Dealership Battery Screw Up

[Nevermore]

Hi all I would like to get your thoughts on something.

Story Time:
I recently had my 2.0 JLU Sport S into the dealership to get some work done. After about a week, new oil control valve, camshaft phaser, cylinder cover, and about $1,800. I picked up my Jeep. I was a little sluggish on the initial start, but I chalked that up the cold weather and setting outside for a little bit without being driven much.
Over the next 3 days between my daughter (her car is in the shop because she got a deer) we put about 220 miles on the Jeep. Then this morning it refused to start.
Suspecting a bad battery I ran her to school and came home to pull the battery before going to work. Once I got the hood unfrozen I discovered the tech never hooked the negative battery terminal back up. A 10mm socket and a few seconds later the jeep started right up.
I called the dealership up to express my frustrations and was told they were sorry and since there were no dash lights on I should be fine. I requested the service writer have his manager call me back, and I've been playing phone tag with the manager the entire day.
My concern is that the extra stress on the auxiliary battery could cause it to fail prematurely. I just swapped both batteries about 7 months ago.
What are your thoughts?

TLDR:
Dealership forgot to reconnect the battery and is dismissing my concerns that extended driving in that state could shorten the life span of the auxiliary battery.

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[Heimkehr]

When you opened the hood and first observed the position of the Negative cable, was its placement such that the technician truly forget to reconnect it, or was the cable adjacent to the main battery's negative terminal in such a way to suggest that it wasn't sufficiently tightened, and could've possibly slipped off the battery post during the course of normal driving [prior to the no-start condition occurring]?

Taking the broader view, think about the risks of at least part of the vehicle's electrical system being ungrounded while it was being driven. If that can be authenticated, then the potential or actual risks of that condition are what the Service Manager needs to acknowledge and address.

Keep us posted on the resolution process.

 

[2nd 392]

You are about to find out if they’re an honest reputable dealer, or not, if it didn’t throw a code. You accepted delivery and left the premises. … experience speaking, upon washing my MC after pick up from the dealer I found a scrape on the black gas tank to the primer hidden with black grease. Immediately went back and pointed the hidden damage out. “You could have done it after you left “. I never blackened that dealership’s door again, even though the next nearest HD dealer was about an hour away.

 

[Nevermore]

When you opened the hood and first observed the position of the Negative cable, was its placement such that the technician truly forget to reconnect it, or was the cable adjacent to the main battery's negative terminal in such a way to suggest that it wasn't sufficiently tightened, and could've possibly slipped off the battery post during the course of normal driving [prior to the no-start condition occurring]?

Taking the broader view, think about the risks of at least part of the vehicle's electrical system being ungrounded while it was being driven. If that can be authenticated, then the potential or actual risks of that condition are what the Service Manager needs to acknowledge and address.

Keep us posted on the resolution process.

The cable was bent and tucked down next to the battery. If it had just come loose I would have expected it to still be near the negative terminal.
I will keep you all posted.

 

[NWJeepr]

Mistakes happen, but you are right... that could shorten the life of the aux battery, and those are a bear to change--and they're not cheap. It can't hurt to ask if the dealer is willing to do something out of goodwill.

 

[rizzosmith]

I don't want to bum you out, but... I have had to replace TWO of the auxiliary batteries already. I seem to get about 36 months out of them and they start to fail. My alternator is charging within specs and my primary battery is still the factory unit. I also use the auto start/stop all the time which is probably the culprit

 

[THAW]

Operating a JL with only the AUX (ESS) battery for 3 days and 220 miles is unlikely to have any meaningful affect on the life of that battery (or cause any vehicle damage).

The little OEM battery is only 200 CCA, which is borderline for turning over the motor. If the weather is cold and/or the battery is less than fully charged, even a healthy one could reasonably fail to cold-start the engine. That is, a failed start isn't necessarily a sign the battery is bad or was damaged.

In any case, I'd also be frustrated about sloppy dealer work.

 

[Jeep Wick]

Don't expect anything from the dealer except maybe a free oil change, and I would turn that down. If your battery didn't go dead, the shortened lifespan should be negligible.

 

[hamiamham69]

Sounds like the perfect occasion to do an aux battery delete!

 

[randyhub]

Has anyone used one of those plug and play ESS delete modules for 40.00 off Amazon? Can't help but think stop stop will shorten battery life. I had to change my wife's AGM battery (1 only) in her Toyota Highlander it was 7 years old and has stop start.

 

[NWJeepr]

Has anyone used one of those plug and play ESS delete modules for 40.00 off Amazon? Can't help but think stop stop will shorten battery life. I had to change my wife's AGM battery (1 only) in her Toyota Highlander it was 7 years old and has stop start.

I use the one from autostopstarteliminator.com. Installed it in the Jeep when it was brand new and I forget ESS even exists because the module keeps it turned off all the time. I can turn it back on with the button on the dash if I want to--but I never do

 

[Jeffy56]

Has anyone used one of those plug and play ESS delete modules for 40.00 off Amazon? Can't help but think stop stop will shorten battery life. I had to change my wife's AGM battery (1 only) in her Toyota Highlander it was 7 years old and has stop start.

More likely to need a starter sooner than later.

 

[Jeffy56]

I don't want to bum you out, but... I have had to replace TWO of the auxiliary batteries already. I seem to get about 36 months out of them and they start to fail. My alternator is charging within specs and my primary battery is still the factory unit. I also use the auto start/stop all the time which is probably the culprit

You'll need a new main battery soon. 6 years +/- is a decent service life. Mine is on it's 3rd Main and I did the Aux bypass and upsized the Main to a H7 per the Aux bypass thread.

 

[flick2614]

If the negative was disconnected on the main battery is the theory that you've been running the Jeep on the Aux battery this whole time? Is that even possible given how small it is?

If that were the case I'd imagine the aux gets charged back up once the connection is restored, shouldn't be any long-term effects.

Curious; were there any black marks near the negative cable where maybe it had shorted to the body?

 

[Touchingstone]

I am confused. From the diagram, the Aux battery is connected to the negative post of the main battery. The main cable is connected to the body. If the main negative cable is disconnected, shouldn't the Aux battery be disconnected also? Is there another ground for the Aux?

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