Pull the negative?

[Fudster]

I will be gone for 6 weeks on an international trip. No option for using a battery tender (live in a highrise and no power in my parking space to plug in… the one time I do miss a single family garage). Is the best bet to just pull the negative? Thoughts?

vehicle: 2019 JLU 3.6L.

Hi David:

...just throwing this out there:

I don't suppose that your garage has access to sunlight does it? Cost and your time frame notwithstanding, there's this https://www.cascadia4x4.com/collect...diator-jt-vss-system-30-watt-hood-solar-panel.

Also, while a good slow charge might be best after your return, lugging that battery to a n apartment can be a pain. That said, while I think it's probably not an issue, we try to keep AGM batteries outside. While more a jump starter than charger, might something like this work for you?

https://typesauto.com/collections/portable-jump-starters

You could get your Rubi going after return, then drive it to do the reminder of the charge, and/or bring it to someplace with access to shore power where you could charge the batteries by hooking a charger up to the main battery while it is installed, such that the ESS battery will receive the charge as well....

For all your independent charge of the main battery, even freshly topped off, the ESS battery, sitting in the garage is going to rob it of some of its power once the two are connected. The best charge is one that allows both batteries to be charged...

...safe travels...

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[Dkretden]

Please come back and let us know if your throw any codes etc after being totally dead for 5 weeks. I would assume by then anything trying to hold anything in memory would have died as well. It will be a great test for if anyone wants to long term store a JL. I‘ll be surprised if a JL can go totally dark for that long without forgetting about something that is required.

you asked that I come back and let you know what happened. Short answer= no issues at all. Longer answer below.

a new primary battery was put in the Jeep on April 13th.

On April 25th, I disconnected the battery (as described above — pull the negative off the main, disconnect aux negative from the main clamp and isolated the negative lead from the aux battery) closed the hood and walked away.

I returned last night and today, June 2, I reconnected the battery/aux cable. Got in an tried to start it. Brake pedal was hard (vacuum?) so I likely didn’t press hard enough. Jeep didn’t start. Pressed hard on pedal, pushed start and it fired up just fine.

everything seems to work fine, including my Bluetooth connection to my iPhone. Nothing seems amiss. Took it for a 70-mile drive. All good.

many thanks to all especially @Rhinebeck01 for pointing me to the manual and the solution.

good to go.