Service stop/start system warning light

[donaldbyrd]

Poked around in the internet to read up on ways ESS could have been disabled. Jeep Informant showed how it was connected to the main battery and the sensor (tall button) under the hood.

Just for kicks I looked for the same areas under my hood and found the connection point at the battery looked like it, and the battery cables had been handled a bit. The cap was pulled back, looked like it had been wet, and the plug that goes off to ESS was outside its wire holders. With 82 miles on the clock at delivery I wonder if my rig had an intense life as a demo before I got her. Or maybe the dealer did something to disable the ESS for their benefit and didn’t change it back. Clear signs of use with no transparency about why. With it being delivered as a new I shouldn’t have ask about it’s prior life. They should be forthcoming about the car’s condition. As I said before, when I asked about it, I was told the ESS was “finicky”.

I want to give the dealer the benefit of the doubt as they we helpful to me but noticing the under-hood stuff shakes my trust. Either way I’m taking it in Monday and will pass along these observations.

Follow-up ...

I went in for service on Monday, after making an appointment last week. The appointment was for 8:45a. I asked at the time whether there was anything else I should know about the car which may justify the 82 miles on the odometer or the fact that the battery cables looked like they'd been moved around. He said that it's possible that the car was on the lot for a while and they had to charge the battery... and that the rear wiper fluid unit had been broken during transit and they had to fix that... at this point any number of things could have happened to ESS, including how moving the battery cables while they carry the voltage could have damaged the fuse bar (as jeep informant suggested). They did say that they had heard a few other people mention the surging engine issue. Big question is what else aren't I being told... ? Seems like we have little influence to force the discussion, so I'm hoping to kill'em with kindness on this.

At any rate, I called back at noon for status and was told that my car probably wouldn't be ready and they'd get back to me with a diagnosis by end of day.

By end of day, there was no diagnosis because the car never made it into the garage. So much for making an appointment. I'm going to try another dealer, but i may see more of the same. Either way, I'll continue to update this with my experience with both service and the outcome of the car's issues.

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[am1978]

I lose ESS and ESC simultaneously, both messages appear. Almost 6k miles and it happens for about 65% of the the trips I take. I’ll have the dealer eval it when I do my oil change.

 

[2500 hd]

How do you get to the small battery when it is time for a new one ?

 

[am1978]

Also, stupid question: Why is ESS not ASS since the dash light is an A with a circle around it for Automatic Start/Stop?

 

[WranglerMan]

How do you get to the small battery when it is time for a new one ?

That sir is the million dollar question, from what I gather if you go in from the top you have to remove the main battery then main battery tray then the fuse block and going in from the bottom you have to pull the fender flare, I’m quite sure they did this on purpose as they figured most would not attemp it and end up going to the dealer for service

 

[2500 hd]

Man, that's crazy...

 

[JeepCares]

I lose ESS and ESC simultaneously, both messages appear. Almost 6k miles and it happens for about 65% of the the trips I take. I’ll have the dealer eval it when I do my oil change.

Hi am1978,
We understand why this may be concerning. Please feel free to send us a private message if you would like any additional assistance once you decide to bring your Jeep to your dealer.
Lydia
Jeep Social Care Specialist

 

[WranglerMan]

Seems lots of Jeep Dealer Service groups are sub par from what I have read, I know most of these dealers work on all sorts of vehicles and not just Wranglers but good gawd if they are all like the dealer I have been dealing with it’s no wonder they have issues.

When and if my next issue comes up I am going to visit another service center and see what happens

 

[donaldbyrd]

Another follow-up - problem solved.

The reason ESS wasn't working was due to a faulty secondary battery. I was told that it's happening a lot, and I was lucky to come in when i did because I was able to get the last battery they had in stock. The replacement was covered under warranty, so no cost to me for the work, nor for the loaner.

Above anything, I'd like to thank the folks at Lithia Jeep of Portland. Couldn't have asked for better service - and wait for it, my car was seen on the day and at the time my appointment was scheduled for!? I didn't purchase from them, but they have my business for service.

On that note, though, I'm not sure how i like it. It takes an extra second or two after releasing the break, allowing it to restart, then go smoothly. It takes a couple seconds for ESS to restart the engine. It's probably a second longer than you're used to waiting after a light changes to green. If you hit the gas too soon, it'll sputter a second before moving forward smoothly.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to share.

 

[RGS]

I had an issue early on with my JLU Rubicon. The ESS showed as unavailable, so naturally I took it into the dealership. Two weeks later I was able to retrieve it. Apparently there were a myriad of things that went wrong. The service manager told me that they replaced the battery and the system that operated it. The paper work was a list of codes a mile long. Now fast forward several months and the light is back. The temperature gauge in the jeep read 153 degrees, the compass wasn't working at all and the on issue I had been dealing with (traction control unavailable) stopped showing up. Now after driving it to and from work the only thing that keeps coming back is the Auto Start Stop unavailable. I will have to take it in again. God knows how long they will keep it this time. I find it hard to believe that with all the tech and trouble they wouldn't create a way to disable that function permanently. It's no fun being stranded because your jeep is so smart it won't drive. @JeepCares - perhaps you could put the request for a permenant fix in the suggestion box.

 

[Gray Fox]

Another follow-up - problem solved.

The reason ESS wasn't working was due to a faulty secondary battery. I was told that it's happening a lot, and I was lucky to come in when i did because I was able to get the last battery they had in stock. The replacement was covered under warranty, so no cost to me for the work, nor for the loaner.

Above anything, I'd like to thank the folks at Lithia Jeep of Portland. Couldn't have asked for better service - and wait for it, my car was seen on the day and at the time my appointment was scheduled for!? I didn't purchase from them, but they have my business for service.

On that note, though, I'm not sure how i like it. It takes an extra second or two after releasing the break, allowing it to restart, then go smoothly. It takes a couple seconds for ESS to restart the engine. It's probably a second longer than you're used to waiting after a light changes to green. If you hit the gas too soon, it'll sputter a second before moving forward smoothly.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to share.

Same issue for mine. At 4000 miles, ESS stopped working. Battery had a dead cell.

 

[donaldbyrd]

here's how:

That sir is the million dollar question, from what I gather if you go in from the top you have to remove the main battery then main battery tray then the fuse block and going in from the bottom you have to pull the fender flare, I’m quite sure they did this on purpose as they figured most would not attemp it and end up going to the dealer for service

 

[WranglerMan]

here's how:

I saw this vid along while back but as you can see it’s appears to be a huge PITA to swap out and not going to be a 10-15 min job like the main

 

[donaldbyrd]

True. That's why i just took it to the dealer. The battery is covered under warranty so no cost to me. There was also a head unit update that fixed the buggy apple carplay navigation issues.

 

[usmcss]

Hey Guys,

ESS wasn’t working. It kept saying battery charging.

They said my aux. battery was dead and they replaced it. They said the battery needs to charge and it will give me the same battery charging Warning for the ESS until it does.

Well I’ve had it now four days and the warning is still saying Battery Charging. Is this right? How long should it take to charge? The dealer says four days for the control module to learn my stopping habits? Is that right?

Thanks!!!

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