent pig tail to the exterior (or even interior) that I can hook jumper cables to or a air compressor to without having to mess around with lifting the hood and trying to get the gator clips to connect to the terminals etc.
it’s a lazy ask, but seems simple?

What I don’t know is if something like this exists as a kit already?

What gauge wire I would need ?

Should I install some type of inline fuse?

what type of connectors should I add to the pig tail ends? obviously something that has some type of protective cover, don’t want live cables just touching things.

I appreciate any helpful advice from y’all.

ideally I would like to run this to the rear of the jeep so I have battery access at both ends.

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[yokramer]

Anderson Plugs are what you are looking for. They can be easily mounted anywhere and make a good strong secure connection.

 

[jaymz]

Anderson plug with 10 or 12ga wire if you run it all the way to the back. I'd run a manually resettable circuit breaker of the appropriate rating. The only potential downside is you'll only be able to plug in to your vehicle.

Or if you have the tow package you could wire a plug to the compressor and plug it in to the trailer connector without having to run any wire to the rear.

 

[jadmt]

I use this with my 400P....works great and easier plugging into the 7pin then popping the hood....some will say they don't work but it has been flawless for me....

 

[JW-UK]

This type of kit will do what you want without having to fit new connectors to the electrical accessories. Or wire in sockets and Anderson connectors next to the jumper posts if you need both.

Search for, Remote battery post, or , Jump start post kit

Pick a rating suitable for the power needed.
I'd suggest something rated 350 Amps contiuous would be OK for short burst jump starting, placed under the hood. Carefully positioned and not fused, or with a high capacity mega fuse.

Just for running accessories, 30 or 60 Amps would probably work fine in the trunk or under the hood. Suitably fused.
If you're not familiar with auto wiring, be sure to take good advice or get it professionally fitted.

If connections are fitted externally, make sure they're protected from water and road salt.

 

[Malpaso]

At the advise of my electrician friend, I run 8ga wire to the cab into a RigRunner. It gives me Powerpole connections for a number (4) of devices. The main one is a Ham radio, but I have run a dash cam among other things off of it. I also fuse (40A) both wires at the battery, because anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

 

[Sweet lil Danish]

You guys are absolutely the best!

I think for what i'm wanting to accomplish:
I could run some 10ga wire attached directly to the battery terminals.
Run that to the rear of the jeep and terminate it into an Anderson female plug.
Then remove the gator clips off the compressor and install a male end Anderson plug.
If I am not mistaken, I could also take a set of jumper cables, remove the gator clips on one end and install and male Anderson plug.

I don't think I could fuse the wires at the battery since the jumper cables could pull a lot of amps when trying to jump another vehicle.

Am I missing anything? Again, I apologize if my questions are not very informed. I've dodged electricity ever since i was electrocuted as a teenager lol.

 

[yokramer]

You guys are absolutely the best!

I think for what i'm wanting to accomplish:
I could run some 10ga wire attached directly to the battery terminals.
Run that to the rear of the jeep and terminate it into an Anderson female plug.
Then remove the gator clips off the compressor and install a male end Anderson plug.
If I am not mistaken, I could also take a set of jumper cables, remove the gator clips on one end and install and male Anderson plug.

I don't think I could fuse the wires at the battery since the jumper cables could pull a lot of amps when trying to jump another vehicle.

Am I missing anything? Again, I apologize if my questions are not very informed. I've dodged electricity ever since i was electrocuted as a teenager lol.

That all seems reasonable, and you can always put a high amp circuit breaker on there so that way if there is an issue even when jumps starting it at least breaks the circuit rather than catching fire.

 

[THAW]

You guys are absolutely the best!

I think for what i'm wanting to accomplish:
I could run some 10ga wire attached directly to the battery terminals.
Run that to the rear of the jeep and terminate it into an Anderson female plug.
Then remove the gator clips off the compressor and install a male end Anderson plug.
If I am not mistaken, I could also take a set of jumper cables, remove the gator clips on one end and install and male Anderson plug.

I don't think I could fuse the wires at the battery since the jumper cables could pull a lot of amps when trying to jump another vehicle.

Am I missing anything? Again, I apologize if my questions are not very informed. I've dodged electricity ever since i was electrocuted as a teenager lol.

Swapping Anderson connectors onto the compressor and jumper cables is a great way to go.

But, I wouldn't have an unfused wire run all the way to the back, and I would use heavier-gauge, short-as-possible cable for jumping.

 

[Sweet lil Danish]

Swapping Anderson connectors onto the compressor and jumper cables is a great way to go.

But, I wouldn't have an unfused wire run all the way to the back, and I would use heavier-gauge, short-as-possible cable for jumping.

What's the reason for wanting shorter cables for jumping?

 

[THAW]

What's the reason for wanting shorter cables for jumping?

Lower resistance. The shorter and heavier gauge the cable, the more efficient the power transfer.

10 AWG seems very light for high-current jump starting, and the longer the run the more power lost to heat - perhaps even a dangerous amount.

 

[THAW]

Then remove the gator clips off the compressor and install a male end Anderson plug.
If I am not mistaken, I could also take a set of jumper cables, remove the gator clips on one end and install and male Anderson plug.

Maybe you already thought of it, but I should add: when I've converted devices to Anderson/Powerpole, I put a connecter on the removed portion too. That way, I can revert to the original configuration if the need arises.

 

[Sweet lil Danish]

Maybe you already thought of it, but I should add: when I've converted devices to Anderson/Powerpole, I put a connecter on the removed portion too. That way, I can revert to the original configuration if the need arises.

Ahh I was only thinking about the jeep's 4cyl engine. Good call, maybe i'll go 2 gauge.
Also, great idea adding a connector to the removed portion too. That way I can remove it and loan it to someone else, should the need arise.

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