ESS Completely Stopped - And I'm Not Complaining!

[binfordtools]

Thanks all for the advice. Even though it's nice not having the ESS work, I agree there is some sort of problem so I will take it in for service.

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[Jeeperz Kreeperz]

Good idea. I had a similar problem start about a month ago. I was getting the message: “Stop/Start Not Ready Battery Charging”. Battery voltage was showing between 14.0 and 14.4v. No other symptoms in the Jeep. Dealer discovered a loose ground plate, and a bad main battery. Replaced battery under warranty.

No other symptoms on the Jeep, but...I spent a ton of time last summer troubleshooting why my Dometic fridge wouldn’t run all night in a brand new Jeep like everyone else’s. Now I think I know why. Doh!!!

 

[WXman]

Lucky me. It's like I won the lottery. My auto start/stop just randomly quit working two weeks ago. It no longer shuts off when I roll up to stop, the switch no longer illuminates, nothing at all. And the Jeep still operates perfectly, no detectable issues, no check engine light or anything. At first I thought this was because weather or something random, but I have driven in all conditions (it's Michigan so we have had snow, rain, sun, 10 deg. and 66 deg. weather over the last 2-weeks). I take the same route to work daily so nothing there has changed either.

I assume there is some sort of problem, but I won't be telling the dealer about it because I'm afraid he will fix it.

Anyone else have this blessing?

Exact same thing happened to me in October. But, I don't consider a money-saving feature on a brand new vehicle that stops working to be a blessing.

So, mine spent two weeks at the dealership because of it, and after replacing the IBS and Aux. Battery with no help, they contacted FCA who walked them through the "re-learn" procedure to teach the vehicle computers how to use ESS again. My Jeep has been flawless ever since, and my fuel economy has returned to normal per my Fuelly.com data.

 

[roaniecowpony]

The OP is in Michigan. The cabin temp won't get high enough to let ESS work until May.

 

[WXman]

The OP is in Michigan. The cabin temp won't get high enough to let ESS work until May.

Then why does my ESS work even when the air temp is 3°F and the wind chill is -14°F?

 

[Greg H]

Then why does my ESS work even when the air temp is 3°F and the wind chill is -14°F?

When the temperature drops below 0 mine says Unavailable to outside temperature to low

 

[Jgeiken]

When the temperature drops below 0 mine says Unavailable to outside temperature to low

I wish that were the case with mine. My ESS was working even when the air temp was -24.

 

[binfordtools]

The OP is in Michigan. The cabin temp won't get high enough to let ESS work until May.

Sorry, but this is incorrect.

 

[twisty]

You're going to end up stranded somewhere that won't be very convenient if you don't look into it. I'm not sure why you could possibly think this is a good thing that your vehicle isn't working as designed. Clearly there is a problem.

Even though I despise ESS I agree with this. Get it fixed and buy a tazer.

 

[Shots]

Mine quit on me last week but I was getting the error message on the dash. Like you guys are saying, was more concerned it was a symptom for something more serious. Dealer was able to identify a faulty door latch. Even though door was functioning and not showing as open on the dash the ESS thought it was open and wouldn’t work. Dealer said it was the second one he saw this week. Odd but easy fix.

Hmmm, including mine that's 4 that I've heard of now. Mine, yours, another one on this forum, and the one your dealership mentioned. Four out of a ton of Jeeps sold is not what one would consider a common problem, but it does seem like a quick easy thing to check if someones ESS stops working.
Step one, scan for door ajar code. Step two, fix door latch if the door shows ajar. Boom, done. Probably a 1 hour service call at best. Beats taking the door apart to check all the wiring like they did on mine before finding the cause (door latch).

 

[Greg H]

Hmmm, including mine that's 4 that I've heard of now. Mine, yours, another one on this forum, and the one your dealership mentioned. Four out of a ton of Jeeps sold is not what one would consider a common problem, but it does seem like a quick easy thing to check if someones ESS stops working.
Step one, scan for door ajar code. Step two, fix door latch if the door shows ajar. Boom, done. Probably a 1 hour service call at best. Beats taking the door apart to check all the wiring like they did on mine before finding the cause (door latch).

You can unplug the cord that goes to the doors. The jeep will think the doors are off and wont check if they are closed.

 

[mwilk012]

You can unplug the cord that goes to the doors. The jeep will think the doors are off and wont check if they are closed.

And then your window won’t work.

 

[Greg H]

And then your window won’t work.

But it's a way to test if the door latch is the issue.

 

[Shots]

Yeah I though about that, but didn't really care what the cause was. However, if this was an issue in a few years and I was the one fixing it (not the dealership) then I'd be trying to narrow down the cause.

Though that does lead to an idea. Is there a dedicated wire for the sensor that tells the Jeep that the doors are on (or harness connected)? If there is, why hasn't anyone simply cut that single wire from the harness? The Jeep thinks the doors are off since the wire doesn't read a connection with the harness. Subsequently it would disable the ESS and/or Auto Park, yet the mirrors, window, and locks continue to work since the harness actually is still connected.

One of you electrical geniuses should figure this out.

 

[twisty]

Yeah I though about that, but didn't really care what the cause was. However, if this was an issue in a few years and I was the one fixing it (not the dealership) then I'd be trying to narrow down the cause.

Though that does lead to an idea. Is there a dedicated wire for the sensor that tells the Jeep that the doors are on (or harness connected)? If there is, why hasn't anyone simply cut that single wire from the harness? The Jeep thinks the doors are off since the wire doesn't read a connection with the harness. Subsequently it would disable the ESS and/or Auto Park, yet the mirrors, window, and locks continue to work since the harness actually is still connected.

One of you electrical geniuses should figure this out.

I would rather that genius spend there time looking for a way to ditch the small battery and have everything work off the one large one.

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