2018 2.0, voltage drop and CEL

[bikinidreamin]

Background, for an extended time the ESS didn’t work (not like I cared) on our 2018 JLU Sahara with the 2.0 etorque motor. All of a sudden, it worked fine. Not long after, maybe a few days, my wife leaves for work, the voltage drops to 11.2 and she gets a check engine light.

I go pick her car up to drop it off (of course one month out of bumper to bumper warranty), and the voltage is fine but the CEL remains. Took it to the dealer and their scan shows “lost communication” the CEL remained lit, and I was told they couldn’t work on it today, but to bring it back and they could diagnose it for $150 (ridiculous).

I decided to take a peek at a gladiator and consider trading in since our lease is up in 9 months. Got back to the car, CEL is off and the voltage went from 12.5 to 14.1 within a minute of starting.

Could this be the big battery dead, normal battery, or another issue?

I have heard similar but most involved being in 4L, which this car has never been in.

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[captainstabbins]

Sounds like the main battery is taking a dump.

 

[sailscall]

Original batteries?

 

[bikinidreamin]

Original batteries?

yes, original batteries. Does it seem like the regular battery or the big one? If it’s the regular one I’m gonna replace it on my own, if it’s the big one, I’ll bring it in, since that should be covered under the warranty still, I assume.

 

[VKSheridan]

I’d start with loosen, clean and reinstall the battery connections. See if the problem goes away.

 

[captainstabbins]

yes, original batteries. Does it seem like the regular battery or the big one? If it’s the regular one I’m gonna replace it on my own, if it’s the big one, I’ll bring it in, since that should be covered under the warranty still, I assume.

The big one (48v) has an 8 year warranty on it.

 

[mwilk012]

Your main battery has crapped out. Remove, test to prove, and replace it. Don’t use Mopar.

 

[bikinidreamin]

Your main battery has crapped out. Remove, test to prove, and replace it. Don’t use Mopar.

i ended up hooking it up on a noco genius 10 and after about 2 hours it was fully charged and ESS has been working correctly ever since (like 4 days so far). We do not drive long distances much, so that May have something to do with it.

 

[mwilk012]

i ended up hooking it up on a noco genius 10 and after about 2 hours it was fully charged and ESS has been working correctly ever since (like 4 days so far). We do not drive long distances much, so that May have something to do with it.

if you park it for a week, will it start itself?

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