Remove Auxiliary Battery

[jdhunt0]

I'm am sure there is a thread on this, but my search has let me down on finding a current one.

I want to replace my main battery and while it is out go ahead and remove the auxiliary battery completely.

What is the best way to do this? Simply remove the battery and tie the cables that went to it back the my main battery or there a better option?

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[redracer]

I finally just did this a few weeks ago. I had the aux battery bypassed for years, until I was bored enough to just rip it out.

The best way to remove the aux is by pulling the passenger fender. then you can unbolt the battery box from below and pull out the aux battery.

I didn't like the look of the battery cables hanging around, so I went ahead and removed the aux battery harness entirely, including the PCR. It is taped into other harnesses at two points, but with some careful cutting of said tape, it will separate completely and come out as one harness. It cleans up this area quite nicely.

 

[jdhunt0]

I don't think I have any extra clips for the fender in case I break some. I have to remove the main battery anyway to replace it, is going through the fender still the best option?

If you removed the aux battery and all the cables going to it, does anything else need to be done? I have seen posts about jumpers and pulling fuses.

 

[redracer]

You could go through the top, but the aux battery isn't really underneath the main battery, it's under the fuse panel. You will have to completly remove the fuse panel and push aside the harness connectors to get to the top of the aux battery.

 

[jthoms1]

Here you go -
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ent-the-easy-way-pull-the-fender-flare.56807/

 

[Fudster]

I don't think I have any extra clips for the fender in case I break some. I have to remove the main battery anyway to replace it, is going through the fender still the best option?

If you removed the aux battery and all the cables going to it, does anything else need to be done? I have seen posts about jumpers and pulling fuses.

How much in a rush are you? You could disconnect the Auxiliary battery now, and then remove it once you have some extra fender clips on hand.

I don't recommend it but you can get to the battery from above. To see how, go to Youtube and search "How TO Replace the Main and Auxiliary Battery on a Jeep JL Wrangler and JT Gladiator Truck" to see how.

To disconnect the Aux battery without removing it, remove one of the two black cables on the main battery's negative post as follows: Locate the body ground on the passenger's side front quarter panel. Trace that cable back to the negative post of the main battery. That's the factory cable you leave ATTACHED. You disconnect the OTHER black cable, whose other end connects to the negative terminal of the Aux battery.

If you follow https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/jumperless-aux-battery-bypass.95945/ the Fuse 42 pull instructions here you won't get any errors on the dash, but you should turn off ESS, either by pressing the button or buying tech to do it for you (Startstop start, JL Tazer.) There's another older technique involving a fused jumper of connections N1 and N2 in the Power Distribution Center (PDC) https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/3-6l-ess-aux-battery-bypass.17293/ instead of pulling fuse F42.

If you don't pull the fuse or install the jumper the behavior for the 2019 you own should be such that when you try to crank you'll fail after removing that cable. But on second and subsequent cranks the vehicle should crank off of the main battery, and if successful, turn on the ESS off light in the dash.

If you don't mind that idiot light in the dash then it's a way to automatically turn off the ESS, just as recommended when running with one battery. The vehicle will not turn ESS back on until the cold crank after a working ESS battery is once again connected.

I wouldn't yank the Aux battery until you have fender clips. I wouldn't yank the battery from above, much that it will prevent you from breaking clips, simply because anything that breaks with a above based removal is apt to be far more expensive to replace---much that I did it that way.

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