No more ESS...

[Htfan]

I could not abide by that advice from a service manager. I would have to recommend to him that Jeep designs a gas powered vehicle that does not need to be plugged in. If I wanted a Tesla, I would have bought one.

Completely understand your comment and agree with your "why".

However, many of us want our vehicles to function "as designed" or at least close to it

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[WranglerMan]

I know several here discount the 14+ volts all the time and maybe it’s there circumstance that dictates that they see 14+ all the time.

Heres my quick tale if you want to call it that, when I first got my 2018 the displayed voltage on the EVIC would float as in the morning after sitting all night it would be around 14+ but within a few miles heading to work it would slowly drop to the low 13’s but when braking or slowing down would ramp up to over 14 and once stopped would drop back to was is was doing before slowing down.

Fast forward 7-8 months into ownership, by this time I had a Tazer and several other things going on but I never ran ESS but after talk here early on with ESS issues I started testing and like so many others my voltage had crept up to over 14 most of the time but all worked but remember had no ESS issues as I had either my Tazer or Smart Stop/Start module in place but once I engaged it I got the not ready battery charging and once it was tested the main battery had failed a load test so it was replaced but then a few short years later the same issue arose with the voltage displayed 14 all the time but again all worked so I kinda moved on until I got the ESS not ready battery charging again but this time no warranty so it was time to do something different.

I could have easily jumped N1 to N2 with a permanent jumper and removed the ESS negative off the main and even replaced the main battery with a more robust AGM battery like Odyssey, Full River or similar and while doing it I would have removed the ESS battery and just moved the ESS positive to the one main battery and been done as I never use ESS and I could have done all of this for not much unless you replaced the battery but I chose to go a different route and went with dual battery system that uses two of the same size batteries and are separated with a relay and have the main for cranking and the aux to run my winch, air compressor, lights etc..when stopped and maybe it’s a placebo affect but my Jeep runs better, its starts with more power and my voltage does exactly what a smart charging system wants it to do and that is charge during non load times.

There is nothing wrong with the system putting out 14 volts all the time as cars and trucks did this forever but that’s not haw these newer smart systems are designed so if you are seeing 14+ all the time even coming off a charger or say the day after and it does not drop that’s not normal and it may not be the battery it could be the IBS is not seeing the correct voltage or your system has a huge parasitic draw that pulls it down really far every night and it so low that it may never be fully charged.

With my current new system I utilize two type of chargers, one is a NOCO 10 that hangs on the wall in the garage and I can use it for a quick overnight top off and then once a month I can break out my Odyssey 20 amp as it’s a large 6 stage charger that conditions the batteries for longer life

Maybe over the top what I do but I personally don’t want to be stranded due to a poor battery ESS design n FCA’s part so that is why I had the ESS battery removed and I honestly believe the batteries being dissimilar is size and construction are what is causing issues, for me t was an easy decision as I can run all my extras without fear of not having a crank battery to get me going down the road and even if my main battery fails if say I left my lights on or similar I have my extra full size sitting right never to it and all I have to do is push a button and jump start myself and that is a huge benefit

 

[Gee-pah]

I could not abide by that advice from a service manager. I would have to recommend to him that Jeep designs a gas powered vehicle that does not need to be plugged in. If I wanted a Tesla, I would have bought one.

I completely agree with that sentiment...as sure as I have found that the trickle charger does work.

 

[Goosed]

In my situation, it's also a daily driver. However, it seems that's not necessary enough depending on drive time to charge both batteries so ESS is functional. (NOTE - starting the JLU has never been an issue.)

My service manager recommended a battery tender. This has completely resolved the problem.

I guess I’m startled that a near brand new vehicle would need to be put on a battery tender in order to keep batteries charged. In over 30 vehicles I have owned, this has never been something that needed done.

Of course FCA is different.

 

[Jimmy_jak]

I guess I’m startled that a near brand new vehicle would need to be put on a battery tender in order to keep batteries charged. In over 30 vehicles I have owned, this has never been something that needed done.

Of course FCA is different.

My uncles 2019 911 needs a charger. But he puts 20 miles a week on it. I agree, these JLU should not need this.

 

[Htfan]

I guess I’m startled that a near brand new vehicle would need to be put on a battery tender in order to keep batteries charged. In over 30 vehicles I have owned, this has never been something that needed done.

Of course FCA is different.

Completely agree! The battery charger is simply a "work around" for the less than stellar ESS implementation.

However, it's also partially because of the reduced driving caused by the covid19 situation.

 

[RubiRob]

I replaced my batteries on my own with an AUX14 and an optima yellow top. All was fine for a few weeks and now I’m back to “not ready charging” even after an hour of the engine running and me driving. I drive 30 minutes to work one day and then back home the next day. Every third day there’s a chance it doesn’t move. Pretty annoyed at this point after spending $400 on fancy batteries to run into the same issue.

I replaced the aux because Napa told me it was dead. The. The ess wasn’t working again so replaced the main to be optima.

the entire hour I was running the engine today it sat at 14.7 on the voltage page.

 

[Htfan]

I replaced my batteries on my own with an AUX14 and an optima yellow top. All was fine for a few weeks and now I’m back to “not ready charging” even after an hour of the engine running and me driving. I drive 30 minutes to work one day and then back home the next day. Every third day there’s a chance it doesn’t move. Pretty annoyed at this point after spending $400 on fancy batteries to run into the same issue.

I replaced the aux because Napa told me it was dead. The. The ess wasn’t working again so replaced the main to be optima.

the entire hour I was running the engine today it sat at 14.7 on the voltage page.

I'm right there with you! It's seems there is a parasitic drain on the batteries when the JL is at rest that is enough to cause a problem.

A 25-30min commute for me doesn't do the job either. It also seems like the standard alternator is too wimpy unless the commute is much longer.

 

[RubiRob]

I'm right there with you! It's seems there is a parasitic drain on the batteries when the JL is at rest that is enough to cause a problem.

A 25-30min commute for me doesn't do the job either. It also seems like the standard alternator is too wimpy unless the commute is much longer.

If it was a confirmed fix, I’d upgrade the alternator but after spending 400 on batteries I’m hesitant. I’d rather just deal

 

[RubiRob]

If it was a confirmed fix, I’d upgrade the alternator but after spending 400 on batteries I’m hesitant. I’d rather just deal

Disconnected main and the dash said 11.6 on the aux. connected the main back and it jumped to 11.8

 

[Dkretden]

My JLUR 3.6 ESS was always was 14.x from when I purchased it in Nov 2019 to May 2020. Even had the dealer check it on some kind of overnight test, “no problem”

i drove 16 hours (1100 miles) from houston to Denver in May (moved). Drove non-stop except for gas and bio-breaks. When I arrived it was 12.x. Stayed at 12.x for 2 days. Hasn’t been back to 12.x since despite taking a 5 hour drive to Ouray (nonstop except for gas) or a 5 hour drive to Moab. And countless 1-3 hour other drives.

ESS works when I forget to push the button. After that it thankfully stops working. Of course there are those times that I forget to push the button and ESS doesn’t work. EESS=EFF’D up system

 

[RubiRob]

My JLUR 3.6 ESS was always was 14.x from when I purchased it in Nov 2019 to May 2020. Even had the dealer check it on some kind of overnight test, “no problem”

i drove 16 hours (1100 miles) from houston to Denver in May (moved). Drove non-stop except for gas and bio-breaks. When I arrived it was 12.x. Stayed at 12.x for 2 days. Hasn’t been back to 12.x since despite taking a 5 hour drive to Ouray (nonstop except for gas) or a 5 hour driver to Moab.

Thats crazy, that can't be how it works. My wife had a 16 Trailhawk Cherokee and that thing works consistently 100% of the time within 3 minutes of pulling it out of the drive, no matter the temps or conditions.

I just got home from taking my two batteries to NAPA. They checked both. Both batteries were showing 100% with the CCA still well above the rated numbers (the optima was a 1100CCA and the AUX14 was at 400CCA which is double) since they're really only 1.5 months old. However, he said both were low on charge, saying that I should look into the Charging system or the alternator. Ended up just scheduling a visit with the dealer, might as well work on getting the most out of the warranty I rarely used.

 

[DaltonGang]

13,000 my on my 3.6 2019 jlu four-door. It's my wife's daily driver. I've noticed now for a while that the ESS does not kick on...ever. I don't like it, admittedly, but I want the engine to work as designed.

Battery shows 14v on the dash so it's charging okay. The bypass switch is not activated.

No other issues to mention, other than the engine tick that most of us have. No engine mods, no razer.

Any thoughts?

Read this thread.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...d-cause-ibs-intelligent-battery-sensor.56516/

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[Htfan]

... He said both were low on charge, saying that I should look into the Charging system or the alternator. Ended up just scheduling a visit with the dealer, might as well work on getting the most out of the warranty I rarely used.

Very interested in hearing what you find out about your charging system,

 

[mwilk012]

I guess I’m startled that a near brand new vehicle would need to be put on a battery tender in order to keep batteries charged. In over 30 vehicles I have owned, this has never been something that needed done.

Of course FCA is different.

It doesn’t. This is neurosis.

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