Single battery conversion?

[4S50]

I'm going to convert mine tomorrow. I figure if I leave it as is and just reroute the AUX battery cable to the main that way I can always go back to the AUX if I need to put it in for service. I purchase Optima DH6 Yellow Top to replace the factory main battery.

That was my thinking as well. I was able to cut the ‘ears’ off of the aux battery negative cable and bolt it to one of the ground lugs on the passenger innner fender. It can easily be attached to an aux battery again if need be. The positive cable I just bolted to the positive cable on the main battery.

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[dcmdon]

Eliminating the ESS battery and rewiring to run off one battery will not stop ESS from functioning. It will create a warranty problem if you have any electrical issues. The primary purpose of the ESS battery is to keep the computers stable during ESS events. Running with the ESS on using just one battery creates the risk of the computers rebooting or halting from low voltage and leaving you temporarily stranded.

While your truck is under warranty, there is no reason to go to a single battery setup. FCA will just keep replacing batteries for free.

 

[JTDay]

That was my thinking as well. I was able to cut the ‘ears’ off of the aux battery negative cable and bolt it to one of the ground lugs on the passenger innner fender. It can easily be attached to an aux battery again if need be. The positive cable I just bolted to the positive cable on the main battery.

What was your reasoning for connecting the Aux (-) to the ground lug instead of taping it up like other have done? Just curious.

 

[jeepmojo]

This is very confusing it seems no one truly details how to delete the aux battery completely some are bolting - to a lug and some are taping and some are re routing + it totally sucks the only thing I understand is pull the fuse 42 and what? I don’t use stop start ever anyway and mine is a six speed if that matters or not but wish some one would explain this removing neg and what about the pos wire on main battery does that feed the aux battery ???? Like I say people keep complicating the dam thing. Can’t some one make a good clear video of how to remover the dam aux battery and then explain what to do with the wires .

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This is very confusing it seems no one truly details how to delete the aux battery completely some are bolting - to a lug and some are taping and some are re routing + it totally sucks the only thing I understand is pull the fuse 42 and what? I don’t use stop start ever anyway and mine is a six speed if that matters or not but wish some one would explain this removing neg and what about the pos wire on main battery does that feed the aux battery ???? Like I say people keep complicating the dam thing. Can’t some one make a good clear video of how to remover the dam aux battery and then explain what to do with the wires .

It's really simple. Pull that fuse and the system can't check the health of the aux battery during a big button start. Remove the aux battery's ground cable from the top of the IBS (which cable depends on if it's a 2020 or a 2021 and later) and tape it up. There, done.
If you want to do more, you can take the battery out, but tape up the -positive cable you removed from the aux battery so it can't possibly ever ground.

Many pull the fuse and simply disconnect the aux ground cable - DISCONNECT, don't move it) so that if necessary, they can hook it back up fast for a warranty trip to the dealer. Then when done, get home, pull the fuse, disconnect that aux ground cable and tape it up so it can't hit ground - done.
Why anyone would take the aux battery ground off and then put it on a stud is not logical - I can't see that, you are not accomplishing anything.

Jerry has done great work showing how to do a simple "aux battery bypass" in two easy steps in OTHER threads. Pull fuse, disconnect ground, tape it up, done.

 

[trust]

Ok, mine was a no start this morning and I want/need to delete the sucker battery (aux) from the system, iis there an easy way to tell if my main battery has been damaged and needs replacing? Also, which ground cable is the aux battery ground on a 2020?

thanks gents

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Ok, mine was a no start this morning and I want/need to delete the sucker battery (aux) from the system, iis there an easy way to tell if my main battery has been damaged and needs replacing? Also, which ground cable is the aux battery ground on a 2020?

thanks gents

How do you know it's not the main battery that's bad? Because the internet says so?

People believe a few hollering about the aux being the issue when in truth, the main fails just as often.
The proof is in the 4xe Jeeps - they keep losing 12v batteries and they have only ONE battery.
Quite a few people here have had the main battery go bad first. it's pretty much an even split.

It's extremely possible on a 2020 your main battery is just as bad, maybe even the main issue. It's 3 years old. So it's suspect. 3 years is a long time under certain conditions - especially if it's not driven every day, or not driven often enough LONG enough to keep the batteries charged.

On a 2020, the aux battery cable is the one that's on top of the cable with the larger end that attaches to the IBS on the main battery.
The aux battery ground has the smaller end on it on 2020.

You can't just tell anything without attempting to charge each battery with a proper AGM battery charger, and test it. Can't test a dead battery or one that's even low. It's got to be above 12.4 volts to properly test.

So I suggest you not blame based on info on the web and forums out there.
Be logical and know either or both could be bad. Either could have failed first.
Charge the batteries. Check voltage after a full charge (takes hours, not minutes)
Had them load tested once fully charged.
Go from there.
On something that old, it's best to replace both anyway.

 

[trust]

thanks Papa, all true, I was assuming it was the aux battery based on size, my experience with batteries in the past and internet experience, I should know better. My intent was to pull the aux out and put them both on chargers before seeing if I can find someone here that can do a load test and go from there, I was just hoping to forestall a new battery purchase if I could. I would hope I could get more than 3 years out of a battery in a new vehicle I got near 10 out of the Diehard in my scrambler and it was actually still working, just causing some confusion in the EFI

Now to figure out access to the aux battery

 

[Mr._Bill]

thanks Papa, all true, I was assuming it was the aux battery based on size, my experience with batteries in the past and internet experience, I should know better. My intent was to pull the aux out and put them both on chargers before seeing if I can find someone here that can do a load test and go from there, I was just hoping to forestall a new battery purchase if I could. I would hope I could get more than 3 years out of a battery in a new vehicle I got near 10 out of the Diehard in my scrambler and it was actually still working, just causing some confusion in the EFI

Now to figure out access to the aux battery

There's like six push pins and two bolts underneath that come out and then the fender liner can be peeled back far enough (without removing it) to reach the Aux battery from the bottom.

Between the constant parasitic load and the heat in the engine bay, the AGM batteries on the JT/JL only average about three years. My main battery failed first at about 40 months old, and the Aux battery about six months later. I haven't got the Aux battery replaced, yet. It failed in a way that does not drain the main battery, and I get the ESS unavailable message every time I start it.

 

[Minty JL]

A bunch of videos on YT about this.

With the Tazr you can disabled it in the settings, not the just the live function

 

[LostWoods]

A bunch of videos on YT about this.

With the Tazr you can disabled it in the settings, not the just the live function

Where is that setting because I only saw the live function in the guide.

 

[sharpsicle]

A bunch of videos on YT about this.

With the Tazr you can disabled it in the settings, not the just the live function

Yeah no, there’s just it remembering the last setting of the button. That’s all there is.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

A bunch of videos on YT about this.

With the Tazr you can disabled it in the settings, not the just the live function

Live function only. Take the tazer out and it reverts back.
There is no way short of hardware to disable it.
Tazer tricks the system by saying you pressed the button to disable it shortly after each time you start the truck.

Yeah no, there’s just it remembering the last setting of the button. That’s all there is.

Basically that's it.

Where is that setting because I only saw the live function in the guide.

It doesn't exist. It's a tazer function while tazer is there.
If it was at all possible JSCAN or AlfaOBD or anyone else would be doing it.
Instead it takes tazer or a piece of electronic hardware that has a timer that after you start the vehicle, it starts a short count, then momentarily closes that switch circuit telling the PCM that you pressed the button.

 

[Flyboy2109]

I have done this very thing with a smart stop module. I will eventually buy a larger battery when the original fails. Meanwhile, doing great with this mod, Aux Batt sitting in my basement.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I have done this very thing with a smart stop module. I will eventually buy a larger battery when the original fails. Meanwhile, doing great with this mod, Aux Batt sitting in my basement.

What options do you have? If you have aux switches, you already have the largest physical size. All you could do is add CCA or amp hours with a "better battery".
There's no room at all on mine for a larger battery physically speaking. If there was, I'd be all over it even with the aux battery in place.
I'll look for a battery with higher capacity (amp hours, don't give a rip about CCA, these things kick over so easily and start instantly)

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