Bad battery? Yes - another one!

[WillysIam]

We recently got a second car in my family and the jeep hasn't been getting driven often. Typical use is driving Monday to Friday once a day to pick up our son from school. 6 mile round trip.
However, it sat from last Tuesday till yesterday.

I was able to get it started using a battery charger after charging for about 25mins. Just hooked up red/black to the main terminals. I then charged it though the night and this morning I started it without the charger. My wife at 1045 to test it started it, but it "didn't want to start". Then at 1108 when she was ready to go she tried to start it and it wouldn't start. She hooked it up to the charger and started it at 10A output from the charger after 5mins it started up no problem. Currently picking up our son from school and grabbing chick FIL a without turning it off.

Is this just a bad main battery? I will take it to AutoZone to get the battery tested when I get home.

2021 Jeep JL 2.0T Willys
Testing: first test was 11.09V at the terminals
Charged it and haven't tested with meter at terminals, but the screen says 12.5 when off and then 13.8-9 when driving and on.

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[C.Sco]

Is it the OEM battery? If so, I'm going to go ahead and say yeah, it's probably a bad battery. Would recommend getting a high quality AGM battery to replace it. I preemptively replaced my OEM battery only a few weeks after I bought my new Jeep because I have heard so many horror stories about how bad they are. I didn't really feel like spending $500 for the Odyssey battery everyone recommends, so I went with this one from my local Batteries Plus store and it's been great:

https://www.batteriesplus.com/productdetails/replacement/battery/duralast/h7=agm/sli94ragm

 

[garyji]

Remember, it has to be LOAD tested, not just voltage tested. Sounds to me like you need a new battery. My 21 is getting a new Odyssey In a month or so. Mine's fine for now, but I don't go anywhere that is not a least 20 miles RT. Most of the time it's 100+.

G.

 

[laroo]

JL batteries are generally 2 year batteries, especially if you're not driving much every day. It's almost certainly ready for replacement.

 

[WillysIam]

Ah good to know. I will be getting it load tested. Yes it's OEM. I forgot to put mileage. It's at ~45K miles.

Can AutoZone and them do load testing? If so I'll try and knock that out today.

Ordering a trickle charger also because when I go on paternity leave next month, it won't be driven unless I need something from Lowe's. Or I need to drive it to maintain it.

 

[WillysIam]

Yeah just got home and jeep won't start. I can charge it and get it to start I'm guessing and take it to get load tested at AutoZone. Or should I just pull the main battery out and take it to AutoZone?

Edit: just hooked it up to the charger at 10A and it starts fine

 

[dchemphill1]

If you also have the Aux battery....I would replace or eliminate it as you get a new main battery...it can drain your system quickly.

 

[WillysIam]

If you also have the Aux battery....I would replace or eliminate it as you get a new main battery...it can drain your system quickly.

Can you eliminate it on the 2.0? I thought only certain models could

 

[OldBlue]

Can you eliminate it on the 2.0? I thought only certain models could

Nope, as long as you have the aux battery, it can be eliminated. When I replaced my wife's main battery on her '20 2.0L, I left the aux batter in place, just bypassed it and used the start-stop eliminator.

 

[TheNewGuy]

Can you eliminate it on the 2.0? I thought only certain models could

Doesn't matter if it's the 2.0 or 3.6

 

[SparkleTooth]

Can you eliminate it on the 2.0? I thought only certain models could

If you decide to keep the Aux battery be sure to replace both with the best AGM batteries you can find otherwise you will be just wasting money. These charging systems are a complete disaster. You have to replace both.

 

[laroo]

Just FYI, batteries are covered under 3 yr/36k mi warranty if that still applies to you, so dealer can replace them at no cost to you... other than the hassle of getting an appointment, going to the dealer, and waiting for them to test and replace. Potentially saves you a few hundred $$$.

I think many folks just replace them with something better than the Mopar offerings, but I used the warranty option just because I didn't want to deal with replacing the smaller battery.

 

[WillysIam]

Nope, as long as you have the aux battery, it can be eliminated. When I replaced my wife's main battery on her '20 2.0L, I left the aux batter in place, just bypassed it and used the start-stop eliminator.

Is there a guide on bypassing it? And do I need the start stop eliminator to bypass? I would much rather just get rid of it/bypass it rather than replace it

 

[WillysIam]

Just FYI, batteries are covered under 3 yr/36k mi warranty if that still applies to you, so dealer can replace them at no cost to you... other than the hassle of getting an appointment, going to the dealer, and waiting for them to test and replace. Potentially saves you a few hundred $$$.

I think many folks just replace them with something better than the Mopar offerings, but I used the warranty option just because I didn't want to deal with replacing the smaller battery.

Unfortunately I'm at 45k miles

 

[laroo]

Unfortunately I'm at 45k miles

Oh well, you'll be better off if you replace them with something higher quality than the Mopar batteries.

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