No broken fender clips to replace aux ess battery

[Jeepin' John]

I just had to replace my aux battery for the ess system, so i watched the videos and read the threads. Some are saying that breaking fender clips is inevitable, and that you start by yanking at the back bottom edge of the fender.

I found that you can get to the back of these clips with needle-nose pliers so that they slide right out with no yanking. As soon as you get these first few started, you can pull the fender out slightly and reach the back of the ones on the top of the fender. A little tight as you work toward the front, but do-able with some patience. Not one broken clip this way.

For the battery studs, a 4mm socket works fine. These aren't crazy tight and a 6-point 4mm didn't damage them

It's a pretty reasonable DIY job for those that are somewhat handy and don't love taking their jeep to the dealer. Pulling the fender looks worse than it is. Happy jeepin'!

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[Jay Gatsby]

Good to hear as I'm sure most of us will eventually be doing this. So patience is the key! Which aux battery did you end up going with?

 

[Jeepin' John]

Good to hear as I'm sure most of us will eventually be doing this. So patience is the key! Which aux battery did you end up going with?

Yep! Not bad. I went with the Super Start Platinum from Oreilly

 

[Jay Gatsby]

How's your main battery? Did you load test it? Seems like people are replacing both when one goes bad.

 

[Jeepin' John]

How's your main battery? Did you load test it? Seems like people are replacing both when one goes bad.

Did not test the main, but caught the aux battery going down quick. Have had no problems cranking etc otherwise so i'm winging it only changing the aux

 

[Mac]

Great info, thanks for posting it. I have already decided if I need to replace my main or aux battery I will just buy it and do it myself even if still under warranty.

 

[Casique]

Would the dual battery kit from Genesis Off-road cure this issue with the back up battery fail issue for good?

https://www.genesisoffroad.com/jt-dual-battery-kit

 

[93civej1]

i dont understand why you removed the whole fender. You could have just removed the inner liner instead and just replaced the couple plastic rivets? Seems much easier. Only thinking here.

 

[FutureOdin]

Long needle nose pliers are a must. I watched a video of one of the major retailers installing LEDs in the fenders, and they just say "just be forceful, jerk it upwards and out" or something along those lines.

DO. NOT. DO. THAT. You WILL break the clips. I found that out the hard way. Then I stuck my head in there and realized you can just pinch the back with needle nose pliers. Ugh...

 

[Jeepin' John]

i dont understand why you removed the whole fender. You could have just removed the inner liner instead and just replaced the couple plastic rivets? Seems much easier. Only thinking here.

The fender comes off in 10 min without needing to replace anything. It's really quick - this is more of a "don't yank on your fender when removing it" post to avoid ordering fender clips

 

[Jeepin' John]

How's your main battery? Did you load test it? Seems like people are replacing both when one goes bad.

Well, add me to that group now! Main battery started showing 12V while driving. New duralast main just went in today and i'm over 14V driving again. Main battery happy, aux battery happy, alternator working fine, ess working like a champ. But yep, add me to the had to replace both roughly at the same time group

 

[jaburk67]

This seems like a simpler solution.

 

[Kitfoxbill]

Was the battery still under warranty? I believe they have a 36 month warranty.

 

[dcmdon]

Would the dual battery kit from Genesis Off-road cure this issue with the back up battery fail issue for good?

https://www.genesisoffroad.com/jt-dual-battery-kit

Yes. For $1000. (Assumes $200/battery, which is pretty low)

 

[IamPro2A]

This seems like a simpler solution.

It's not.

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