What did you do TO your Gladiator today? [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS, NO GUN TALK]

[JCappy]

Yup…washed the jeep tonight, believe it or not. Getting ready for new wheels tomorrow.

I didn’t mean to piss off a few of you, but……Sorry…. It is what it is. Agree to disagree. Harmless adult conversations and trying to keep it civil.
Back to your reguarly schedule program.

One of these days I may invest in a foam cannon. I've never used one before and not real sure of the benefits. However it does look fun to use.

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[ShadowsPapa]

Just an update for you and the others that commented @WILDHOBO @ShadowsPapa @Hootbro :

I got codes read yesterday and the only one I was rockin' was P00FD; so today I will be doing some sort of variant of the Aux Battery delete. Now I have a 2020 which means that my negative cable at the main battery terminal is not the same as the for 2021 and up, so I will be mindful of that. BUT I have been watching a lot of YT videos just to get in the right headspace and the majority of them talk about bringing the positive cable from the Aux Battery back up and landing it on the Main Battery positive terminal because there is still a powerwire that goes to the PCR(?). I also see a lot of guys not removing fuse F42 and it not being an issue.

Anyone want to weigh in on those two things?

EDIT: I’m guessing that the guys on YT that are bringing the Aux Batt Positive cable back up to the Main Positive are NOT removing fuse F42 since it sounds like F42 allows Aux Batt voltage sensing to the PCR.

EDIT pt2: F42 pulled, correct negative cable pulled at Main Batt. IBS disconnected from everything for 15 minutes. Reassembled, fired right up, no ESS warning light. Gonna drive the cr@p out of it this week and if no issues I will pull the Aux Batt and all of its wiring out next weekend!

That code could be a number of things, however, since you are leaning on the side of the fence that is "disable auxiliary battery" here's some more info........

This picture shows a 2020. I am charging the AUX battery only in this picture. The yellow arrow is pointing to the GROUND cable that goes to the aux battery.

If you don't pull fuse F42, you will likely get the ESS error light. Pull it, why not??? There is no reason to not pull it and pop it into the glove box if you ever want it back again.

You can simply insulate the positive cable down below if you don't want to yank all of the wiring.
There's a dozen different ways to do it - most of them "fine", some not so much,, but that's another topic. Some do the disconnect at the top and fuse pull and simply leave the battery down there.

When I got the aux switch warning it was in fact the aux battery that had gone bad while the main was fine. No other warning lights came on. Dealer replaced under warranty. Only lasted 16 months after purchase.

For those wondering and who have seen that "aux switches unavailable" message -
When EITHER battery goes bad, it can either pull down the other battery - or not pull it down. I've dealt with many parallel and series/parallel battery setups in my life - tractors, ag equipment and so on. You can absolutely have one battery go bad and do nothing at all to the other. In our case, it can be the main that goes bad, or, it can be the aux, but when both go bad Jeep people are incorrectly convinced that it's always the aux battery because the internet told them so.
Only a true "charge and load test" can tell you for a fact. But no one ever does that (except me, maybe! LOL)

The aux switch warning ONLY MEANS low voltage. It does not mean aux battery problem, or anything else - it simply means LOW VOLTAGE. So a bad main can drop the voltage down below ~12 volts and trigger that warning.
I know this also from experience - my wife's JLU - she kept getting that warning message.
The main battery was 12.0 volts or lower (there is no aux battery in her Jeep - proof it only means low voltage and nothing more or less)

So - if you get that warning - it does mean you have low voltage.
- It could be a bad main battery
- It could be a bad aux battery
- Or, in my wife's case - she didn't drive the dumb thing long enough, far enough and frequently enough to keep that single 12v battery charged!
That aux switch warning could be
- a charging system issue,
- or that the batteries aren't being charged.

The smart thing - do some troubleshooting. Simply saying "oh, it's the aux battery" could leave you stranded dead somewhere when that main battery goes and leaves you stuck.
If you don't drive it frequently, or far and long - put a battery tender on it of some sort -
BatteryMinder, NOCO, or your choice of something else.
Don't get stuck "because the internet told you so".

 

[JCappy]

That code could be a number of things, however, since you are leaning on the side of the fence that is "disable auxiliary battery" here's some more info........

This picture shows a 2020. I am charging the AUX battery only in this picture. The yellow arrow is pointing to the GROUND cable that goes to the aux battery.

If you don't pull fuse F42, you will likely get the ESS error light. Pull it, why not??? There is no reason to not pull it and pop it into the glove box if you ever want it back again.

You can simply insulate the positive cable down below if you don't want to yank all of the wiring.
There's a dozen different ways to do it - most of them "fine", some not so much,, but that's another topic. Some do the disconnect at the top and fuse pull and simply leave the battery down there.



For those wondering and who have seen that "aux switches unavailable" message -
When EITHER battery goes bad, it can either pull down the other battery - or not pull it down. I've dealt with many parallel and series/parallel battery setups in my life - tractors, ag equipment and so on. You can absolutely have one battery go bad and do nothing at all to the other. In our case, it can be the main that goes bad, or, it can be the aux, but when both go bad Jeep people are incorrectly convinced that it's always the aux battery because the internet told them so.
Only a true "charge and load test" can tell you for a fact. But no one ever does that (except me, maybe! LOL)

The aux switch warning ONLY MEANS low voltage. It does not mean aux battery problem, or anything else - it simply means LOW VOLTAGE. So a bad main can drop the voltage down below ~12 volts and trigger that warning.
I know this also from experience - my wife's JLU - she kept getting that warning message.
The main battery was 12.0 volts or lower (there is no aux battery in her Jeep - proof it only means low voltage and nothing more or less)

So - if you get that warning - it does mean you have low voltage.
- It could be a bad main battery
- It could be a bad aux battery
- Or, in my wife's case - she didn't drive the dumb thing long enough, far enough and frequently enough to keep that single 12v battery charged!
That aux switch warning could be
- a charging system issue,
- or that the batteries aren't being charged.

The smart thing - do some troubleshooting. Simply saying "oh, it's the aux battery" could leave you stranded dead somewhere when that main battery goes and leaves you stuck.
If you don't drive it frequently, or far and long - put a battery tender on it of some sort -
BatteryMinder, NOCO, or your choice of something else.
Don't get stuck "because the internet told you so".

Great info. When my light came on I swung by the dealer. I dropped it off the next day and they spent half the day testing everything. They said it was the aux battery so I believed them. Didn't test anything myself. I drive mine at least 5 times a week to work at 15 miles each direction so hopefully that's enough to keep mine properly charged.

 

[Jeepmonster]

Not today, but yesterday. Got my JT back from the dealer's body shop (three weeks). They replaced all four doors, resprayed the hood (and new sticker), and replaced the door hinges. All under warranty. Just squeaked in - expires in May. The new clear coat made it much shinier than the rest of the body. Just glad to have it back.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Great info. When my light came on I swung by the dealer. I dropped it off the next day and they spent half the day testing everything. They said it was the aux battery so I believed them. Didn't test anything myself. I drive mine at least 5 times a week to work at 15 miles each direction so hopefully that's enough to keep mine properly charged.

You, or rather the dealer at your behest - did fine.
They have a process they must follow to warrant batteries. It includes checking the current voltage, charging the battery for a minimum of xx minutes prior to testing, then running a test using specific equipment that does load testing.
It may well have been the auxiliary battery - Jeep doesn't use the best, and if their equipment said it was bad, it was bad. Sounds like things went perfectly.

 

[WILDHOBO]

What I did to it last Friday…
View attachment 417401

Last year in the middle of all that was going on, I decided to stash the parts I have collected to make the circuit to kill the license plate lights in reverse. I had pretty much everything ready but the pins. I went ahead and bought a ready-made setup and installed it.
I discovered shortly after that the license plate lights were not working at all.
since I've got to start stripping this 22 in prep for a new one in May, I decided to take that out of my truck, and at the same time test just how far I could push myself being under it and getting up and down.
Major mistake - been sick all day since then. I'm sure it's to do with the combination of Meniere's, the lack of middle ear functionality in my left ear and other stuff. I was dizzy and woozy for hours.

But I did find the problem with the license plate lights!
They now work after taking that relay circuit out. I'll build one myself using proper size wire for the terminals and the correct crimper for the sealed terminals.
Looks to me like a combination of trouble -
The wire is too large for the terminals (could be half this size and be more than adequate)
and - likely not the proper crimp tool for sealed connectors.

The center pins aren't even used for the LED license plate lamps so the center two wires are extraneous anyway.
I'll use a very flexible silicone wire and a much smaller gauge.
I couldn't believe when I saw these wires. They just slid right out! One wasn't really even in the pin/connector.

Well, now I know my limits working under the thing - it's going to mean a faster push to clear out my shop enough to get a lift in there.

time for a four post lift in the garage. I’m getting to the point that I’m really considering it. To be able to do some of these crazy projects efficiently, it would be amazing to at least be in a seated position.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

What I did to it last Friday…
View attachment 417401

Error - (maybe by one of the many people blocking me LOL)

 

[WILDHOBO]

That code could be a number of things, however, since you are leaning on the side of the fence that is "disable auxiliary battery" here's some more info........

This picture shows a 2020. I am charging the AUX battery only in this picture. The yellow arrow is pointing to the GROUND cable that goes to the aux battery.

If you don't pull fuse F42, you will likely get the ESS error light. Pull it, why not??? There is no reason to not pull it and pop it into the glove box if you ever want it back again.

You can simply insulate the positive cable down below if you don't want to yank all of the wiring.
There's a dozen different ways to do it - most of them "fine", some not so much,, but that's another topic. Some do the disconnect at the top and fuse pull and simply leave the battery down there.



For those wondering and who have seen that "aux switches unavailable" message -
When EITHER battery goes bad, it can either pull down the other battery - or not pull it down. I've dealt with many parallel and series/parallel battery setups in my life - tractors, ag equipment and so on. You can absolutely have one battery go bad and do nothing at all to the other. In our case, it can be the main that goes bad, or, it can be the aux, but when both go bad Jeep people are incorrectly convinced that it's always the aux battery because the internet told them so.
Only a true "charge and load test" can tell you for a fact. But no one ever does that (except me, maybe! LOL)

The aux switch warning ONLY MEANS low voltage. It does not mean aux battery problem, or anything else - it simply means LOW VOLTAGE. So a bad main can drop the voltage down below ~12 volts and trigger that warning.
I know this also from experience - my wife's JLU - she kept getting that warning message.
The main battery was 12.0 volts or lower (there is no aux battery in her Jeep - proof it only means low voltage and nothing more or less)

So - if you get that warning - it does mean you have low voltage.
- It could be a bad main battery
- It could be a bad aux battery
- Or, in my wife's case - she didn't drive the dumb thing long enough, far enough and frequently enough to keep that single 12v battery charged!
That aux switch warning could be
- a charging system issue,
- or that the batteries aren't being charged.

The smart thing - do some troubleshooting. Simply saying "oh, it's the aux battery" could leave you stranded dead somewhere when that main battery goes and leaves you stuck.
If you don't drive it frequently, or far and long - put a battery tender on it of some sort -
BatteryMinder, NOCO, or your choice of something else.
Don't get stuck "because the internet told you so".

Exactly. Just because the word aux is used for battery and switches, does not align the symptom with a cause. Damn you internet!

 

[WILDHOBO]

Error - (maybe by one of the many people blocking me LOL)

Same happened to me.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Error - (maybe by one of the many people blocking me LOL)

I’ve been strongly considering this specific setup. Portable 4 post that is short enough to move around in my 9’ 11” garage.

https://www.atlasautoequipment.com/products/atexh-pro8extl-combo-fpd/

 

[Greg_L]

What did I do? Drove around aimlessly to blow the tree shit off my JT and get some break-in miles on my gears.

 

[WILDHOBO]

What did I do? Drove around aimlessly to blow the tree shit off my JT and get some break-in miles on my gears.

Solid.

My plan is to unpack it. It’s still full of crap from last weekend’s Moab trip.

 

[NXTGENAutomotive]

What grain sandpaper did you use and any reason you didn’t use the clear coat rattle can that is offered by touchupdirect in their preferred kit?
Thanks again for replying and the additional photos.

2k or 2 part clear is glossier and much, much stronger than the single stage the touch up paints provide. The factory clear and what a body shop or car painter would use is 2k clear. You can regularly buff and polish and even wet sand, but the single stage stuff you would eat it right up. It makes it just like the rest of the Jeep, if done right.

I believe a quick scuff with 220 then 1500. I’d probably spend a little more time if doing again and knock that texture down more vs just scuffing it.

 

[Minty JL]

The other day installed Dirt Road Creds High Powered Floor Light Kit in RGB

I'm just waiting for the 4pc kit

 

[Sarge502]

I'm just waiting for the 4pc kit

I was one of the first people to order it once initially announced. Then find out a few weeks later that they're going to do eventually but soon start making a 4 piece kit. Had I known that I would have waited too.

Im hoping its something that can just be added to what I have already. If not oh well.

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