Electrical Issues with JL's

[lutey]

I keep seeing all these posts on Electrical issues on the JL. Are there specific years that are more susceptible than others? Certain models/features that make the issue more problematic? Does E-Torque contribute to the issue? When did they move the auxilary battery so that it was more difficult to service/replace? I'm looking at purchasing a used JK or JL, and am still not sure which one to lean towards.

I know about the Penestar Engine issues on the JK, and likely will still have these issues on the JL. But the electrical issues I think are limited to the JL.

Thanks so much for any feedback on this !!

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[Fonzilla85]

Q#1 No, Q#2 No Q#3 No Q#4 2018. So much can be said to answer all you questions. In all honesty, you have to filter through the info on this forum and not let it sway you about making a decision. All man made things have flaws and will fail, that’s just how it goes.

 

[nU7OuxIx]

I have a 2021 3.6 with eTorque and, knock on wood, haven't had any issues.

I think most issues are from the auxiliary ESS battery on the non-etorque jeeps. It seems like when one battery goes out, electrical issues start popping up. It's just something to keep in mind if your Jeep is 3 years old, and then weird electrical issues start happening...replace both batteries.

The other thing are making sure the fuses are pushed down all the way. Other than that, I can't really think of much else unless you DIY electrical work.

 

[Jeep Wick]

I keep seeing all these posts on Electrical issues on the JL. Are there specific years that are more susceptible than others? Certain models/features that make the issue more problematic? Does E-Torque contribute to the issue? When did they move the auxilary battery so that it was more difficult to service/replace? I'm looking at purchasing a used JK or JL, and am still not sure which one to lean towards.

I know about the Penestar Engine issues on the JK, and likely will still have these issues on the JL. But the electrical issues I think are limited to the JL.

Thanks so much for any feedback on this !!

Weak batteries create gremlins on all modern cars. I haven't seen anything else besides a handful of canbus connectors and firmware updates that have caused problems for a few people. I disabled ESS early on, and my original batteries are going on 4 years.

 

[78cj7-18lj]

I keep seeing all these posts on Electrical issues on the JL. Are there specific years that are more susceptible than others? Certain models/features that make the issue more problematic? Does E-Torque contribute to the issue? When did they move the auxilary battery so that it was more difficult to service/replace? I'm looking at purchasing a used JK or JL, and am still not sure which one to lean towards.

I know about the Penestar Engine issues on the JK, and likely will still have these issues on the JL. But the electrical issues I think are limited to the JL.

Thanks so much for any feedback on this !!

2018 Sahara 2.0T e-torq still has original battery. Zero issues love my Jeep

 

[jeepoch]

I'm finding my battery issues are likely due to leaving my ESS enabled in nearly all normal driving conditions. I know, I know, doctor it hurts when I do this.

Well I'm the true oddball. I like playing with it at red lights. Gives me another dimension of having fun with this thing. It also helps keep me better focused on situational awareness at intersections. To let it either shut down or not considering the Seven Second Rule (SSR).

However, this entertainment has led me to replacing both batteries three times now in the four years of ownership. That's certainly not amusing. I have rightly complained about the cheap, POS Mopar batteries that the dealership replaced twice under warranty. However, my third set were now top-of-the line AGM's on my dime. They've lasted the longest so far, over a year now.

However, the biggest factor (by far) is that by letting the ESS work as intended, this leaves minimal charging opportunities during typical driving trips. City driving with lots of red lights leaves very little time to charge both batts from the JL's pithy stock alternator.

I'm realizing much more success by routinely plugging my batteries up to an external maintainer. My NOCAL Genius 10 appears to be doing the job nicely. However I do need to disconnect the negative leads and charge each batt separately. Unfortunately, all this extra effort is absolutely necessary in order to have the ESS system work as the knucklehead EPA zealots had likely envisioned. There is just NO WAY the system would work reliably otherwise.

I find that the only way I can prevent the occasional 'Battery Charging' or 'Battery Protection Mode Complaints' is to either intentionally totally disable ESS (via the pushbutton) on some trips or externally charge a couple times per week. However, it's pretty substantially clear that better batteries do indeed help.

So in order to not have battery worries, it is certainly in your best interest to disable ESS altogether and keep everything charging according to the alternator's original specifications before the ESS was shoehorned in at the last minute due to green mandates.

So, while I despise the ESS system overall, I do enjoy playing with it as often as I can. My normal daily commute has 32 traffic lights. Hitting the statistical 50% of them, (although it always seems like a lot more on average), I have anything but a typical charging cycle opportunity per trip. The Automotive engineers clearly sized this system biased towards a best case trip scenario. I'm certainly living well outside their usage model.

Still, this JL is a blast to drive. I'm loving every minute I'm piloting this thing. Even with the additional battery charging burden.

Hope this helps clarify why most people likely choose to disable ESS completely with a smile on their face. It is indeed a real pain in the ass. I clearly must have a screw loose for not just enjoying but even more so for putting up with it.

Jay

 

[JLeco2022]

when i first bought my jl eco diesel i had heard of electrical problems enough that my wheelin boys told me to stay away, but i did not. I went the entire electrical system and what I can tell is either 1 person doing the harness wiring was lazy or not taught correctly, simple mistakes easy to fix but could cause huge issues if not addressed. one of the big ones I found was one of the wiring bundles on the passenger side leaned up against the exhaust pipe. other issues I found was not full set pins in harness connectors, wire harness bundles not supported or ran the intended way so the black plastic clips could not plug into the body holes so the cables would be left dangling either with alot of slack or drawn tight because of a miss run in the line

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