[Guide] Better Jump Point Access (Battery Access)

[ngtwolf]

New owner here and I was watching an FDRS video that did this mod and referred to this thread, but I was a bit confused so I thought i'd ask the question here since I haven't opened this area up yet to inspect the battery. Why do people have to do the drill vs just buying a jump starter cable with quick connect and just having that perma connected to the battery and running it through an existing hole (or at least making a smaller hole elsewhere?) and just doing the quick connect as needed? Again, haven't opened up it yet so it's possible i'm missing something?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSZ6V4X3
(this is just one random one, obviously heavier duty ones as well)

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[HughJazzol]

Fair enough.
Open

New owner here and I was watching an FDRS video that did this mod and referred to this thread, but I was a bit confused so I thought i'd ask the question here since I haven't opened this area up yet to inspect the battery. Why do people have to do the drill vs just buying a jump starter cable with quick connect and just having that perma connected to the battery and running it through an existing hole (or at least making a smaller hole elsewhere?) and just doing the quick connect as needed? Again, haven't opened up it yet so it's possible i'm missing something?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSZ6V4X3

Fair enough.
Open your frunk, and you'll get an instant answer. The battery is covered by a thick plastic cover, thus the need for holes to get to the terminals efficiently.

 

[HughJazzol]

New owner here and I was watching an FDRS video that did this mod and referred to this thread, but I was a bit confused so I thought i'd ask the question here since I haven't opened this area up yet to inspect the battery. Why do people have to do the drill vs just buying a jump starter cable with quick connect and just having that perma connected to the battery and running it through an existing hole (or at least making a smaller hole elsewhere?) and just doing the quick connect as needed? Again, haven't opened up it yet so it's possible i'm missing something?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSZ6V4X3

Fair enough.
Open your frunk, and you'll get an instant answer. The battery is covered by a thick plastic cover, thus the need for holes to get to the terminals efficiently.

 

[ngtwolf]

Fair enough.
Open your frunk, and you'll get an instant answer. The battery is covered by a thick plastic cover, thus the need for holes to get to the terminals efficiently.

Oh, i totally get that you need to remove that once (just like you would to swap the battery), I just meant to do the work to remove that once, attach the cable, just to allow future fdrs updates.

 

[HughJazzol]

Agreed.
I hadn't looked at your cables properly, and they look like they would work, yes, to leave them attached by screwing them on, and the 2 white plugs would stand by.

 

[ngtwolf]

Got it, thanks. I hadn't tracked down pictures of the battery and so was wondering that before I went to the trouble of ordering some cables like this before opening it all up (wasn't sure if this was a standard battery or if it was something special that didn't have normal terminals). I guess I never thought that people didn't remove the cover before drilling into it, so that's mostly why I was wondering about using something like this vs drilling if folks already had it opened.. but I guess if they didn't do that, then I guess I can see how drilling would be easier. Knowing my luck, I would miss the location if I tried drilling anyway, plus i prefer reversible mods..

 

[HughJazzol]

Got it, thanks. I hadn't tracked down pictures of the battery and so was wondering that before I went to the trouble of ordering some cables like this before opening it all up (wasn't sure if this was a standard battery or if it was something special that didn't have normal terminals). I guess I never thought that people didn't remove the cover before drilling into it, so that's mostly why I was wondering about using something like this vs drilling if folks already had it opened.. but I guess if they didn't do that, then I guess I can see how drilling would be easier. Knowing my luck, I would miss the location if I tried drilling anyway, plus i prefer reversible mods..

There's a template in a thread that shows you where to drill. It's not a hard job to drill without removing the piece. You just have to be careful.

 

[ack154]

I've had the hole plugs sitting around and template file downloaded for almost a year and finally got around to putting some holes in my frunk. I went with the 2.5". Must have been leftover motivation from finally replacing that stupid grille insert this weekend.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Got it, thanks. I hadn't tracked down pictures of the battery and so was wondering that before I went to the trouble of ordering some cables like this before opening it all up (wasn't sure if this was a standard battery or if it was something special that didn't have normal terminals). I guess I never thought that people didn't remove the cover before drilling into it, so that's mostly why I was wondering about using something like this vs drilling if folks already had it opened.. but I guess if they didn't do that, then I guess I can see how drilling would be easier. Knowing my luck, I would miss the location if I tried drilling anyway, plus i prefer reversible mods..

It’s very easy to do and with the specified plugs you can’t even see that you made a mod. You will have a tough time finding an already available hole that you could sneak the cable through. I did this mod on my new 2024 proactively even when I expect the battery to start giving me trouble two years from now. ??‍

 

[MoonRiver]

Mine are 2-inch as well.

FYI - member dtbaker61 suggests adding a 3d hole between these two for the high voltage battery cutoff switch. I'm sure 1st responders would appreciate that if ever needed... it's the rectangular green thingy under the driver's side cover with the red pull-up tab on its side.

Mine are 2-inch as well.

FYI - member dtbaker61 suggests adding a 3d hole between these two for the high voltage battery cutoff switch. I'm sure 1st responders would appreciate that if ever needed... it's the rectangular green thingy under the driver's side cover with the red pull-up tab on its side.

I did that too. Drilled a 2” hole right above the HV cutoff switch. It’s may not needed if one of the other two were closer to the switch at the first place.

 

[rreddy3]

I did that too. Drilled a 2” hole right above the HV cutoff switch. It’s may not needed if one of the other two were closer to the switch at the first place.

ditto.

But I like Steve’s (Grady the hunting pudle’s companion human) setup for the jump points the best.

 

[zenophobe]

I don't know if this will help anyone, but I thought I'd make a template that references the positive and negative indicators on the cover as locators. Standard disclaimer- use it at your own risk.

The PDF template needs to be printed with no margins and 100% scale. Print it and cut the + and - reference points out first. Fit it on your access panel and make sure that the top-line on the template aligns with the top cover and both holes locate correctly. You can then mark your center holes for the cut-outs and use a 2 1/2" hole saw with these covers - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MN6GQIY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For some reason, the PDF is clipping just a bit of the bottom cut-out circle, but it matches up with my original Word template and the actual cut-out (I can't upload the Word document, or I would).

My advice is that after you've located your access holes, trace the outline with a pencil to make sure it is in a good location for you. I don't recommend that you drill the holes with the panel installed on the car. I bent the retaining tabs on my Hillman covers a bit so they are easier to take out. I also bought an inexpensive deburring tool that cleans the edges up nicely - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JGVDRQC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think the most difficult part is deciding where to place your access holes, so hopefully, this helps someone out.

Edit- Added center point template. Again, use it at your own risk. I turned my hole saw upside down and traced the outline in pencil to find my original positioning. You can also put a pencil down the arbor hole and mark the center too.

Thank you for this!

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