Group 65 Battery Tray with Webasto Bracket for 05-06 KJ

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:35 pm

Battery Tray: about 10 minutes to install including removal of the factory stuff providing you have the nuts to mount it. Oh yeah, bolts too, on the header arm. I haven't confirmed, but someone mentioned that the original group 34 / R battery will no longer fit, as it is taller.

About the batteries,
If by "same" you mean a group 65 AGM, then yes, there are other choices.
If by "same" you mean power / durability, then pretty much no in this form / price class. Stinger and Northstar are probably the only ones in shooting distance. Maybe.

jrsavoie · **Posted:** Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:52 pm

GordnadoCRD wrote:

Battery Tray: about 10 minutes to install including removal of the factory stuff providing you have the nuts to mount it. Oh yeah, bolts too, on the header arm. I haven't confirmed, but someone mentioned that the original group 34 / R battery will no longer fit, as it is taller.

About the batteries,
If by "same" you mean a group 65 AGM, then yes, there are other choices.
If by "same" you mean power / durability, then pretty much no in this form / price class. Stinger and Northstar are probably the only ones in shooting distance. Maybe.

You might want to add an hour to that if you want to fix the ground that Geordi found. I already fixed mine. Luckily I had the same issue with that ground, at about the same time

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Tue Feb 07, 2017 4:04 pm

For easiest access, remove the left front headlight, unbolt the power steering "loop" from the front bumper, and it's right there. Mine looked brand new so I hit it with some conductive compound on the bolt threads and underneath, then after tightening, painted over everything with a couple coats of Performix Plasti-Dip. Better than new!

If you are in an area prone to auto cancer, consider soldering a #8 or 10 wire to the ground plate, and running it to one of the ground posts back in the brake cylinder area, because that front one really is in a bad spot corrosion-wise.

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Wed Feb 08, 2017 10:57 pm

The left side of the vehicle. As in, Driver's side in the US, Canada, and all advanced nations of the world, plus a few more. :POPCORN:

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Wed Feb 08, 2017 11:17 pm

Getting back to the Battery Tray:
You will really appreciate all the thoughtful design features to make this a painless installation that will really organize the left side of your engine compartment, at least in the visible things when you lift the hood.

There are some things one will need to be aware of. This design is for a group 65 batter. More specifically, it's designed for a group 65 AGM battery. The kind with a flat top that has the gas valves internally.

I bought a heavy duty group 65P with 850cca. Not nearly the power of an Odyssey but about 1/3 the cost. What I failed to understand was the 1/2" tall valve bodies would require making spacers to convert the battery to effectively a flat top. I used strips of wood cut to size, and painted them to match the battery. If you don't the hold down will be seriously deformed.
Also buy 1.5" - 2" long bolts, as the whole mess is higher than a normal grp 65 agm.

So if you don't buy an Odyssey, a AC-Delco, or some other "normal" group 65 agm, plan on gathering / preparing these things before hand.

Also I mocked up my old grp 34R and it CAN be made to work. Best to use with an AGM or flat top type. You have to mount it all the way to the side of the tray closest to the middle of the vehicle, and fasten the hold down with only one pair of long bolts, and shifted to the side same as the battery, using the holes of the base closest to the middle of the vehicle, and the holes of the cover closest to the side of the vehicle. Not as pretty, but it will work without hood interference.

EDIT: One other thing There is a pinch point on mine with The Battery tray. It's the big fat main wire loom as it comes past the ECM. Just at the lowest, farthest forward point of the ECM the loom was getting smashed between the tray and the ECM corner, and it was already showing damage at that point so it is another wear point that may cause problems. On the loom, it's the two inches just before it splits. I cut a three inch section of 1.5 inch convoluted tubing, and zip tied it tightly around to give it more resistance to abrasion.

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Thu Feb 09, 2017 12:54 am

The North Star is the Cadillac of Batteries, but the price can be a little steep!!!
I recently purchased and installed a group 65 North Star in my Jeep CRD using the Week's battery tray. Had to use some longer bolts to fit the top hold down!
I liked the North Star due to it's specifications:
Pulse (5-second) Hot Cranking Amps (PHCA) = 1750
Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) = 1070

This is the thread on the ground wire/location on top of the left front fender (drivers side) you were seeking:> viewtopic.php?f=5&t=85500&hilit
The ground can be clearly seen and accessed when you remove the OEM battery tray to install the Week's tray!

This is what it looks like:

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Tue Feb 28, 2017 12:56 am

Sasquatch has made so many improvements to this side of my engine compartment that I have begun to refer to is as "the WEEKS side".

weeks101 · **Joined:** Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:29 pm **Posts:** 747

GordnadoCRD wrote:

Sasquatch has made so many improvements to this side of my engine compartment that I have begun to refer to is as "the WEEKS side".

bushtit wrote:

I will go one step further. Weeks has made so many improvements to my Jeep, that it shall be only natural now to start calling it Weeks Jeep. On the top of which, he deserves an Oscar.

Wow thanks for the kind words fellas! :oops:

mass-hole · **Posted:** Wed Mar 01, 2017 12:25 pm

I dont think I ever left any feedback, but the install was quick and easy. Took less than 30 minutes with my mini Ridgid impact driver and the battery tray is an absolute tank and fit perfectly right down to the clips for the fuse box. I was very impressed.

The Odyssey type 65 battery is an animal as well. The engine starts near instantly and cold weather seems to have little/no effect on its performance.

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Thu May 11, 2017 6:06 am

I finally get to show some pics of this sweet piece!
Also got one of the pinch point, and the fix applied.
Couldn't seem to get a really good pic and get away from the glare though.

Dent · **Joined:** Sat Aug 04, 2012 11:05 pm **Posts:** 275

I finally got around to installing my battery tray and recommended Odyssey battery. I was in on the first batch buy (green only) so maybe some changes have been made. It fits in the space well, and is beefy. The battery hold down screws are too short for the Odyssey, and couldn't you guys have welded nuts on the bottom or put studs on? Bolts with compressed lock nuts? That's overkill and a pain in the butt. So much for a quick battery change. I'll be fixing this with an inconvenient trip to the hardware store. I don't know why this doesn't work with the battery that you recommend. Also, the latch for the fuse box hits the bracket for the hold down. I'll have to grind something or bend something to make this work. Overall nice upgrade, but I would have appreciated the bugs being worked out. I guess that's the price for getting in on the first run?

Dent · **Joined:** Sat Aug 04, 2012 11:05 pm **Posts:** 275

Longer bolts, red locktite, and some extra nuts and now there's threaded studs sticking up. If you are doing this swap, make sure you get some longer 6mmx1.0 bolts. The fuse box latch does rub against the battery hold down, but that's not really a big deal. Engine turns over fast and fires right up. Looking forwards to faster starts this winter.

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Mon Jul 03, 2017 9:31 pm

Dent wrote:

I finally got around to installing my battery tray and recommended Odyssey battery. I was in on the first batch buy (green only) so maybe some changes have been made. It fits in the space well, and is beefy. The battery hold down screws are too short for the Odyssey, and couldn't you guys have welded nuts on the bottom or put studs on? Bolts with compressed lock nuts? That's overkill and a pain in the butt. So much for a quick battery change. I'll be fixing this with an inconvenient trip to the hardware store. I don't know why this doesn't work with the battery that you recommend. Also, the latch for the fuse box hits the bracket for the hold down. I'll have to grind something or bend something to make this work. Overall nice upgrade, but I would have appreciated the bugs being worked out. I guess that's the price for getting in on the first run?

True but most of the things that inconvenienced you have been pointed out in detail, in earlier posts, so a little reading and prior preparation would have saved the inconvenient trip to the hardware store.
The way it's made allows for many different brands of battery.
Like you, I chose to use longer bolts to attach the top hold-down, but really you could do the same thing with a couple zip ties at each corner instead of bolts, and just snip them off if you need to pull the battery out.
Mine was not a first series, so I don't know if there is a difference between ours, but I have no clearance problem with the Power Distribution Center top latch.
The two top mounting points that attach to the upper fender / radiator support may have enough play to be stretched farther forward. This might give you the clearance you need.
Mine suffered previous owner damage in this corner so a little tweaking was necessary, but not unexpected. It's also possible that your particular unit could have been a little bent here before being installed?

I've had a pretty fair amount of experience with fitting aftermarket mods to vehicles, and this was one of the most pain-free I've ever done. About as difficult as putting a round chrome air cleaner on a 1969 Chevy Small block. Only this group 65 battery tray actually makes a real difference in starting power and dependability.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 04, 2017 9:56 pm

Dent wrote:

I finally got around to installing my battery tray and recommended Odyssey battery. I was in on the first batch buy (green only) so maybe some changes have been made. It fits in the space well, and is beefy. The battery hold down screws are too short for the Odyssey, and couldn't you guys have welded nuts on the bottom or put studs on? Bolts with compressed lock nuts? That's overkill and a pain in the butt. So much for a quick battery change. I'll be fixing this with an inconvenient trip to the hardware store. I don't know why this doesn't work with the battery that you recommend. Also, the latch for the fuse box hits the bracket for the hold down. I'll have to grind something or bend something to make this work. Overall nice upgrade, but I would have appreciated the bugs being worked out. I guess that's the price for getting in on the first run?

I have one of the first run green ones and did not need longer bolts for the battery hold down and I installed a Odyssey PC1750 battery.The fuse box also does not hit anything on the battery tray and can be easily opened.

I did however have some other install issues but I have a 3.7 V6 and this battery tray was not designed for a gas version,purge valve mount not present along with a main wiring harness running right next to it which needed to be cut and moved.

Dent · **Joined:** Sat Aug 04, 2012 11:05 pm **Posts:** 275

tjkj2002 wrote:

I have one of the first run green ones and did not need longer bolts for the battery hold down and I installed a Odyssey PC1750 battery.The fuse box also does not hit anything on the battery tray and can be easily opened.

I did however have some other install issues but I have a 3.7 V6 and this battery tray was not designed for a gas version,purge valve mount not present along with a main wiring harness running right next to it which needed to be cut and moved.

I don't know why my bolts were not long enough, but I can't be bothered to take out the longer bolts that I installed and take a picture to show that the supplied bolts were too short. I have a PC1750 from batterymart.com. If I had left out the rubber mat, I might have been able to get a thread or two on the supplied hardware, but I'm not even sure of that.

weeks101 · **Joined:** Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:29 pm **Posts:** 747

Thanks to all of your for your feedback on the battery trays. Our next production run will feature some of the changes that have been suggested.

Group 65 Battery Tray with Webasto Bracket for 05-06 KJ

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