Where is the aux battery?

[1550jrit]

I absolutely charged both new batteries on a proper AGM charger, picked that tip up from you! Thanks for the assistance!!

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[ecidiego]

There's a far better video out there of a guy doing it through the fender and proving you don't need to pull the liner out like most do.

I pull the liner out, takes 5 min or less. You do need 3 new rivets every time though. The whole fender off method I did once - broke every single clip and they're more expensive than the rivets for the liner.

I had the fuse box off ONCE and once only, firewall grommet nipple. It's insane that people go that route for the battery.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I pull the liner out, takes 5 min or less. You do need 3 new rivets every time though. The whole fender off method I did once - broke every single clip and they're more expensive than the rivets for the liner.

I had the fuse box off ONCE and once only, firewall grommet nipple. It's insane that people go that route for the battery.

Yeah, but if you are like me, you buy a bag of those rivets on Amazon and maybe have a HF POM rivet tool so it's no big deal at all.
Every Jeep owner should have a few POM rivets and "christmas tree" push in fasteners. Lucky for me, AMC used a lot of those, too LOL

 

[ecidiego]

Yeah, but if you are like me, you buy a bag of those rivets on Amazon and maybe have a HF POM rivet tool so it's no big deal at all.
Every Jeep owner should have a few POM rivets and "christmas tree" push in fasteners. Lucky for me, AMC used a lot of those, too LOL

I've got the bitchen tool but have only been buying the OEM rivets which are a fortune - which alternatives are you using?

 

[ecidiego]

One thing to remember on the rivets for people who haven't done it - you don't need to remove all of them, only the ones that go through a closed hole in the liner. Several of the liner holes are half moons and the liner slips right around them.

 

[markbxr400]

I pulled mine from the top today. Thought I was having some issues so ordered both batteries. Last of the two arrived yesterday. I put in in the back of my Gladiator to take out to my barn, and Jeep wouldn't start. Windshield wipers started running very slowly, screen said Truck was not in Park, and that my steering system had failed.
I just bought the truck (2020 Sport, 3.6) with 71,000 miles on it a couple of months ago. Had noticed sometimes it took 2-3 tries for the engine to start. It had a relatively new main battery.
Anyway, put a voltmeter on the main battery - 5 volts. Separated the cable for the aux battery - 4.6 volts.
Wasn't hard going through the top, did have to fight getting the connectors off the fuse box, which resulted in my hands looking like ground beef, but otherwise went very quickly. I fully charged both batteries over night before tackling it today.
Odd things:
1. My auto start light was on when I bought the truck. Dealer told me previous owner had doe something to disconnect it. I was great with this. With the new aux battery, the autostart is back to functioning, so I guess I'll pull the hood switch.
2. The headlights had been replaced with LED with the LED color rings - rings have never worked. When I installed the aux battery, the rings started working, without the main battery. I could find no switch to disable them. Don't want them and suspect maybe they are what took the aux battery out. So I pulled the inline fuse.
3. The Amp Research running boards initially worked on the drivers side (always worked on the passenger side), but started getting fluky and then stopped altogether. I could hear the actuator functioning when I opened the door and then again 5 seconds after closing it. Now they work.

Now onto death wobble. Truck occasionally had the shaky steering at about 45-50 mph. This past Monday, full on death wobble.

 

[ecidiego]

It's not that the fuse box is 'hard'....it's that risk of damage is HIGH compared to fender.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

And that's why I won't do the more risky, more potentially complex through the top method. Especially when the side, through the fender/wheel opening area is no risk at all and quite easy.
Troubleshooting electrical issues that are MAN-MADE (OWNER-made) is far far more difficult than troubleshooting natural happenings.

I see you charged both batteries - I'll assume that you had the IBS off for several minutes (almost impossible not to in your case) as well. That way it starts over with the new batteries that are fully charged.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I've got the bitchen tool but have only been buying the OEM rivets which are a fortune - which alternatives are you using?

These aren't perfect - head size is a bit difference, but this is what I used for the splash guards and certain other areas -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D6JXC4Q

 

[markbxr400]

And that's why I won't do the more risky, more potentially complex through the top method. Especially when the side, through the fender/wheel opening area is no risk at all and quite easy.
Troubleshooting electrical issues that are MAN-MADE (OWNER-made) is far far more difficult than troubleshooting natural happenings.

I see you charged both batteries - I'll assume that you had the IBS off for several minutes (almost impossible not to in your case) as well. That way it starts over with the new batteries that are fully charged.

Yep, I had the IBS disconnected for probably just over an hour. Took about an hour and a half to do the whole job.

I had a secondary reason for going through the top. The previous owner had made some mods to the truck. And as I had mentioned, the Autostart had been disabled somehow. I wanted to be able to trace the wiring that had been added to see how things were put together. Hopefully won't have to go back in for a couple of years.

 

[TTU03]

Today, I'm going to try and reseat the aux battery tray so I can get the third bolt back in haha!.

Just saw this as I had the same issue. The cover would not sit flush due to the terminal cables laying on top of the aux battery, created a bulge. Did you ever get your tray to sit flush?

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