Stranded and Towed to Dealer AGAIN

[zrickety]

For the second time in 5 months my 2019 JLUR left us stuck in a busy intersection and needed to be towed. We were stopped in the left hand turn lane waiting for the light to turn and the ESS was engaged, engine stopped. As soon as I took my foot off the break the engine died and got a service power steering light and beeping warnings. I put it in park and tried restarting but nothing. Once in park I could not shift again and had to pull the release to move it. So we sat there for about 20 minutes waiting for AAA to tow it to the dealer, which was literally right across the street from we were. Not fun.

I just got off the phone with the dealer service rep and he said the auxiliary battery failed and blew the fuse array. This is the exact same thing that happened before: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/auxiliary-battery-blues.64960/

I asked the rep what continues to cause this and what can be done to prevent it from happening again, but not surprisingly he had no answer. Both times this has happened with were "lucky" to be close to home and not out 4-wheeling or camping in a remote area.

This system is obviously flawed and is a safety issue. I have a spare fuse array in my tool bag but will most likely be purchasing a spare auxiliary battery as well. I'm considering going with a dual battery setup but any feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks,

Like others, I disable the ESS. It's especially troublesome with a manual transmission.
The permanent fix is the N1, N2 jumper...I intend to do this in the near future.

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[WranglerMan]

The aux battery is a known issue that has caused headaches for lots of Jeepers, my suggestion is to carry a fused jumper if yours has not had the software patch that allows it to run when the aux battery craps out and yours should not be included in that since that was addressed after the 2018’s but if the aux fails from say a shorted cell or just being a crappy battery it will pull the main battery down as when they are connected they have an equalized charge.

I had issues with my 2018 early on and had the main battery replaced under warranty but just hated the design of the way FCA did the battery system so I went to a Genesis system and my JL seems to be happier electrically as it starts more robustly and all the little electrical hiccups like dash lights staying on and Uconnect reboots seemed to have all stopped and my smart charging system is working as it’s designed so far.

I’m hoping it’s just a battery issue for you and not some other electrical demons that need to be chased down.

 

[RFR JLR 2.0]

This is incredibly unfortunate. I ditched this rubbish setup about a month and a half ago and went with the @Genesis Offroad dual setup for this very same reason. Fortunately, I've never had a problem with either stock battery and didn't want there to be a first time. The dual battery system is highly recommended; it's well worth the time and money. Bypassing the auxiliary battery is also a viable option, but you're still dealing with the stock battery unless you've replaced it with an aftermarket battery.

Thanks and I'll look into both these options.

 

[McGilli]

First time ever today - got Electronic Start/Stops requires service in the dash display.

It happened while I was driving though... Weird?

I then parked, shut off and then it was fine after that. Still, called dealer (funny thing I could see my dealer down the street when this happened) - taking to dealer tomorrow to see if there's a code or something. I want this noted...

 

[RFR JLR 2.0]

@RFR JLR 2.0

That's the chitts.... I'm curious, how often are you using the JLU. Once in awhile... driving it little?

Anyway, if you are not going to stick with the stock dual battery system, you can drop the $1600-2000 for a pricey aftermarket dual battery set-up that you will still have to watch over and maintain . IF you can justify the $1600+ go for it.. Again, remember... you will also have to watch over and maintain that set-up..

The other alternative that will cost you less then $20 is to just bypass the Aux battery altogether. With that, ace your bet so to speak and install a quality aftermarket, Main battery at $175.00+-.

So, for under $200, you can have a very good set-up that takes pretty much no maintenance and watching over. Only thing you would want to do since you would be bypassing the Aux battery, is to minimize or not use Stop/Start. You'd push THE S/S button or buy an adjunct that deals with the button push for you.

I have been running with a bypass (running with just the Main batterey) for geeeez, going on three years now and well over 30,000 miles with the bypass in play. Never any issues and even though I don't actively use it, my original Aux battery is alive and healthy... still..

If you plan to keep that JLU for a long while.... and you can justify the $1600+ for an aftermarket dual battery then do that... Most guys/gals really can't justify a set-up like that....Sure they can rationalize it out in their head that they need it, the expense is justified. 8-)

YOU, might just be better off dealing with what you have... When your JLU comes home from the stealership, next week, with it's new batteries... bypass the Aux and start running with just the new Main battery...

In closing, do know that you will undoubtedly be posting yet another... your 3rd.... I have been stranded thread...... if you do not become proactive... unless you do something...

.

The JL is not my DD and may sit for a few days without use. I keep my vehicles and my DD is a 2005 Tacoma with 230K miles, and I plan on keeping this, too. I picked it up today with the new auxiliary battery and fuse, same as last time. I appreciate the input and will look into these options, and I will be doing something to address this issue.
Thanks,

 

[Deleted User 293754]

The 2.0L Turbo does not have the small battery under the big one, but it has a huge 45v one under the vehicle in the rear area.

 

[RFR JLR 2.0]

The aux battery is a known issue that has caused headaches for lots of Jeepers, my suggestion is to carry a fused jumper if yours has not had the software patch that allows it to run when the aux battery craps out and yours should not be included in that since that was addressed after the 2018’s but if the aux fails from say a shorted cell or just being a crappy battery it will pull the main battery down as when they are connected they have an equalized charge.

I had issues with my 2018 early on and had the main battery replaced under warranty but just hated the design of the way FCA did the battery system so I went to a Genesis system and my JL seems to be happier electrically as it starts more robustly and all the little electrical hiccups like dash lights staying on and Uconnect reboots seemed to have all stopped and my smart charging system is working as it’s designed so far.

I’m hoping it’s just a battery issue for you and not some other electrical demons that need to be chased down.

Thanks for the input and this is helpful.

 

[DadJokes]

The 2.0L Turbo does not have the small battery under the big one, but it has a huge 45v one under the vehicle in the rear area.

Yeah the username made think about that too. I don’t recall there being a 2.0 anything with ESS in ‘19 here in the States. Maybe I missed something and it’s an earlier 3.6.

 

[RFR JLR 2.0]

This exact thing happened to me 2 weeks ago. I got towed home and switched out both batteries, it started up and I was able to park it in my long driveway. I woke the next morning and was going to take it to the dealership, but it wouldn’t start and the electrical kept freaking out. After reading the thread that melendez69 linked, I jumped the N1 & N2 like in my attached picture. It started right up and acted 100% normal. Went to the dealership (took the jumper off) and it was the same exact fuse yours blew.

This is good to know and I'll look into it more.
Thanks,

 

[WranglerMan]

As stated nothing wrong with using a jumper and disconnecting the ESS negative but don’t use ESS at all running this setup as it will seriously tax the main battery and if it manages to hold up after (6) ESS events the ESS will be disabled until you cycle the ignition due to the logic seeing this as a voltage error but again running with ESS engaged on one battery is a disaster waiting to happen.

Im not sure where the $1600-$2000 price given for a dual setup came from but that’s not the cost of what I’m running, the Genesis system came in way under that and I even chose to run the higher end Full River batteries but maybe that was another type of dual battery setup mentioned for that much.

Also keep in mind if you are going to run any type of aux equip like a fridge, onboard or portable air, aux lights etc… it’s not a bad idea to have the extra kick of two full size batteries that are identical and charge the same, yes they still have to be maintained like any other batteries so it’s not like they are magic beans that will never fail but you as a Jeeper have to decide what fits your needs which will ultimately help you make a decision on what power needs you need.

 

[GSLSE21B]

FCA uses old batteries , my 2021 JLURD has a battery date code from 2015

 

[Yogi1956]

As a last resort, the 3rd time is Lemon Law charm in California. This isn’t a minor flaw, it’s a safety issue and as you said, not something you’d want to happen on the trail.

We were stranded 3 times by a bad fuel pump in a BMW, 2 weeks later, after the 3rd time we had our money back minus mileage and moved on.

Use William McGee if you decide to do it.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

Yeah the username made think about that too. I don’t recall there being a 2.0 anything with ESS in ‘19 here in the States. Maybe I missed something and it’s an earlier 3.6.

I read and responded to this post with my smartphone. Did not even realize the 0P has a 2.0 or my response would have been different.

Subsequent posts by 0P indicate the vehicle gets used little. With that said it would benefit the JL to be kept 24/7 on a battery tender/ maintainer.

 

[TJJL19]

The first thing I'm going to do, after I win the Powerball, is buy a 392, with no ESS!
One of the reasons I bought a 3.0 diesel AT4 and not the 6.2 gas engine, was the cylinder deactivation on the 6.2. Now GMC is making the 6.2, without the cylinder deactivation, is because of the chip shortage.
Maybe we could be so lucky, with ESS!

 

[Yankee1019]

First time ever today - got Electronic Start/Stops requires service in the dash display.

It happened while I was driving though... Weird?

I then parked, shut off and then it was fine after that. Still, called dealer (funny thing I could see my dealer down the street when this happened) - taking to dealer tomorrow to see if there's a code or something. I want this noted...

We've had this happen a couple of times in our Durango. The first time they replaced both batteries and it was fine for a while. The next time was intermittent like how you described. The cause of the second issue was a faulty hood switch. They replaced it and it has been fine ever since..... So far..... Like others here I disable ESS before I even pull out of my driveway.

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