A/C acting up when starting jeep

[ElDoc72]

Hi,

Couple of weeks ago the A/C didn’t work after starting the Jeep. I had to do a “hard reset” where I turned off the car and restarted to have the A/C work again. The issue repeats randomly after turning off the car. it doesn’t matter if I turn off the car with the A/C on or off.
I have a 2020 JLU sport with the tiny radio, so very basic A/C controls.
Anyone else experienced this? Any idea what could be causing it and possible fix?
thanks a lot for any help or advice

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[Deleted User 38384]

Hi,

Couple of weeks ago the A/C didn’t work after starting the Jeep. I had to do a “hard reset” where I turned off the car and restarted to have the A/C work again. The issue repeats randomly after turning off the car. it doesn’t matter if I turn off the car with the A/C on or off.
I have a 2020 JLU sport with the tiny radio, so very basic A/C controls.
Anyone else experienced this? Any idea what could be causing it and possible fix?
thanks a lot for any help or advice

How many miles on your 2020?

 

[ElDoc72]

How many miles on your 2020?

A little bit over 38k

 

[Deleted User 38384]

A little bit over 38k

My first thought just from general car knowledge would be the thermostat is going bad. My second thought is maybe you got some dirt in the blower motor. Typically if you go in the passenger side footwell underneath where the glove box is, that's where they usually have them located. The only real way to tell if the thermostat is going bad, so I understand and the vehicles I've changed in the past, is to pull it out and replace it. It's usually like a $30 part so it's not too bad. Hopefully on the Wranglers it's very easy to access. My wife's old Honda Accord hybrid it was a son of a gun to access. How to use a sawzall to cut off some metal. Just a real hassle.

You can get blower motors used or new on eBay or Amazon or RockAuto usually for under 50 bucks.

Something as simple as the blower motor connection being just a little bit bad could be causing it. It could also be your battery starting to go. Jeep brand vehicles do weird stuff when the battery start to go. Pretty much any time you start having electrical issues in the Wranglers or other Jeep models, a good place to start is always the battery. Especially if you've had it for two or three years. I just replaced mine after it started doing wonky things.

My personal thought is it's either the battery showing early signs of failure, or it's the thermostat. Thermostats are strange. I had one on my 2001 Toyota Camry last for 200,000 mi before it failed. And then on my wife's Honda Accord hybrid, it died at 70,000 mi, and then I had to replace the thermostat again at 90,000 mi right before we sold it.

Realistically speaking, it could also be a bad connection behind the knobs on the dash. There's a whole bunch of videos about how to take off that dash panel on the internet, and just make sure your connections there are good. It could be something as simple as a loose wire that connects to the knobs and resetting somehow makes the connection temporarily better. I've seen weirder things.


Not to keep repeating myself, but yeah I would start in this order:

1. Battery
2. Blower Motor
3. Check the dash knobs (because that doesn't cost anything)
4. Replace the thermostat

And at that point if it's still happening, you know it's not the obvious things.


Let me know what you find? I'm curious to see if it's any of these problems listed above. If you need parts too, I can help you find some decent prices as well. I'm pretty good at shopping for good deals. ?

 

[mwilk012]

What do you mean the A/C doesnt work? Doesnt blow, or isnt cold?

 

[ElDoc72]

It doesn’t blow, the recirculation button doesn’t light up when pressed, while the AC button lights up as well as the rear defrost button. After the hard reset, everything comes back normal

 

[ElDoc72]

My first thought just from general car knowledge would be the thermostat is going bad. My second thought is maybe you got some dirt in the blower motor. Typically if you go in the passenger side footwell underneath where the glove box is, that's where they usually have them located. The only real way to tell if the thermostat is going bad, so I understand and the vehicles I've changed in the past, is to pull it out and replace it. It's usually like a $30 part so it's not too bad. Hopefully on the Wranglers it's very easy to access. My wife's old Honda Accord hybrid it was a son of a gun to access. How to use a sawzall to cut off some metal. Just a real hassle.

You can get blower motors used or new on eBay or Amazon or RockAuto usually for under 50 bucks.

Something as simple as the blower motor connection being just a little bit bad could be causing it. It could also be your battery starting to go. Jeep brand vehicles do weird stuff when the battery start to go. Pretty much any time you start having electrical issues in the Wranglers or other Jeep models, a good place to start is always the battery. Especially if you've had it for two or three years. I just replaced mine after it started doing wonky things.

My personal thought is it's either the battery showing early signs of failure, or it's the thermostat. Thermostats are strange. I had one on my 2001 Toyota Camry last for 200,000 mi before it failed. And then on my wife's Honda Accord hybrid, it died at 70,000 mi, and then I had to replace the thermostat again at 90,000 mi right before we sold it.

Realistically speaking, it could also be a bad connection behind the knobs on the dash. There's a whole bunch of videos about how to take off that dash panel on the internet, and just make sure your connections there are good. It could be something as simple as a loose wire that connects to the knobs and resetting somehow makes the connection temporarily better. I've seen weirder things.


Not to keep repeating myself, but yeah I would start in this order:

1. Battery
2. Blower Motor
3. Check the dash knobs (because that doesn't cost anything)
4. Replace the thermostat

And at that point if it's still happening, you know it's not the obvious things.


Let me know what you find? I'm curious to see if it's any of these problems listed above. If you need parts too, I can help you find some decent prices as well. I'm pretty good at shopping for good deals. ?

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. The batteries starting to give sound plausible as it’s being a while since my ESS stopped working, it just says battery charging. I guess it’s time to tackle that challenge. I’ll keep you posted.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. The batteries starting to give sound plausible as it’s being a while since my ESS stopped working, it just says battery charging. I guess it’s time to tackle that challenge. I’ll keep you posted.

Strong recommendation for you, remove the auxiliary battery and do not replace it.

I live in Texas and batteries typically last about 3 years here because of the excessive heat throughout most of the year. But my battery only lasted a year and 3/4. That's extremely abnormal in Texas. I read somewhere on here recently that the auxiliary battery is used to keep the main battery even while the ESS system is working, but in doing so it drains the main battery, severely shortening it's lifespan.

Just make sure if you do, you put in a much more powerful main battery that equals out to both the main and auxiliary batteries combined. If not better. I was told by the biggest most powerful battery you can fit in there. And that's just what I did.

 

[mwilk012]

Strong recommendation for you, remove the auxiliary battery and do not replace it.

I live in Texas and batteries typically last about 3 years here because of the excessive heat throughout most of the year. But my battery only lasted a year and 3/4. That's extremely abnormal in Texas. I read somewhere on here recently that the auxiliary battery is used to keep the main battery even while the ESS system is working, but in doing so it drains the main battery, severely shortening it's lifespan.

Just make sure if you do, you put in a much more powerful main battery that equals out to both the main and auxiliary batteries combined. If not better. I was told by the biggest most powerful battery you can fit in there. And that's just what I did.

Eh, I put an aux battery in about 3 years ago, have driven maybe 8k miles since then, and haven't had a problem at all. The Mopar batteries are just really bad.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

Eh, I put an aux battery in about 3 years ago, have driven maybe 8k miles since then, and haven't had a problem at all. The Mopar batteries are just really bad.

8K miles in 3 years!?!?

I take it it's not your daily?



In my case it has been abnormally hot this year. Normally it's only a 100+ for about 3 weeks in Texas. This year it's been 100 plus for like 6 weeks in a row. I'm sure that plays a part in it.

 

[mwilk012]

8K miles in 3 years!?!?

I take it it's not your daily?



In my case it has been abnormally hot this year. Normally it's only a 100+ for about 3 weeks in Texas. This year it's been 100 plus for like 6 weeks in a row. I'm sure that plays a part in it.

I live 0.6 miles from my shop, have 4 cars, and we use the Pacifica Hybrid for any longer drives. I live in Oklahoma, it has been 105+ all week. Hopefully tomorrow we will catch a break like they predict.

I'm honestly surprised at how well the interstate aux battery has held up, I get ESS stops working normally before I even get to work.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

I live 0.6 miles from my shop, have 4 cars, and we use the Pacifica Hybrid for any longer drives. I live in Oklahoma, it has been 105+ all week. Hopefully tomorrow we will catch a break like they predict.

I'm honestly surprised at how well the interstate aux battery has held up, I get ESS stops working normally before I even get to work.

OKLAHOMA!?!?

How far of a drive for you is it to get to Crossbar?

 

[mwilk012]

OKLAHOMA!?!?

How far of a drive for you is it to get to Crossbar?

About an hour away. Never been.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

About an hour away. Never been.

Nice! Neither have I.

It's about 2 and 1/2 hours away from me. I'm about 30 minutes south of Sherman.

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