Dead Battery 2019 Wrangler

[Mhammett]

I’ve been having a problem with my batteries dying when my Jeep sits for longer than a week. Something is putting a draw on it when it sits. I’ve replaced both Batteries with the recommended ones but am still having this issue. At night I see the dash lights coming on for a short time then going off. Not sure if that’s enough to drain the batteries. It works fine after a couple days but if it sits longer than a week they are dead. Won’t even unlock the doors. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If I travel now I have to disconnect the battery before I leave.

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[ALRUI]

Should be able to sit a week without issue. My 22 Challenger sits for weeks on end and starts fine (the JL systems are extremely similar to the Challenger having both). Do you have anything aftermarket installed that could be causing a draw? Is the fob near enough to be able to start the Jeep? Here's a good video on tracking down parasitic draws:

 

[VKSheridan]

To make for more appealing mileage estimates and lower carbon emissions, FCA installed auto start in our sleds.

While that technology is tolerable in a Dart, it just doesn’t go well in a Jeep. You have a little battery whose job is to power the controllers, a big battery to crank the engine and a single alternator trying to keep both equally charged even though both have different internal resistance.

That said, your Jeep has to keep several controllers energized when the ignition is off. For your remote start or FOB lock/unlock to function, the controller will draw current 24/7 as it listens for a signal. If you have a UConnect subscription, same thing.

Now the bad news: The lil’ auxiliary battery that powers those controllers has a reserve capacity of button battery. It’s like 20 ah if I recollect which means if you have a half amp draw, the battery will be depleted in 40 hours or a little more than 3 days.

Options:

A) Remove the fuse to the Power Control Relay (F42), remove the auxiliary battery from the vehicle, tape the disconnected terminal ends that once went to that f’ing battery, enjoy life again.

B) Purchase a NOCO10 battery maintainer and plug your rig in when your not driving it. That will guarantee it will start in your driveway but it will also ensure you won’t realize the aux battery has failed until you try to start somewhere the NOCO isn’t. Then do Option A.

C) Replace your batteries at various intervals, cuss at the cost and the stupidity of putting an auxiliary battery in the friggin wheel well of an off-road vehicle and carry jumper cables. Then do Option A.

D) Drive your Jeep daily like it’s a Chevy Malibu and never leave the pavement and you *might* get 5 years out of the battery. Then do Option A.

E) Do Option A if you’ve read this far….

 

[Rhinebeck01]

To make for more appealing mileage estimates and lower carbon emissions, FCA installed auto start in our sleds.

While that technology is tolerable in a Dart, it just doesn’t go well in a Jeep. You have a little battery whose job is to power the controllers, a big battery to crank the engine and a single alternator trying to keep both equally charged even though both have different internal resistance.

That said, your Jeep has to keep several controllers energized when the ignition is off. For your remote start or FOB lock/unlock to function, the controller will draw current 24/7 as it listens for a signal. If you have a UConnect subscription, same thing.

Now the bad news: The lil’ auxiliary battery that powers those controllers has a reserve capacity of button battery. It’s like 20 ah if I recollect which means if you have a half amp draw, the battery will be depleted in 40 hours or a little more than 3 days.

Options:

A) Remove the fuse to the Power Control Relay (F42), remove the auxiliary battery from the vehicle, tape the disconnected terminal ends that once went to that f’ing battery, enjoy life again.

B) Purchase a NOCO10 battery maintainer and plug your rig in when your not driving it. That will guarantee it will start in your driveway but it will also ensure you won’t realize the aux battery has failed until you try to start somewhere the NOCO isn’t. Then do Option A.

C) Replace your batteries at various intervals, cuss at the cost and the stupidity of putting an auxiliary battery in the friggin wheel well of an off-road vehicle and carry jumper cables. Then do Option A.

D) Drive your Jeep daily like it’s a Chevy Malibu and never leave the pavement and you *might* get 5 years out of the battery. Then do Option A.

E) Do Option A if you’ve read this far….

As someone that probably bypassed the JL aux battery long long before most anyone (over 73,000+ miles and say 4+ yrs, ago, I agree with this post and your other similar forum posts..

The only thing I disagree with you on, is I do feel for most guys and gals, they are better off bypassing the aux battery and just leaving it in place.. Use it as a backup battery to the Main or just leave it be... let it rest in piece. Don't waste time, etc. deleting it.

Reality is, there is no reason really to actually delete the aux battery. Why bastardize a vehicle that has a warranty or that's resale value will be negatively impacted. Then you also have a vehicle that say a factory tech will be hesitant to work on and more.

Anyway, other then to shed say 4 or 5 lbs. there is really little reason to bother deleting the aux.

In less then 5 min. you can bypass the JL's aux battery and be done with it. Drive that now, single battery JL like your old TJ, JK, your old Chevy with their single battery. Yes, still maintain that single battery or...

 

[MitchRoyce]

Sounds like you got a parasitic draw, which means something is draining your battery when it's supposed to be off.

You already did the right thing by replacing the batteries with the recommended ones, but it didn't solve the problem. Here are a few options you can try:

• Check for any aftermarket electrical accessories that might be wired directly to the battery. These can be a common cause of parasitic draws.
• Disconnect the negative cable from the battery when the Jeep sits for longer than a week. It's a hassle, but it's better than coming back to a dead battery.
• Check the alternator to make sure it's charging the batteries properly. A faulty alternator can cause the battery to drain faster than it should.

Hope this helps you out.

 

[VKSheridan]

As someone that probably bypassed the JL aux battery long long before most anyone (over 73,000+ miles and say 4+ yrs, ago, I agree with this post and your other similar forum posts..

The only thing I disagree with you on, is I do feel for most guys and gals, they are better off bypassing the aux battery and just leaving it in place.. Use it as a backup battery to the Main or just leave it be... let it rest in piece. Don't waste time, etc. deleting it.

I think you were indeed one of the first to disconnect the aux battery. You had already been through the briar patch as I was just entering it.

I could lie and say after careful analysis and deliberation, I deleted it to avoid acid puke should the right rock get slung by my tire, to reduce weight, to repurpose as a camp light power supply or to donate it to the “Save the Puppies” foundation but to be 100%, I deleted it out of pure spite.

As for warranty, I think you’ll agree that if a dealer can’t delineate between defective pinion seal and a hollow cavity where the lil battery once was, they don’t need to be touching your Jeep.

None the less, I left the cables there (taped and stowed) so I can restore with 3 screws, two terminal nuts and sticking in a fuse. The only difference is I think the lil battery is safer and more useful being a power source for my camp tent lights.

Like everyone else here with mechanical aptitude, I wanted to identify the root cause and fix the issue. This system is used on so many vehicles, there has to be a reason why it just doesn’t work on certain Jeeps. I once wanted to figure that out but no more.

I think (and that’s all it is) the difference is those seeing repetitive reoccurrence drive a trail harder in in their Jeep than a Dodge Dart and the vibration on that little AGM right above the R/F wheel is just too much. Add the occasional water fording that “water cools” the alternator and we’re just asking too much .

I see hundreds of pavement princesses that have more lights than lug nuts clueless as to what jumper cables are. I see guys with what seems to be 50,000 watt sound systems that can shatter glass running around with 6 year old factory batteries.

I still like to back my Jeep into a parking bay but it’s no longer because I’m pointing the nose out in case it needs a jump…..LOL

 

[Bayrat]

I think you were indeed one of the first to disconnect the aux battery. You had already been through the briar patch as I was just entering it.

I could lie and say after careful analysis and deliberation, I deleted it to avoid acid puke should the right rock get slung by my tire, to reduce weight, to repurpose as a camp light power supply or to donate it to the “Save the Puppies” foundation but to be 100%, I deleted it out of pure spite.

As for warranty, I think you’ll agree that if a dealer can’t delineate between defective pinion seal and a hollow cavity where the lil battery once was, they don’t need to be touching your Jeep.

None the less, I left the cables there (taped and stowed) so I can restore with 3 screws, two terminal nuts and sticking in a fuse. The only difference is I think the lil battery is safer and more useful being a power source for my camp tent lights.

Like everyone else here with mechanical aptitude, I wanted to identify the root cause and fix the issue. This system is used on so many vehicles, there has to be a reason why it just doesn’t work on certain Jeeps. I once wanted to figure that out but no more.

I think (and that’s all it is) the difference is those seeing repetitive reoccurrence drive a trail harder in in their Jeep than a Dodge Dart and the vibration on that little AGM right above the R/F wheel is just too much. Add the occasional water fording that “water cools” the alternator and we’re just asking too much .

I see hundreds of pavement princesses that have more lights than lug nuts clueless as to what jumper cables are. I see guys with what seems to be 50,000 watt sound systems that can shatter glass running around with 6 year old factory batteries.

I still like to back my Jeep into a parking bay but it’s no longer because I’m pointing the nose out in case it needs a jump…..LOL

Now if I could only figure out how to delete the dam PITA battery out of my wife's Grand Cherokee, life would be sweeter.

 

[Mhammett]

To make for more appealing mileage estimates and lower carbon emissions, FCA installed auto start in our sleds.

While that technology is tolerable in a Dart, it just doesn’t go well in a Jeep. You have a little battery whose job is to power the controllers, a big battery to crank the engine and a single alternator trying to keep both equally charged even though both have different internal resistance.

That said, your Jeep has to keep several controllers energized when the ignition is off. For your remote start or FOB lock/unlock to function, the controller will draw current 24/7 as it listens for a signal. If you have a UConnect subscription, same thing.

Now the bad news: The lil’ auxiliary battery that powers those controllers has a reserve capacity of button battery. It’s like 20 ah if I recollect which means if you have a half amp draw, the battery will be depleted in 40 hours or a little more than 3 days.

Options:

A) Remove the fuse to the Power Control Relay (F42), remove the auxiliary battery from the vehicle, tape the disconnected terminal ends that once went to that f’ing battery, enjoy life again.

B) Purchase a NOCO10 battery maintainer and plug your rig in when your not driving it. That will guarantee it will start in your driveway but it will also ensure you won’t realize the aux battery has failed until you try to start somewhere the NOCO isn’t. Then do Option A.

C) Replace your batteries at various intervals, cuss at the cost and the stupidity of putting an auxiliary battery in the friggin wheel well of an off-road vehicle and carry jumper cables. Then do Option A.

D) Drive your Jeep daily like it’s a Chevy Malibu and never leave the pavement and you *might* get 5 years out of the battery. Then do Option A.

E) Do Option A if you’ve read this far….

Lol I like Option A, Thanks

 

[J.Ferreira]

As someone that probably bypassed the JL aux battery long long before most anyone (over 73,000+ miles and say 4+ yrs, ago, I agree with this post and your other similar forum posts..

The only thing I disagree with you on, is I do feel for most guys and gals, they are better off bypassing the aux battery and just leaving it in place.. Use it as a backup battery to the Main or just leave it be... let it rest in piece. Don't waste time, etc. deleting it.

Reality is, there is no reason really to actually delete the aux battery. Why bastardize a vehicle that has a warranty or that's resale value will be negatively impacted. Then you also have a vehicle that say a factory tech will be hesitant to work on and more.

Anyway, other then to shed say 4 or 5 lbs. there is really little reason to bother deleting the aux.

In less then 5 min. you can bypass the JL's aux battery and be done with it. Drive that now, single battery JL like your old TJ, JK, your old Chevy with their single battery. Yes, still maintain that single battery or...

Question
If you pull the fuse, and disconnect the battery
Do you get the "service ess" light? I need to get my clutch looked at because every now and then the clutch position sensor gets wonky and then I get a light that disables cruise and ess.

I don't care for ess, but I use cruise religiously.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

Question
If you pull the fuse, and disconnect the battery
Do you get the "service ess" light? I need to get my clutch looked at because every now and then the clutch position sensor gets wonky and then I get a light that disables cruise and ess.

I don't care for ess, but I use cruise religiously.

If you got into and drove a JL with the aux battery disabled you would not have a clue the vehicle was running on just the Main battery. You would see no "service ess light", etc..

Takes literally less then 5 min to pull the fuse (F42) and disconnect the Aux neg cable.. Give running with just the Aux a try and see for yourself.. You can do no harm trying..

 

[Mhammett]

Are you saying you can disconnect the cables at the main battery that goes to the little battery ? Tape the ends and tuck them away. I checked into removing the little battery. That’s a lot of work. I’m hoping I can leave the little battery in place and just disconnect the two cables where they connect to big battery.

 

[multicam]

Are you saying you can disconnect the cables at the main battery that goes to the little battery ? Tape the ends and tuck them away. I checked into removing the little battery. That’s a lot of work. I’m hoping I can leave the little battery in place and just disconnect the two cables where they connect to big battery.

Yep, that’s exactly what you can do.

 

[Mhammett]

If you got into and drove a JL with the aux battery disabled you would not have a clue the vehicle was running on just the Main battery. You would see no "service ess light", etc..

Takes literally less then 5 min to pull the fuse (F42) and disconnect the Aux neg cable.. Give running with just the Aux a try and see for yourself.. You can do no harm trying..

Hi, I have taken the F42 fuse out. Disconnected the the smaller cables that are connected to the main cable for big battery and tape the ends. It’s still dead

 

[Bayrat]

Assuming you don't have a Tazer causing an issue, and you have replaced both batteries, did you check the voltage with the vehicle running? If that is not closer to 14 volts than 12 volts, that's your issue. Otherwise, do some research on testing for the parasitic drains as mentioned above. I'm sure there is a specification regarding how much draw is normal when the vehicle is "off".

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