Alternator wiring check. ESS Issue

[Circuitous]

Hello everyone,
Just a heads up, i was looking over my engine bay because of an ESS issue and i just happen to find that my wire from the alternator to the fuse box was rubbing on the idler pulley. 2 of the plastic mounting clips had failed and caused the wire to fall onto the pulley. It is an easy fix, just a crap design. This will of course cause issues with the ESS. I have had mine turned off and never used my ESS, from day one with a Tazer. Its around $60 online for a replacement. Thankfully its not attached to any other wires or in a loom.

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[ShadowsPapa]

Once again, the ESS system comes through as a warning of bigger problems ahead.

I wouldn't call it a crap design, I'd be wondering why you had such a failure when those clips will normally go for decades, 50 years, and still hold tight.
I'm using clips from a 30 year old Jeep on my cars to hold wiring and heater hoses in place - they aren't brittle or even close to failure.

So - why did yours fail?

I don't know if the 2020 is different than a 2025, but my 25 Mojave, I could lose ANY two of the retainers/clips, and the harness is still too short and stiff to fall against an idler. If I remove clips, it would likely maintain the factory path and not move much at all.
I looked and looked, and I would bet that mine would barely even reach an idler with 3 clips removed.
So - what changed? I don't believe mine would even reach an idler, it's so stiff and not really all that long.
Mine has 4 retainers between the alternator and where the harness passes the battery, then another one at the battery.

But most of all - Why did your clips fail?
What part failed?
Do you have an engine mount issue?
Has it been run hot?

(of course, when something breaks, it's always a "bad design" )

 

[Circuitous]

Well yes it is a crap design because when 2 of the clips failed it was able to fall onto the idler. Thats not good. Apparently it is a length issue with the 19-23' models. Looks like they changed it for 24'. Even with the 2 upper clips still on (heater hose and next to the alternator) it would hang almost midway down the idler pulley. It could have just been an issue with the clips themselves during manufacturing. No engine mount issues, never been hot.

 

[sharpsicle]

Wow, that's a scary sight.

But, as Bill mentioned above, that's got nothing to do with ESS. It's an edge case failure and while I agree that is a shocking discovery (no pun intended), it's not an indication of a design fault. It's simply a rare failure that occurred to you.

Much like how a single failing engine mount can damage a ton of other things; that's not indicative of a bad design on the engine mount but just the result of a component failure.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Wow, that's a scary sight.


Much like how a single failing engine mount can damage a ton of other things; that's not indicative of a bad design on the engine mount but just the result of a component failure.

Rare failure, I'd bet.

Only a parts look-up would tell if the harness is the same on 2020 vs. 2025, but there's not enough extra length on mine to get into any trouble should all of the clips fail between the alternator and the battery area.

It would be very interesting to know exactly WHAT failed and how it failed.
Then perhaps a cause of the failure could be found (has the Jeep ever been in for service, accessories added like a winch, lights and so on) and people could check the exact parts and location of each part that failed to see if theirs is presenting a possible issue.

 

[Hootbro]

These guys can fab you a cable for way cheaper than $60. May have to peen over a terminal end for the 90 degree hook up at the fuse array.

https://www.batterycablesusa.com/battery-cables

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