Broke down on vacation help

[Utahlasvegas]

Hello everyone,

I’m supposed to be backpacking in the Sierra Nevada with my cousin, but my 2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon broke down, and we have to wait until Monday for a tow and hopefully some help. While I’m waiting, I thought I’d post here to see if anyone has any ideas.

First, we car camped off a backroad near the Ancient Bristlecone Forest, and while driving to the location, the blind spot warning lights turned on on both mirrors and stayed on. The following morning, we loaded up to leave, but the Jeep would not allow me to put it in drive. It would just stay in park. We had no phone coverage and were very far away from help, but we figured out how to disable the automatic park like it were to be towed. The Jeep ran fine after that for about an hour. We went to Bishop, California to try to find help. AutoZone scanned it and couldn’t find anything.

Then we decided to try to drive back to the Jeep dealership where I live about 300 miles away. We drove for about 30 minutes, but then the stereo went out; then the air conditioning stopped working. And then the power steering stopped working. I pulled into a gas station parking lot, and it died. It has no electric power at all.

Do any of you amazing folks have any ideas of what this could be? I bought a new battery last summer. I’m reading that it could be an auxiliary battery.

Thanks for your insight,

Beau

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[Bill_P]

Is your aux the original? If so, it probably killed your new main. I would delete the aux and see if the issues go away with a new main. Easy to do. Take the aux negative off the main and tape it off and pull F42 in the fuse panel. If that fixes it you save the tow charge and diagnostic fee.
Usually with so many dissimilar problems it's a battery issue or a problem with the green canbus block behind the glovebox.

 

[JDBoss]

Recommend you check to ensure ALL your fuses are fully seated. Heard this to be an issue on many JLs. Many of ours were not fully seated - although we never had symptoms like yours. Good luck, hope it's something simple.

 

[nositting]

sounds like you changed the main but not the auxiliary battery (if you have the auxiliary battery). can’t imagine you going this long without charging either. probably should have tested the battery while at autozone as it really sounds like this is the culprit.
i’ve pushed my luck with a lot of stuff but batteries are like oil, gas and tires - you want new BEFORE it becomes an issue, especially if going on a trip.
i really hope it’s as easy as a battery! please keep us updated and i hope you get to do more of your trip!!

 

[roaniecowpony]

Don't bother with pushing in fuses. They don't work better because they are seated deeper. Once the blade is in the socket it works. The fuse would litterally have to have fallen out, to cause a problem.

Like others have said, your issue has the signs of dead batteries. Likely caused by an auxiliary battery that won't hold a charge and has drained the main battery as well.

The auxiliary battery is a small battery under the fuse panel. There are at least two ways to get to it. One is to remove the fuse panel, then a tray under it. The other is to remove the fender and go from the underside without removing the fuse panel.

 

[Stuckinthesand]

I 2nd disconnecting the aux. I had the same situation to the point I had to use my jumppack if I stopped. I had to put the jeep in neutral and keep my rpm’s around 1000-1500 to get to the auto parts store to replace the main. I was getting the service stop start system message for about a week before so I knew it was time but waited a tad to long to take care of it.

 

[Hard Rock Jeep]

As to the blind spot warning light issue, that happens regularly when wheeling in dusty or muddy areas. The fix is to wipe off the sensors on the taillights.

 

[Utahlasvegas]

Is your aux the original? If so, it probably killed your new main. I would delete the aux and see if the issues go away with a new main. Easy to do. Take the aux negative off the main and tape it off and pull F42 in the fuse panel. If that fixes it you save the tow charge and diagnostic fee.
Usually with so many dissimilar problems it's a battery issue or a problem with the green canbus block behind the glovebox.

yes, the aux battery is original. Thanks for your advice.

I 2nd disconnecting the aux. I had the same situation to the point I had to use my jumppack if I stopped. I had to put the jeep in neutral and keep my rpm’s around 1000-1500 to get to the auto parts store to replace the main. I was getting the service stop start system message for about a week before so I knew it was time but waited a tad to long to take care of it.

thanks, do you think we’d be able to make the 300 mile drive to where I live after disconnecting the aux? I’m worried that it might take a while for the mechanic we’re supposed to see on Monday to get a new aux battery.

 

[Stuckinthesand]

thanks, do you think we’d be able to make the 300 mile drive to where I live after disconnecting the aux? I’m worried that it might take a while for the mechanic we’re supposed to see on Monday to get a new aux battery.
[/QUOTE]


I would honestly not try that far if I wasn’t sure my main was bad. If you have to stop in traffic or for whatever it’ll probably die on you. If it takes awhile to get the aux have them bypass it and replace the main if it’s bad. Hopefully you just need a good charge on your main.

 

[Bill_P]

yes, the aux battery is original. Thanks for your advice.

thanks, do you think we’d be able to make the 300 mile drive to where I live after disconnecting the aux? I’m worried that it might take a while for the mechanic we’re supposed to see on Monday to get a new aux battery.

If the main isn't toast and just needs a charge you should be fine. I deleted my wife's aux almost 2 years ago and haven't had any issues.

 

[Utahlasvegas]

If the main isn't toast and just needs a charge you should be fine. I deleted my wife's aux almost 2 years ago and haven't had any issues.

I have a Halo battery charger that is all charged up. I’m thinking about disconnecting the aux and then trying to charge the main battery for about 30 minutes. If we can get it running, there is an OReilly 40 miles north of me with aux batteries in stock. I’m not super mechanically inclined and think I’d need to get someone to install the aux battery for me hopefully tomorrow.

 

[Utahlasvegas]

I have a Halo battery charger that is all charged up. I’m thinking about disconnecting the aux and then trying to charge the main battery for about 30 minutes. If we can get it running, there is an OReilly 40 miles north of me with aux batteries in stock. I’m not super mechanically inclined and think I’d need to get someone to install the aux battery for me hopefully tomorrow.

I am still worried about the initial problem that started all of this. The Jeep was stuck in park yesterday morning and wouldn’t let me put it in drive. We had to pull the cord in front of the shifter to manually disable it being in park.

 

[CMTAZ]

yes, the aux battery is original. Thanks for your advice.

thanks, do you think we’d be able to make the 300 mile drive to where I live after disconnecting the aux? I’m worried that it might take a while for the mechanic we’re supposed to see on Monday to get a new aux battery.

If you jump and start it you should be fine. You might want to pick up a cheap little portable jump starter.

The unwritten rule of thumb, IF EITHER BATTERY TESTS BAD - REPLACE THEM BOTH!!!

Why, I do not know, but it seems to have served me well. Also, you will find that the AUX battery is fairly cheap, but getting to it is a MAJOR PITA!!!

 

[Halxen]

I have a Halo battery charger that is all charged up. I’m thinking about disconnecting the aux and then trying to charge the main battery for about 30 minutes. If we can get it running, there is an OReilly 40 miles north of me with aux batteries in stock. I’m not super mechanically inclined and think I’d need to get someone to install the aux battery for me hopefully tomorrow.

I'd second those saying to bypass the small aux battery to at least test out if that is the source of the issue. Without knowing more specifics of the situation, that could have also been the original issue you had where it wouldn't disengage from park.

If you are going to pay someone else to replace the aux battery; do your future self a favor and get one of the three options from Genesis Offroad.

https://www.genesisoffroad.com/Wrangler-JL_c_39.html

Battery Relocation kit will keep the same batteries but moves the small aux battery up above the PDC (fuze box) so you can easily change the battery yourself in the future.

Battery Replacement kit replaces the two different size batteries with two of the same Group 25 batteries, but keeps the same stock wiring/function.

Full Dual Battery system replaces the stock aux battery wiring/function and has its own solid state battery combiner. This allows you to "jump start" yourself in the event you drain the main cranking battery. It is effectively the same as the battery replacement kit with two Group 25 batteries, but with their battery combiner instead of the basic buss-bars and retaining the factory aux battery cabling/function.

imo I'd say the full dual battery system is way overkill for you. I would however say their battery replacement kit moving to two of the same sized batteries might be worth it.

But as with your last message and concern with the original issue; I'd not do any of these options without first having the Jeep checked out to determine if it is just the aux battery dying and taking out the new main battery with it.

EDIT: If you take it to a shop to install any of those kits they should only take about 1.5-2 hours to install. They'll probably charge you at least that much to replace the aux battery each time because they either have to pull the PDC and battery tray out to get to the battery from above or they have to pull the wheel and inner fender out to get to it from below.

 

[Halxen]

Also; forgot to point you toward how to bypass the aux battery.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/aux-battery-delete-question.133848/post-2791940

Do that and have O'riley charge and test your main battery. If it tests ok then you'll probably be ok to get back home so you can order one of the battery replacement kits and take it to a local Jeep shop to have it installed.

Sorry your vacation went pear shaped. Hopefully things workout for you getting back home.

For the future make yourself a check-list of things to do/check before going off-roading or on long trips. It's usually well worth the time to make sure things are in good shape before heading out.

• Change your oil
• Check/Change your air intake filter
• Check all your tires (including spare)
• Ensure you have the tools for your lugnuts and you have your jack
• Do a quick visual inspection of your suspension / steering systems to make sure there aren't loose bolts, damage, leaking oil, etc.

Someone posted a really good image/diagram of all of the suspension and steering system parts that's really helpful in learning the basics on what you'll want to be checking; but I couldn't find the post when I looked for it right now. Hopefully someone else can chime in with a link and/or some other decent resources for learning the basics of your suspension and steering systems. I'd also suggest finding a local jeep club (there should be several in AZ) as they can also be a great resource for learning and they will often have multiple mechanics that are members and who know Wranglers inside and out.

Good luck and hopefully you'll get to do that hiking trip another time.

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