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ESS still not working. Cold weather?

pablo_max3045

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Sorry to bump such an old thread, but the ESS system is definitely weird in the Jeep.

My daily commute typically involves 10mins of motorway driving and 20mins of city driving. So I would have thought the battery would be well charged for ESS to be active? Instead it very rarely activates. So far I have gone 2 weeks without ESS working.
Mine has not worked in like 8 months. I hate the feature, but it definitely indicates something is broken. I have not found the time to take it to the dealer though. I guess in the next couple weeks.
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Dinks66

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Mine has not worked in like 8 months. I hate the feature, but it definitely indicates something is broken. I have not found the time to take it to the dealer though. I guess in the next couple weeks.
I have disabled mine with the Tazer. All ESS does is trash starter motors and batteries. Complete waste of time on such a vehicle. You should be grateful that yours isn't working Ha Ha !!
 

pablo_max3045

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I have disabled mine with the Tazer. All ESS does is trash starter motors and batteries. Complete waste of time on such a vehicle. You should be grateful that yours isn't working Ha Ha !!
It also gives you a bigger battery and alternator.
I am also not a fan of the system, but when it does not work, this means there is something broken, which I am not willing to accept it for a 60k Jeep.
Saying that it "trashes" the battery and starter is a bit of hyperbole though. While an annoying system, it will not measurably impact the life of the starter or battery. Engine life is not impacted either.
 

UKJeep2018

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Took my Jeep to the dealer to get the ESS problem rectified. Got a call 1 hr later to pick up my Jeep as the battery is fully charged (quick time to charge the car battery??)

Despite it being -1 outside when I picked up my Jeep the ESS was working on that day flawlessly.

After that it has stopped working, once again. Is this more than just a battery issue? For a vehicle that’s £50k this is poor.

I do regular 10 mile commute to work, each way, which is about 30 mins. That should be enough to warm up the engine for ESS to work and keep the battery well charged. But I still get given the “you don’t do enough miles” response from the dealer.
 
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lohr500

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Same old story from the dealers then :mad:

I am convinced it is something to do with the smart charging electronics that help to reduce load on the alternator when it doesn't need to generate a high output. My theory is that the electronics are preventing the batteries from getting charged up sufficiently to allow the ESS to kick in.
The very fact that a quick boost charge brings the system back into life must surely indicate that the batteries are not being charged enough when relying on the vehicle's charging system.

At one point they replaced both my batteries, but I suspect that the batteries had nothing to do with it and it only then started working for a few days because they had the new batteries on charge whilst it was at the dealers.

I have noticed as well that in the cold weather, mine doesn't start on the 1st attempt. The starter motor doesn't kick in and the dashboard gauges go through a cycle. A second press on the run button and it starts without an issue. Possibly another indication that the battery voltage is too low.

When it goes in for the rear screen replacement and now the EML warning light, I might ask them to look at the ESS again.
 

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pablo_max3045

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Mine has not worked in like 8 months. I hate the feature, but it definitely indicates something is broken. I have not found the time to take it to the dealer though. I guess in the next couple weeks.
Small update.
Jeep told me that the system is total ScheiĂźe. It needs something like 72% charge to work. Basically, if you have a short commute the system will stop working.
They told me that almost all the Jeeps they sell, everyone makes the same appointment for the system not working properly. They tell them the same as they told me. The system is literally the worst designed from any other car company on the planet and not to worry about it.
 
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lohr500

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Doesn't surprise me !!!
After collecting mine from the stealers back in January, they assured me the ESS problem had been sorted (which it hadn't). I drove it daily up to 10th Feb and it never worked once.
I then put the batteries on charge for 24 hours and so far it has worked for a week, despite external temperatures below zero deg C. I expect it to stop working in the next day or so, because historically it usually works for around a week after charging.
What annoys me is that the Rubicon is supposed to have an upgraded alternator/charging system, so surely it should be able to fully charge the batteries after a 20 to 30 minute run, especially if lots of ancillaries like heated seats, the steering wheel and the broken and still to be repaired heated rear screen :headbang: aren't being used.
 

pablo_max3045

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Doesn't surprise me !!!
After collecting mine from the stealers back in January, they assured me the ESS problem had been sorted (which it hadn't). I drove it daily up to 10th Feb and it never worked once.
I then put the batteries on charge for 24 hours and so far it has worked for a week, despite external temperatures below zero deg C. I expect it to stop working in the next day or so, because historically it usually works for around a week after charging.
What annoys me is that the Rubicon is supposed to have an upgraded alternator/charging system, so surely it should be able to fully charge the batteries after a 20 to 30 minute run, especially if lots of ancillaries like heated seats, the steering wheel and the broken and still to be repaired heated rear screen :headbang: aren't being used.
These days, I don't drive so much due to home office rules at my company. The last year I think I drove to work less than 20 times.
I was thinking about wiring up a quick connect for a battery tender in the garage.
Thinking about it, I have also got a solar powered charger for the 12v socket which would also charge it up over a few days. Those can be had for 20 bucks off amazon.
 
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lohr500

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Mine has been at the dealers this week to get the rear heated windscreen replaced. Whilst there I asked them to look at the ESS system yet again.

Same old story this morning when they called me to tell me it was ready to collect. The system has no faults but the batteries weren't fully charged. They charged the batteries and now it works.
Well I think we all knew it would work if they charged the batteries, so no surprises there :headbang::headbang::headbang:

I agree with you pablo_max3045 that it's just a badly designed system and doesn't work properly. I suppose it will save wear and tear on the starter motor though if it isn't working :like:
 

UKJeep2018

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Mine has been at the dealers this week to get the rear heated windscreen replaced. Whilst there I asked them to look at the ESS system yet again.

Same old story this morning when they called me to tell me it was ready to collect. The system has no faults but the batteries weren't fully charged. They charged the batteries and now it works.
Well I think we all knew it would work if they charged the batteries, so no surprises there :headbang::headbang::headbang:

I agree with you pablo_max3045 that it's just a badly designed system and doesn't work properly. I suppose it will save wear and tear on the starter motor though if it isn't working :like:
While I don’t mind that the ESS isn’t working, it does annoy me that on a 50k vehicle that a feature isn’t working as it should.
 
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lohr500

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I agree with you UKJeep2018. It's the principle of it. Plus I bet the published fuel efficiency numbers are based on the thing working. (Not that the fuel efficiency would be top of the list when buying a Wrangler!).
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