Jeep Almost Got My Family Killed (Battery Issues)

[RedRockRubicon]

If the ESS battery was dead, or was at low charge, then wouldn’t you see the dash message for “ESS not available at this time,” or something along those lines? I had a faulty vacuum hose and pump associated with my brake system that negated my ESS and ESC after coming to the first stop during a drive and it would stay that way until the computer reset like when your speakers go into “mysterious FCA low volume mode”. I tend to agree with this post that it might be a wiring issue, a short or grounding of sorts.

Low batteries can do crazy things with electronics, so who knows. I'm strongly suspecting a short somewhere. I would look first at any modifications done. Although, even the factory screws up wire routing sometimes

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[RichD]

Zen, be sure to let us know the outcome at the dealer (unless Im missing it here). Thanks....

 

[Varilux]

The first thing I thought when reading the OP was "shorted battery." I've had a battery short before (in a different type of vehicle), and it turned the dash into a blinking Christmas tree- and kept me from shifting the auto trans.

This reminds me of an incident I saw a couple months ago. I was filling up, and a woman and her daughter (who were also in a JL) asked if I could take a look at their Jeep. She said "watch this..." When she started the Jeep, the steering wheel- which was centered- would turn 90 degrees! If she turned off the stabilization (or whatever the traction control is called), the wheel would pop back to be centered again- hitting the switch again would cause the wheel to turn 90 degrees again. She said if she had the stabilization button off, she could drive normally- but with it engaged the Jeep would shudder and wobble.

I suggested she get a tow to the dealership- but like me she was from Dallas (and we were in Oklahoma), so she wanted to get home. I ventured a guess that the stabilization feature looks at the direction the vehicle is traveling and the position of the wheel, and makes "corrections" based on those relative positions. Something was causing the wheel to turn to a position that didn't gibe with the motion sensors- which was probably causing the shuddering.

Needless to say, I don't think I'm a big fan of the electronic steering at this point. I'd rather have a physical connection between the wheel and the steering linkage.

 

[DadJokes]

Earlier this year I saw the 48v battery listed for 1100-1200 and remarked how much lower in price it was than the, then, $1800 number thrown around.

Aren’t they warranted for 80k miles?

 

[californiajeeping]

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/check-your-fuses.9420/

“After reading all the stories about ESS faults and being stranded on the side of the road, a discussion about fuses not being fully seated in the fuse box came up. Easy enough, I'll just trot right on out there and see for myself. Sure enough, at least 80% of the fuses and relays were not fully seated in their sockets. Do yourself a favor and check it out real quick, it doesn't take 5 minutes to do.”


https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...eering-and-other-inconsistencies-fuses.40368/

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...rst-gremlin-fuses-were-not-fully-seated.9994/

 

[Durango]

“After reading all the stories about ESS faults and being stranded on the side of the road, a discussion about fuses not being fully seated in the fuse box came up. Easy enough, I'll just trot right on out there and see for myself. Sure enough, at least 80% of the fuses and relays were not fully seated in their sockets. Do yourself a favor and check it out real quick, it doesn't take 5 minutes to do.”

Never thought about doing this - even though within a week of picking up my then-new '19 Ram and going to Uhaul to rent trailer only to find out the fuse for the towing connector was MISSING, I should be more pessimistic. Will do it as soon as it cools off a little. I push the disengage button for the ESS 97% of the time, so have little experience with it, but the 3% of the time I accidently leave it on, it always seems to me it struggles a little to start...maybe my small battery is weak?

 

[ZenWorld]

UPDATE

Took it to the Dealership this morning and just received a call.

The battery actually tested good and he's stating there are some codes that involve the transmission. He stated your car is technically half hybrid ( 2019 Sahara 2.0 Etorque) so if the battery with that is bad I have to send the car to those guys....

Bit confused on that last bit how there's another battery? But I'm assuming its the 48v you guys are talking about.

I take this car Offroad alot so they better not pull that card to make me pay. We shall see.

Now I can see why some of the old timers hate electronics.

Edit: My Cars Mileage is 20000 and I offroad once a month with it.

 

[Yellow Cake Kid]

The E Torque has a separate battery which powers the Belt Start Generator while it functions as an electirc motor when you start from a stop. It's relationship to the ESS system is that it helps get the vehicle moving while the engine is getting re-started. The system is inspired by hybrid technology but it is not the kind of hybrid system that you see in the well known hi mileage vehicles you are probably familiar with.

The 48v battery is stuffed into a space back by your rear differential. There are wires and a coolant fluid loop running from the engine compartment back to the battery.

48vDC offers some general benefits, but the implementation in the Jeep seems scary.

 

[limeade]

48vDC offers some general benefits, but the implementation in the Jeep seems scary.

What exactly is scary about it? Or is it just your opinion about the system?

 

[VNT]

There is a physical connection to the steering box. Only thing electronic is the pump, no more pulley and belts and PS Pump. see the shaft in the for ground.

One thing Jeep could of implimented was performance modes for the steering and transmission.

on my SRT you can choose street, sport and track. It customizes the crispness of the shifts and RPM it will shift at, change the feel/feedback in the steering via the electric pump, and change the damping in the Bilstein shocks. Could do the same in the Jeep save the damping since all the hardware is there. It is a great feature since you can tune the characteristics on the fly.

 

[Yellow Cake Kid]

What exactly is scary about it? Or is it just your opinion about the system?

It is clear you have a differing opinion. I do not usually debate people on the internet, or in real life for that matter, but here are a few thoughts.

- Leaky coolant line connections.
- Exposed coolant lines that can catch on trail debris such as branches. Do the lines really need to be there?
- Lithium batteries hidden underneath the passenger compartment. This seems fine when cruising a Prius through the shopping mall parking lot, but seems less prudent when you are bouncing over rocks 50 miles from phone service.
- Unnecessarily long high current power lines running from the BSG to the optional placement of the battery. 48vDC reduces the amperage by 4x compared to 12vDC but it's still a lot more current than seen at other connections, such as the required 12vDC connection to the taillights. Placing the battery nearer to the rest of the system would reduce the deterioration of the connection due to cyclical heating and cooling caused by resistance, and possibly reduce the instances where the charging system becomes problematic due to ineffective connections.
- 48vDC Lithium battery packs are never going to be inexpensive to replace. The primary way that Lithium battery packs are made less expensive by third party vendors is too ignore the well understood engineering safeguards that are implemented in the better made examples.

I have seen several posts, made by you, that state that the charging and battery problems are most often experienced with the non E Torque systems.

My observation has been that the instances seem to have affected owners of both systems. Those who have problems involving the E Torque system seem, to me, to have greater difficulty resolving the issues, which I think is due to the limited experience of the field technicians as well as the general nature of trouble shooting systems that have components hidden in more difficult to access locations. So, because my thoughts are based on a personal review of a very limited sample size, I will submit that my statement it is merely representative of my opinion.

Thank you.

 

[Rodeoflyer]

For someone who doesn't like to debate, you're pretty damn good at it lol.

 

[Notorious]

Had everything fail on my F350 diesel when the vacuum pump failed - twice as large and heavy as any jeep - and not a big deal. People today are spoiled with auto everything...

They don’t know shit until they’ve driven a Ford.

This reminds me of an incident I saw a couple months ago. I was filling up, and a woman and her daughter (who were also in a JL) asked if I could take a look at their Jeep. She said "watch this..."

I always expect the worst from people when they say that. That’s weird about her Wrangler.

For someone who doesn't like to debate, you're pretty damn good at it lol.

would you say he is a master debater?

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