3.6L ESS IBS Information

[WranglerAz]

@WranglerMan With factory batteries, and my limited driving, i find I need to charge my batteries weekly. If I switch the factory batteries out for the Genesis dual batteries, would the need to weekly charge change much or even at all?

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[Suffolklou]

I have the Genesis system with the full river batteries. I also have the G-Screen which shows individual battery voltages. I have confirmed the g screen accuracy with a digital multimeter.

My main battery usually drops to 12.2 volts and the aux will stop at 12.5 after the solenoid drops out. I don't why it goes so low. It stops at 12.2, even if I don't drive it for a few days.

The voltage will be 14.3ish until the batteries are charged back up then lowers its self to 13.5ish for the rest of the ride.

I do have the 240 amp alternator.

When I was out for a week and had the fridge running off of the aux battery, it got to 11 volts by the end of the week. When it was that low the batteries had a hard time charging, I ended up having to unplug the IBS to get the voltage high enough for the genesis system to keep the solenoid energized to charge to aux battery.

I don't really have a question, just stating what happened to me. I don't know why that happened.

 

[WranglerMan]

@Suffolklou

My batteries have never fallen that low, I don’t have the G Screen but did extensive voltage checks when I first got the system and its been great but as stated recently I noticed the output of the alternator stuck at 14+ even after a full charge.

What I did do was unplug the IBS to reset it and I even tested it electrically so to speak as when I unplugged it while the Jeep was running it flagged a dash error and did not clear plugging back in but did clear on a restart, I even checked for any stored codes multiple times and nothing.

I have tested the relay dropout repeatedly and mine is very consistent at 12.55-12.6 and by design it’s 12.7 +/-.1 so mine is close and it closes at almost when it should once the main sees 13.2 volts

I don’t have the 240 alternator but have never had an issue as I have tested pretty much everything from the smart relay disconnect to the the solenoid by measuring the resistance across it when open and closed and it’s a normally open solenoid with no power applied .

Lots get confused on what happens when the batteries are fully charged and connected, you can pull off the aux until the main gets to the 12.6-12.7 as they are one battery if connected then it disconnects them but if you have items pulling power off the aux it will keep pulling until it’s dead and this disconnect at the 12.6-12.7 is designed to protect the main crank battery but anything that runs thru the PDC will continue to pull power from the main so if you are running a fridge off the aux and listening to the stereo you will suck both down and they will keep going down until they are dead

@WranglerAz regardless of what battery system you use battery upkeep is paramount, I normally put mine on a charger once a week to keep them at peak and try to never let them get below 8O% DOD but then I use my aux primarily as a built in boost and only have my winch connected to it along with some off road lights and when needed I just hook my compressor to the bus bars as needed but it’s not connected full time.

My issue may be related to a undersized alternator along with me missing time charging as we went to the coast for several days and it stayed parked and we just did some short trips around town.

I have done pretty extensive testing over the last two days and everything on my JL works with no error messages other then those generated by me during testing, as it’s been discussed with Jerry @Jebiruph having the IBS on the aux battery may not be optimal and with the batteries connecting and disconnecting all the time based on the load it may be confusing the logic inside the IBS that sends that info to the Jeep to tell the alternator what it needs to be doing but the system was designed for easy install but I will likely relocate the IBS to the main very soon

What I did over the last 24 hrs was manually disconnect the IBS and charge each battery until it went into float mode then reseated the smart relay and reconnected the IBS and connected as Genesis suggested for charging until it went to float which did not take long since they were both fully charged and after doing that I headed off to work and when I left it was reading 14+ but getting to work it was 13.1 and Jerry advised that there is likely a learning process once the IBS has been reset so my plan is to do voltage checks over the next week to see if I get a large variance in voltages and go from there.

I have said it more than once and will continue to say it…..Is the Genesis System perfect NO ITS NOT but you as the owner have to decide what you need and I wanted the additional power and boost, yes there are less costly options like just running with one main battery and use some jumpers and keep the baby battery as a spare and lots have done this and have no issues but like anything all things electronically sometimes have issues and sometimes those problems are easy to find and address and other times we have to dig, if we wanted super easy with no problems we would do no mods at all and let the ppl that designed it fix it but we all know that’s not gonna happen

If either of you or anyone else is bored check out this thread on my research on the Genesis System and batteries, Chargers etc..

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ll-by-tank-customs-and-charger-testing.61493/

 

[manutter11]

To clarify my discussion with @WranglerMan , I pointed out that the IBS monitors both the voltage at the battery and the current flow into and out of the battery then does an analysis (based on the current flow for a given voltage over time) of the state of charge and state of health of the battery.

With the recommended Genesis wiring, the IBS monitors the voltage at one battery and the current flow of the other battery, so it's analysis might not be correct and might be the cause of the consistently high voltage output of the alternator.

 

[manutter11]

I've been having the same issue with Lowe voltage being displayed while the vehicle is running. my jeep has been in the dealership twice in the last two weeks. First, they charged the battery and said everything is fine, the voltage at being displayed at 13.9 while the vehicle was running, the next morning, when I started it it was at 12.5. I had to drive to the airport, the round trip distance was 150 miles of highway drive at 70 mph. The voltage stayed at 12.5. When I got back home, I put the vehicle on my battery charge, It was charging at 30+ amps. This should not be happening at driving that distance.
So again I took the vehicle back into the dealership, and now I get the response that this is normal. When I got home, I put the vehicle on my charge and let it charge for 3.5 hours. The batteries were at a 95% state of charge. I went o pick up my daughter from Work at 8:30 PM, lights, AC, and Radio were on, Vehicle keep the voltage at 13.9 during the 45 minute round trip. This morning when I took my daughter to school it was on showing 13.9-14.1 volts. I believe the IBS system is having a problem. I am going to do a few experiments over the next few days to see if my theory proves out.

I have a good friend who works for Jeep, He is going to inquire more about this and I'm also calling them to ask for more details on this issue myself.

Mike

 

[SoCalHornetPilot88]

Looking for some help now that I've found the IBS forumn. My Wrangler kicked on the ESS warning out of nowhere and after looking around I saw that there was a cord connecting to an input under the negative terminal on my battery that had fallen off and the connector had basically melted on the engine. After some investigation I believe it is the IBS connector which since it is not connected is likely causing the caution.

Issue I'm now having is finding a replacement cord or at least the connection that I can splice and fix on my own. I've attached some pics for reference.

Question is, does anyone know where I can find a similar cord or connection? Appreciate any and all help!

 

[dapipp]

Not in a position to check but that looks like the plug on the third brake light.

 

[SoCalHornetPilot88]

Does anyone have a picture of what that connection looks like pre-melt?

 

[Jay Ellyou]

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/jumperless-aux-battery-bypass.95945/

Ok, so i’ve done the ESS battery bypass as per the above instructions, my alternator/battery voltage display is constantly putting out 14.2V and seems to be operating as though I no longer have a smart alternator, could this be the case.

I have also installed a 138AH second battery, wired to a 200W solar panel through a DC/DC charger to run my fridge, I want to connect this to my main battery as well, but the smart alternator worries me, can I connect a VSR relay in the circuit.

 

[MarkM]

Good write-up on this issue. A lot of people have been confused here.

I just pulled the second battery and integrated the leads into the main battery posts. The IBS still thinks the main is fine and I have never had a no-start since. If I enable the start/stop, it runs just as it is supposed to. With the leads all being fed from the same source, the vehicle has no idea it only has one battery.

At one point I did pull the IBS lead off and after a few mintues the icon for the ESS came up, as it should, thinking the battery was dead. Replugged it in and all is well.

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