It’s that time of year again. The weather is starting to get cold and if you live in the North where the roads are salted in the winter, it’s time to winterize your Cherokee so the unexpected doesn’t happen in the middle of February.
It’s well known the Cherokee has quite a few ground straps but the most critical one is the strap leading down from the negative terminal on the battery to the frame and continuing on to the transmission casing. It's also in the unenviable position of being exposed to moisture sources and once corroded, can lead to all sorts of electrical anomalies, warnings or issues. If you are experiencing error lights or messages regarding unrelated systems like the transmission, ABS, shifter etc. , often times it's an intermittent ground.
My 2014 TH's ground strap was at its end of life so before winter set it, I decided to change it. Replacement is an easy DIY job. My total cost was $18 and took about 20 minutes and can be done with wheels on the ground. While replacing it is pretty straight-forward, here’s the process step-by-step.
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1. Ground straps are just braided metal so I ordered a generic off Amazon. The only important thing is that it’s at least the same length and thickness as the original. I chose the one below which was the perfect length and about 25% thicker than the original.
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2. Here it is compared to my hand. This strap’s a beast, much thicker than the original strap. There’ll be no intermittent contact when this is in place.
![Image]()
3. Next step is to turn your wheels to full left. Everything can be done with wheels on the ground from the driver's side wheel well.
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4. We’re going to peel back the front half of the wheel well liner. To do this remove the two plastic fasteners and the 10mm bolt on the inside face of the liner.
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5. Then remove the three 8mm bolts on the front left edge of the liner. On the bottom (yellow arrow) there’s a metal pop rivet. On many cars this has already been pulled out from previous liner removals. If you still have it I’d recommend drilling it out or cutting a little of the fender liner plastic away from it etc. and removing it. You can use a plastic fastener (or even nothing) when reassembling. The liner does not need it to stay in place.
![Image]()
6. Peel the liner out of the way enough so you have a clear view. You’ll now have clear access to the ground strap. Note it’s one long strap from the battery to the transmission with a solid connector frame lug in the middle. The upper half (green box) between the frame connector lug and the battery is covered with wire wrap and electrical tape and normally doesn’t corrode. The lower half (red box) is a different story. It’s exposed to road splash as well as any spillage from filling the windshield washer bottle and almost always be in some state of corrosion. This is the part we’ll replace.
![Image]()
7. Take off the nut at both the frame connector lug and the transmission and put the new ground cable right on top and the nuts back on. Once the new cable is in place, simply cut through the braided part of the old, corroded cable at the frame connector lug.
![Image]()
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8. As shown in this photo with the old grounding strap held up against the newly installed strap, the new cable is more durable and provides approximately a 25% larger grounding path. Finish up by putting the fender liner back on in reverse order. The new strap will probably last for the remaining life of the Jeep. Give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done
⭐
![Image]()
It’s well known the Cherokee has quite a few ground straps but the most critical one is the strap leading down from the negative terminal on the battery to the frame and continuing on to the transmission casing. It's also in the unenviable position of being exposed to moisture sources and once corroded, can lead to all sorts of electrical anomalies, warnings or issues. If you are experiencing error lights or messages regarding unrelated systems like the transmission, ABS, shifter etc. , often times it's an intermittent ground.
My 2014 TH's ground strap was at its end of life so before winter set it, I decided to change it. Replacement is an easy DIY job. My total cost was $18 and took about 20 minutes and can be done with wheels on the ground. While replacing it is pretty straight-forward, here’s the process step-by-step.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ground straps are just braided metal so I ordered a generic off Amazon. The only important thing is that it’s at least the same length and thickness as the original. I chose the one below which was the perfect length and about 25% thicker than the original.
2. Here it is compared to my hand. This strap’s a beast, much thicker than the original strap. There’ll be no intermittent contact when this is in place.
3. Next step is to turn your wheels to full left. Everything can be done with wheels on the ground from the driver's side wheel well.
4. We’re going to peel back the front half of the wheel well liner. To do this remove the two plastic fasteners and the 10mm bolt on the inside face of the liner.
5. Then remove the three 8mm bolts on the front left edge of the liner. On the bottom (yellow arrow) there’s a metal pop rivet. On many cars this has already been pulled out from previous liner removals. If you still have it I’d recommend drilling it out or cutting a little of the fender liner plastic away from it etc. and removing it. You can use a plastic fastener (or even nothing) when reassembling. The liner does not need it to stay in place.
6. Peel the liner out of the way enough so you have a clear view. You’ll now have clear access to the ground strap. Note it’s one long strap from the battery to the transmission with a solid connector frame lug in the middle. The upper half (green box) between the frame connector lug and the battery is covered with wire wrap and electrical tape and normally doesn’t corrode. The lower half (red box) is a different story. It’s exposed to road splash as well as any spillage from filling the windshield washer bottle and almost always be in some state of corrosion. This is the part we’ll replace.
7. Take off the nut at both the frame connector lug and the transmission and put the new ground cable right on top and the nuts back on. Once the new cable is in place, simply cut through the braided part of the old, corroded cable at the frame connector lug.
8. As shown in this photo with the old grounding strap held up against the newly installed strap, the new cable is more durable and provides approximately a 25% larger grounding path. Finish up by putting the fender liner back on in reverse order. The new strap will probably last for the remaining life of the Jeep. Give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done
⭐
