JL JOURNAL : HOW TO Replace Main & Auxiliary Battery on a JL Wrangler / JT Gladiator

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
JL JOURNAL : HOW TO Replace Main & Auxiliary Battery on a JL Wrangler / JT Gladiator

Having your Jeep battery die really isn’t that big of a deal, especially if you have a set of jumper cables handy and another vehicle near by that's willing to help out. But, what do you do if you're out in the middle of nowhere and all alone? That just happened to Cindy and I and if you can believe it, on our Jeep JL Wrangler that's only about two years old! Fortunately, we did have our super compact, Type S Jump Starter with us and that was able to get us going again. However, once we got home, we discovered that our battery still wasn't holding a charge or at least, not enough to fire up the engine. All the lights worked, the radio played, windows opened and closed and even the dash lit up just fine - there just wasn't enough juice to get it to get it to crank.

Well, as some of you may or may not know, the Jeep JL Wrangler and JT Gladiator Truck has two batteries under the hood - a large traditional size battery that's used for cranking the engine and a smaller auxiliary one that powers everything else, including a relay that connects the two batteries together for cranking. Needless to say, even if your main battery wasn't dead, you could still have problems starting your engine if your auxiliary battery is dead or dying. I should note that we were actually seeing strange messages on the dash EVIC including one for, Aux Switches being temporarily disabled due to "Battery Charging" and another saying, "Service Shifter". So, when it comes time to replace one, you're more than likely going to need to replace both and for us, we decided to use the opportunity to upgrade our main battery to an Odyssey. I wish we could have upgraded our auxiliary one too but there really isn't a whole lot to choose from and so I just got a Super Start Platinum from my local O'Reilly Auto Parts Store. In this video, you'll get to see just how easy it is to replace the main battery AND what all you'll need to do to replace the auxiliary one. We hope it helps you out.


Type S Jump Starter: https://amzn.to/31fyFRI
Odyssey Battery 48-720: https://amzn.to/3eB8FmU
Milwaukee Cordless Ratchet: https://amzn.to/3fLGao3
Tekton Torx/E-Sockets: https://amzn.to/3jpCvhB

#wayalife #odysseybattery #oreilly #milwaukee #tekton
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
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JTCO

Meme King
What a pain in the ass. Thanks for the detailed video. I hope I don't have to deal with this anytime soon. I carry a jump starter just like that one in the beginning of the video just in case.
 

BJL

New member
Dead Bat

Yep just had to replace my main bat two weeks ago. It’s a 2018 rubi. Didn’t replace the Aux but I will soon after watching this video. Thanks for the info!!
 

Richamby

New member
Thank you the video and the heads up to be prepared. I’ll order a Type S charger. Thanks again for effort you and Cindy put into these videos.
 

DavidDJL69

Member
Hey Eddie. Thanks for the critically important video. Just wondering...could you have had the OEM battery replaced under warranty or are you past 36k? Thanks for posting, as is your custom, the necessary links. Much appreciated.


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RanchoRubi

Member
Thank you a Eddie. Great instructional video. Hopefully I am a bit away from battery replacement on my2020, but as much as I love my JL I’ve been thinking that all that extra electronic stuff like the aux battery is gonna be tougher to deal with than my Jk. Guess I gotta accept the tough with the better stuff I get.


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stragler

New member
stragler

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Thanks Eddy and yes your video is very helpful. My JL is a year old this month and to think that my batteries may only last another year is to say at the least dishearting but now I will know how to change them out when the time comes.
 

KSCRUDE

New member
What a total piece of shit Whap and Jew has engineered there. Total unneeded dog shit. My Jk only needs one battery, why does this dog turd need two? If they want to use two batteries, put them both up top like a diesel pickup. Like God intended. Oh well I don’t think my new Bronco will have a fucking abortion setup like this. In your driveway at 5 am in the fucking dark with -50 windchill blowing up your ass, that would be no fun!
 

CanadaJeep

Caught the Bug
What a total piece of shit Whap and Jew has engineered there. Total unneeded dog shit. My Jk only needs one battery, why does this dog turd need two? If they want to use two batteries, put them both up top like a diesel pickup. Like God intended. Oh well I don’t think my new Bronco will have a fucking abortion setup like this. In your driveway at 5 am in the fucking dark with -50 windchill blowing up your ass, that would be no fun!
WOW... 3 posts and all bashing JEEP Why did you even join a jeep forum? Go join your new bronco forum and get the fuck outta here.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
What a pain in the ass. Thanks for the detailed video. I hope I don't have to deal with this anytime soon. I carry a jump starter just like that one in the beginning of the video just in case.

It was a bit of a pain but overall, not too bad. I think it took me less than 15 minutes to replace both batteries. A jump starter is definitely a must for JL owners that's for sure!

That Type S jump starter is super cool. Great video, not in your shoes right now but glad I have a reference for when mine go out.

Awesome! Glad we could be of future help to you :cool:

Yep just had to replace my main bat two weeks ago. It’s a 2018 rubi. Didn’t replace the Aux but I will soon after watching this video. Thanks for the info!!

Bummer your battery went out already too. Glad this video will be helpful to you when it comes time to do your auxiliary battery.

Thank you the video and the heads up to be prepared. I’ll order a Type S charger. Thanks again for effort you and Cindy put into these videos.

You bet and I think you'll be happy that you ordered the jump starter. :thumb:
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Holy hell! Both mine are 2018’s. Thanks for the Great video. How long does the type-s charger last between charging when not in use inside the vehicle?

They last a surprisingly long time. I used to check mine once a week but now check it once a month and it still holds.

Hey Eddie. Thanks for the critically important video. Just wondering...could you have had the OEM battery replaced under warranty or are you past 36k? Thanks for posting, as is your custom, the necessary links. Much appreciated.

Yeah, I've got over 45K on the odometer now. Otherwise, I might have seen what the dealership could do under warranty.

How do you know when the auxiliary battery needs to be replaced? Or is it just a good idea to replace when the main battery is replaced?

I think it's a good idea to do both at the same time but I have seen lots of instances where the auxiliary battery starts to go out first. You'll know that it's going because you'll start to get weird messages on your dash regarding "low voltage" to things. That or "battery charging" or things that just stop working like your shifter. All are tied in to your aux battery.

Thank you a Eddie. Great instructional video. Hopefully I am a bit away from battery replacement on my2020, but as much as I love my JL I’ve been thinking that all that extra electronic stuff like the aux battery is gonna be tougher to deal with than my Jk. Guess I gotta accept the tough with the better stuff I get.

Yeah, the more plumbing you have, the easier it is to stop the drain. I would just carry a jump starter like I show in the video and that'll at least get you home again.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
In the video he mentions some of the signs to look for that might be to aux battery failure.

Yup, toward the end, I do make mention of what I had been seeing and what I have seen on other JL's. :yup:

Thanks Eddy and yes your video is very helpful. My JL is a year old this month and to think that my batteries may only last another year is to say at the least dishearting but now I will know how to change them out when the time comes.

Awesome! So glad we could be of help with our videos :)

What a total piece of shit Whap and Jew has engineered there. Total unneeded dog shit. My Jk only needs one battery, why does this dog turd need two? If they want to use two batteries, put them both up top like a diesel pickup. Like God intended. Oh well I don’t think my new Bronco will have a fucking abortion setup like this. In your driveway at 5 am in the fucking dark with -50 windchill blowing up your ass, that would be no fun!

LOL - tell us what you really think :cheesy:
 

DavidDJL69

Member
FYI to you all and especially the ignorant dope from flatland Kansas: my son’s 2015 JK Rubicon’s single battery, yes single battery, died the same way Eddie describes in the video. Luckily an intelligent motorist with jumper cables was able to get him going and back to the house. I ordered him a charger too. And to the jealous one from nothingburgerville, your jealousy of the JL has enlightened you to buy a Bronco. Nuff said.


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Danny

Member
Is it probable these 2018 batteries might had been sitting for some time before the JL was sent out? Lead acid batteries hold an expiration date before chemical process is deemed unable to hold a charge. If the acid is inactive, the lead is sulfated, or the plate contact is broken inside the cells it won’t charge. I was surprised about the plugs on the bottom of the fuse box.


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Rampart22

Member
Hey Eddie and Cindy,
Great video btw. Why Odessy batteries? I’m a bit shell shocked at the prices for a replacement. Is it really worth it? Yeah I know. It’s a Jeep... that’s what we do. But still thats another $300 plus. And apparently I’ll need a new one to avoid this happening again. Yeah again.

Also, any luck with dealership on a battery replacement?

I just had my Jeep towed to my mechanic for what ended up being a dead battery. They charged it overnight and now seems to run without issue. Even took it to the dealership. They re flashed the computer with an update that actually added a few minor new features on the screen. Dealership said it was an update issue that the computer was going weird prior to battery dying. I’m still scratching my head on that one. So no new battery from dealership for me. But at least I asked right[emoji20]

Also that type S charger looks like a must for me as well. Any issues with it?

Cheers


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