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Jebiruph

Jebiruph

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Here's the latest version with updated installed pics. Added switches for the gauges and connectors to facilitate future modifications.
Jeep Wrangler JL ESS Dual Battery Management bmp gauges v2a

Installed
Jeep Wrangler JL ESS Dual Battery Management bmp vs install

Monitoring separate battery voltage.
Jeep Wrangler JL ESS Dual Battery Management bmp v2 seperated

Charging main battery.
Jeep Wrangler JL ESS Dual Battery Management bmp v2 main

Charging aux battery - I left the charger's positive clamp on the main battery positive terminal and just moved the charger's negative cable to the aux battery negative cable.
Jeep Wrangler JL ESS Dual Battery Management bmp v2 aux
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@Gee-pah,
unfortunately I'm absolutely dumb when it comes to electrical part of the vehicle. Most of the stuff you guys discuss here is a "rocket science" to me. When Jerry made his original post about this ESS issue a while ago, all I was able to understand is that with his setup it's possible to disconnect AUX battery. So I did as he instructed.
Back to my issue. Both of my batteries appeared to be dead two days ago. And with the setup I had - N1 and N2 connected with a jumpered wire and ground wire of AUX battery disconnected I connected my charger to both terminals of the main battery and jumstarted my Jeep. After it got started I connected the ground wire of AUX battery back and removed the connection between N1 and N2 since I had to go get the vehicle serviced.
 

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Here's the latest version with updated installed pics. Added switches for the gauges and connectors to facilitate future modifications.
bmp gauges v2a.jpg

Installed
bmp vs install.jpg

Monitoring separate battery voltage.
bmp v2 seperated.jpg

Charging main battery.
bmp v2 main.jpg

Charging aux battery
bmp v2 aux.jpg
I have been running with @Jebiruph's, bypass jumper (Thanks again, for the Bypass Jumper, Jerry) installed and it facilitating my JL running with just the Main battery....Been doing this, since around 8/18 and have accumulated just over 25,000 with the bypass jumper in place/in use....and as stated, running with just the Main battery in use.

Never ever any issues running with just the Main battery. No EVIC notices, etc.. Both of my JL's, factory installed batteries are testing aok..

ESS is alive and well lets say, on my JL... I use @SmartStopStart.com unit (Terrific offering) to deal with ESS.

IF, I chose to use ESS (rarely) I still can.

My JL's, AUX battery is healthy and on standby, lets say should the Main battery become depleted and I need the Aux battery to start the JL..... to get me home .... where I can deal in some fashion with the depleted Main battery.

(No, I do not need a very very pricey aftermarket Dual Battery set-up, to give me the piece of mind, lets call it, that I have running with just the Main battery and having the Aux battery on standby.)


I closely monitor the health of both the Main and Aux battery.

I use a 12V, 1.25 Amp, Deltran Battery Tender Plus Charger and Maintainer to maintain both batteries when/if the JL sits for more then say 6 or 7 days.

My 2018 2dr. JL Rubi with 3.6, JL has about 40,000 mile on it now.

I look forward to installing/having/using, Jerry's, ESS Dual Battery Management Kit....... I will be installing one this Monday.

Having the kit will undoubtedly, simply my monitoring / handling of my stock, JL's, 2 batteries.


Though I no longer routinely post on the forum....YES, in regard to Jerry's, ESS Dual Battery Management Kit, I will post pics and comment on same, in this thread.
 

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@Gee-pah,
unfortunately I'm absolutely dumb when it comes to electrical part of the vehicle. Most of the stuff you guys discuss here is a "rocket science" to me. When Jerry made his original post about this ESS issue a while ago, all I was able to understand is that with his setup it's possible to disconnect AUX battery. So I did as he instructed.
Back to my issue. Both of my batteries appeared to be dead two days ago. And with the setup I had - N1 and N2 connected with a jumpered wire and ground wire of AUX battery disconnected I connected my charger to both terminals of the main battery and jumstarted my Jeep. After it got started I connected the ground wire of AUX battery back and removed the connection between N1 and N2 since I had to go get the vehicle serviced.
Actually you did help.

With the ground leading out of the ESS/Aux battery disconnected from the main battery’s ground you’ve made, I now realize, a 1 battery system.

(This stuff is tricky.)

When the vehicle tests what it thinks is the ESS/Aux battery prior to crank it’s actually testing the main battery thanks to the N1<->N2 jumper: the vehicle none the wiser

Due turn off ESS with this setup though.


It’s good to know that the NOCO you own can charge the main battery enough to get you going, perhaps facilitated by Jerry’s @Jebiruph’s technique’s ability to not have the charger involved charging both batteries.
 
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WranglerMan

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Jerry,

you have been great with all the info you have provided us with and continue to provide us with..your latest design looks very simple and straight forward and allows the owner to utilize what they already have at a minimal investment in $$$$ and the only thing one has to deal with is getting to that ESS battery when the time comes, I know there are lots that have replaced it without much difficulty but one should not have to be removing fenders or pulling the PDC to get to a battery.

Replacing batteries does not happen that often but it should not be a major task, I am hopping that in future releases of the JL that FCA realizes that the dual battery may be necessary but more thought needs to go into where it’s placed
 

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Jerry,

you have been great with all the info you have provided us with and continue to provide us with..your latest design looks very simple and straight forward and allows the owner to utilize what they already have at a minimal investment in $$$$ and the only thing one has to deal with is getting to that ESS battery when the time comes, I know there are lots that have replaced it without much difficulty but one should not have to be removing fenders or pulling the PDC to get to a battery.

Replacing batteries does not happen that often but it should not be a major task, I am hopping that in future releases of the JL that FCA realizes that the dual battery may be necessary but more thought needs to go into where it’s placed
I certainly agree Will that accessibility improvements to the ESS/Aux battery would make its swap easier, as sure as using Jerry's Aux Bypassed mode you can eliminate that battery altogether.

I wouldn't run ESS with this configuration as doing so creates the risk of taxing the main battery to run appliances when the engine is off when that battery may be less than optimally charged, or becoming so during the ESS event, potentially compromising cranking ability.

This isn't to say that ESS systems can't be run well with one battery. A fair number of vehicle's systems are. It is to say that the way FCA created the logic to run it in the 3.6L JL makes using ESS under one battery a bit riskier than under the factory 2 battery configuration---not that you would be able to do it more than 6 times per cold crank of the vehicle. If the vehicle's check of the voltage of both batteries during an ESS event remains equal--which is exactly what the vehicle will see with Jerry's Aux Bypassed setting, it will stop ESS until the vehicle is re-cold cranked. The vehicle thinks its seeing 2 batteries when its tests of each battery are actually again the same main battery given the Aux Bypassed wiring, resulting in identical voltage readings.

This is NOT a stab at Jerry's fine work. The Genesis System faces the the same thing. It's just the way the 3.6L is designed.
 

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It's a real shame that this thread, authored by @Jebiruph to discuss his ESS Dual Battery Management kit/set-up has generated little talk of his kit / his set-up... 8-(

Rather then talk / discussion of Jerry's kit, posts piled in about an aftermarket Offroad Dual Battery Kit that retails for $525, requires you buy $500+ in batteries and will cost you a couple of hundred or so to install, if you are not up to the install task of same yourself. A $1,000++ set-up.

Along with the talk of the Offroad Dual Battery Kit, comment here was made, that the Aux battery is so hard to get to and that it is a "major task" to change, etc......... Such talk is laughable/nonsensical at best..

Reality is, most anyone can easily remove the front passenger side flare in less then 10 min.. To remove the fender flare requires the removal of 4 easily accessible bolts and a push pin. After those are removed the flare pulls off easily and I mean easily.... Sure would be nice if both of the JL's batteries were really really easily / accessible, but they are not. No point in whining about it..

I worked on a friends 2019, JLU, the other day. My friend wanted a new Main and a new, Aux battery installed on his JLU.. He did not want to pay a dealer, so he worked out a barter with me.. I did the deed out in the light rain...

ANYWAY, it took me longer to remove the Main battery, then it took me to access the Aux battery via the flare removal route.. ....

That's right, it took me longer to disconnect the Main battery and pull it, then to remove the fender flare. YES, I did break one, $.99 fender flare clip in the flare removal process, but I had 8 spare fender flare clips on hand, just in case. 8-)

As for the replacement of the Aux battery itself after the flare removal... well, I'm 71 yo and no mechanic by any means.... I did not enjoy getting under there in the rain, but can tell you the Aux was very easily removed from it's holding container and easily replaced. The removed fender flare took all of about 12 min. to put back on. It makes you shake your head, that the fender flare is held on with a 4 bolts, a push pin and some plastic clips..

In closing most JL owner's do not need an Offroad Dual Battery Kit with new batteries, that costs $1,000+installed... MOST JL owner's would be absolutely foolish to spend that kind of money for such..... really foolish..

YES, many JL owner's though, would benefit greatly by a set-up/kit that Jerry was hoping to be talking about in this thread, that he authored.

The set-up/kit that Jerry is talking can be made by someone for very few $. This type of set-up/kit is well well worth the few $ it costs to make.


In closing, I for one, am in hopes that further talk in this thread is focused on Jerry's kit idea and no further talk of the high priced Offroad Dual Battery Kits, unneeded by most, $90 battery maintainers and the like. Take talk of all that hardware not needed by most JL owner's to other threads that are talking that hardware...................

Jerry's set-up / kit deserves a showcase /thread of it's own so to speak..... hoping people allow this thread to be that thread..
 
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WranglerMan

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This is NOT a stab at Jerry's fine work. The Genesis System faces the the same thing. It's just the way the 3.6L is designed.
The batteries on the Genesis system are connected as one battery 99% + of the time and the only time they separate is when the main crank battery falls below 12.7 +/- .1 and all of this is done automatically thru a smart isolator and solenoid, the ESS positive is connected to the main crank positive and ESS negative is disconnected so like jerrys jumper it’s looking at the main during startup or ESS event but you are taxing the main in the original setup but if you have a dual system you are afforded a larger amount of power capacity so as stated I would not run ESS with a jumper system installed but I think it would be pretty dependable if the ESS system was not used to tax the main battery and I surely would not rely on the ESS battery as a backup as there are to many variables on its charge state while its be jumped out.

I’m guessing im one of the foolish ones as I chose going the Genesis route but I figure what we do to our Jeep vehicles are all personal choices from license plate frames to a $1200 dual battery system but we all do these things for reasons, I personally have disliked ESS since day one and I can honestly say that I have had zero issues with any electrical part on my JL and it’s never left me stranded but I went the route I went for the peace of mind and extra power and capacity, is it worth it compared to a simple jumper system ? That answer all comes down to what you want and what you are needing or wanting it for.
 

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I surely would not rely on the ESS battery as a backup as there are to many variables on its charge state while its be jumped out.
Think you have totally missed the point so to speak.. in regard to Jerry's set-up/kit..

Jerry's set-up/kit, monitors both the Main and Aux batteries. It monitors them (meter readouts of each) both, regardless of whether the JL owner wants to run with just the Main or with both batteries in the mix.

IF you can stop talking Genesis, how about listing, the "many variables on its charge state while its be jumped out." you allege... What variables? IF the Aux battery is not in use and monitored... is maintained, then there really is no variables.

The Aux battery ends up being basically, a backup starting battery for the JL. As purely a backup battery and no more, it is just as reliable / offers battery backup for starting as a $1000-1200+-Offroad Dual Battery Kit.

As I mentioned in my other post. Most JL owner's do not need a $1000+ Offroad Dual Battery Kit.
SURE, some will greatly benefit by such a kit.... but for most it is $ foolish..

Indeed, with Jerry's set-up / kit, it would be prudent to not use ESS while you are set-up using/running with just the Main battery.. that is a given..

With that said, there are threads talking the pricey Offroad Dual Battery Kit. Why talk about same here... here where it does nada....
 
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A part of me simply wants the Genesis battery trays and batteries, with Jerry's setup (i.e. the ability to disconnect the secondary battery's ground from the main battery) as well as
  • another switch to be able to do the equivalent of yanking off all the negative cables from the main battery post, and
  • a switch to be able to turn on and off the connection between N1 and the main battery's positive side (a.k.a. N2) and
  • the ability, with another switch to set which is the primary and which is the secondary battery, switch them off as lead and secondary from time to time.

With this setup I can
  • run either one battery,
  • two batteries in parallel all the time, or
  • both batteries connected parallel or not consistent with how the factory set things up and
  • switch which battery is primary and which is secondary.
 
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Jebiruph

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A part of me simply wants the Genesis battery trays and batteries, with Jerry's setup (i.e. the ability to disconnect the secondary battery's ground from the main battery) as well as
  • another switch to be able to do the equivalent of yanking off all the negative cables from the main battery post, and
  • a switch to be able to turn on and off the connection between N1 and the main battery's positive side (a.k.a. N2) and
  • the ability, with another switch to set which is the primary and which is the secondary battery, switch them off as lead and secondary from time to time.

With this setup I can
  • run either one battery,
  • two batteries in parallel all the time, or
  • both batteries connected parallel or not consistent with how the factory set things up and
  • switch which battery is primary and which is secondary.
You can get a switch like the one I'm using that works with 2 batteries - none, battery 1 only, battery 2 only or both. The batteries would never be 100% interchangeable because the status of only one battery is reported to system by the IBS. You can put a switch on the N1 jumper, but removing the fuse accomplishes the same thing and is much simpler.
 

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Jerry’s concept is great and if you really don’t use the ESS system and have no plans to then you can use a fused jumper and disconnect the ESS negative and have no issues unless for some reason the main fails but from my understanding if you maintain the ESS battery it can be used as a backup but you have to actively keep an eye on the voltage of this smaller battery, without any active load on it since it’s disconnected I would think voltage loss would be minimal but I never did this when I had the original setup.

All of this can be done for a minimal investment as you can either make a jumper or purchase one and add the correct fuse then remove the ESS negative nut and replace it with a wing nut, I would think the total investment would be less than $20

There are other options but as the complexity of those options go up so does the investment from the Jeep owner.
 
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Jerry’s concept is great and if you really don’t use the ESS system and have no plans to then you can use a fused jumper and disconnect the ESS negative and have no issues unless for some reason the main fails but from my understanding if you maintain the ESS battery it can be used as a backup but you have to actively keep an eye on the voltage of this smaller battery, without any active load on it since it’s disconnected I would think voltage loss would be minimal but I never did this when I had the original setup.

All of this can be done for a minimal investment as you can either make a jumper or purchase one and add the correct fuse then remove the ESS negative nut and replace it with a wing nut, I would think the total investment would be less than $20

There are other options but as the complexity of those options go up so does the investment from the Jeep owner.
I like the simplicity of just the jumper and the disconnected ESS negative cable, but there seemed to be a reluctance to do it. I thought using the switch would make it more legit and convenient, especially for those that like to separate the batteries for individual charging. Once the switch was added, I realized that between the jumper and the switch, all the connections were there to have a monitoring volt meter for each battery.
 

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You can get a switch like the one I'm using that works with 2 batteries - none, battery 1 only, battery 2 only or both. The batteries would never be 100% interchangeable because the status of only one battery is reported to system by the IBS. You can put a switch on the N1 jumper, but removing the fuse accomplishes the same thing and is much simpler.
Jerry, if opportunity strikes you, perhaps you can provide a link to such a device you describe above; not necessarily a ringing endorsement of either the particular brand or vendor, just a baseline idea of product.

Thanks.
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