2019 JLU Rubi died twice trying to climb a small rock?? Battery wasn’t charging??

[Bradenframe]

So I’m with a buddy in Ouray, CO.

We turn on this relatively calm trail and hit a small obstacle. Nothing crazy, I’ve got a 2019 JLU Rubi 2.0 turbo with a 3.5” lift running 37’s...

This is maybe a 1.5’ tall rock.

Approach the rock...get the front right tire on it, climb a bit...slid and land on my rock rails...

...AND THEN THE JEEP DIED...ignition showed run but 0 RPM...dead. So I hit the button, start it again...and she starts right up.

But I have a battery light and the battery is now showing 11v and dying...

No CEL.

Turn it off. Check under the Jeep...nothing, no obvious damage. Check under the hood...all looks good.

Start it up...belts are good...engine good...battery now showing 14v and charging.

Cool...I re position and apply some gas to climb this rock...engine dies, battery light...

Same as above.

I shut it down twice...everything works.

I assumed the obstacle was possessed and just drove around it...and then took on plenty of other obstacles again without it happening again.

Anyone have any idea what this might be?
I was at maybe a 17-20 degree up angle...full tank of gas...4LO...sway bar disconnected...lockers off...??

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

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[Cmcclaflin31]

So I’m with a buddy in Ouray, CO.

We turn on this relatively calm trail and hit a small obstacle. Nothing crazy, I’ve got a 2019 JLU Rubi 2.0 turbo with a 3.5” lift running 37’s...

This is maybe a 1.5’ tall rock.

Approach the rock...get the front right tire on it, climb a bit...slid and land on my rock rails...

...AND THEN THE JEEP DIED...ignition showed run but 0 RPM...dead. So I hit the button, start it again...and she starts right up.

But I have a battery light and the battery is now showing 11v and dying...

No CEL.

Turn it off. Check under the Jeep...nothing, no obvious damage. Check under the hood...all looks good.

Start it up...belts are good...engine good...battery now showing 14v and charging.

Cool...I re position and apply some gas to climb this rock...engine dies, battery light...

Same as above.

I shut it down twice...everything works.

I assumed the obstacle was possessed and just drove around it...and then took on plenty of other obstacles again without it happening again.

Anyone have any idea what this might be?
I was at maybe a 17-20 degree up angle...full tank of gas...4LO...sway bar disconnected...lockers off...??

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Hopefully your alternator isn't dying out... Had to wait a month and a half for mine to come off back order and get fixed

 

[Bradenframe]

Dang...
I hope not.

That’s what I was worried about...but it was so weird that it immediately stopped happening as soon as I wasn’t on that rock...

Same style of angles and everything...nadda.
Just that one spot.

‍

Hopefully your alternator isn't dying out... Had to wait a month and a half for mine to come off back order and get fixed

 

[Snowshoes]

Maybe loose fuses? Did you check them?

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/check-your-fuses.9420/

 

[Kyanche]

Or a loose wire connected to the alternator?

 

[Rploaded]

I would check fuses and cables. I’ve been over 650 off road miles at this point and never ever had anything go wrong and that’s with AC on, stereo going and lord knows what plugged in charging or staying cool.

Something must be loose.

 

[DonnaInColorado]

Apparently the 2.0 has a problem with altitude. The Jeep rental places in Ouray reported it to Jeep. I was at Jeep Jamboree there last week and they would not allow 2.0s to register for trails above 10,000 feet (and this is a Jeep event). The Jeep engineers came to Ouray last week and compiled data and went back to Detroit to analyze and fix. Expect a recall.

 

[BDinTX]

Any updates on this? We found his possessed rock I think and it’s not a good feeling watching the voltage drop to 11.6v with the engine running.

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

I was on some pretty steep stuff in Colorado last week. Not one problem with my 2.0l.

 

[BDinTX]

Probably a dumb question but were you at higher altitudes? We were around 11,000 climping a pretty decent hill when the engine cut out. Restarted on the hill no problem but then the volts started dropping about a tenth per second. Stabilized around 11.5v. Pulled off the side, shut down, buddy used a booster, and disconnected the winch just in case. Started back up and showed 13.5-13.7v the rest of the trip. Elevation 13,140 we’re we crossed the continental divide.

 

[GerJL]

Are all of these 2.0 models etorque versions? wondering if there is any correlation with that combo compared to a normal 2.0 non-etorque.

 

[BDinTX]

Ah, you know I assumed that was the case but it may not be true. Ours is the 2.0L turbo eTorque

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

Probably a dumb question but were you at higher altitudes? We were around 11,000 climping a pretty decent hill when the engine cut out. Restarted on the hill no problem but then the volts started dropping about a tenth per second. Stabilized around 11.5v. Pulled off the side, shut down, buddy used a booster, and disconnected the winch just in case. Started back up and showed 13.5-13.7v the rest of the trip. Elevation 13,140 we’re we crossed the continental divide.

We were at 10,800 feet when doing the steep stuff. Weird correlation with high altitudes, high angles, and failure to charge. Software glitch. Mine is a Feb 2020 build - Etorque.

 

[BDinTX]

Made it back home safe but this ended up happening to us a total of four times. After the first time I was having a mental freak out and was considering cancelling our trip. Plan to talk to the dealer tomorrow, hopefully they can press Jeep for some info.
Thanks a ton to @DonnaInColorado and @Bradenframe for the info and the rest of y’all for scaring me worse!

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