OMINOUS BATTERY WARNING

[sixspeed]

For the last few days when I start up my 2020 JLUR, I get this message on the screen:

Aux Switches Temporarily Unavailable Battery Charging

I assume that this, ultimately, means that one or both of the batteries are going bad?

Anyone enlightened on this issue?

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[Terrymo]

For the last few days when I start up my 2020 JLUR, I get this message on the screen:

Aux Switches Temporarily Unavailable Battery Charging

I assume that this, ultimately, means that one or both of the batteries are going bad?

Anyone enlightened on this issue?

Nothing ominous is happening and there are lots of threads related to this in the battery talk forum if you’re curious. If you’re not driving frequently enough for long enough to keep your battery topped off above the voltage threshold prior to starting, that would explain the message. Or if you have something causing an unusual parasitic drain that could explain it.

If you’re driving frequently for long enough and your batteries have aged out, then yeah your assumption is correct.

 

[GabeBoyTheGreat]

Yes, one or both batteries are going bad (with the caveats mentioned by @Terrymo). When I had that message, it was my main battery.

You could have the batteries load tested to be sure, but you need to isolate them. Disconnect the main battery completely before testing; that should isolate each battery. If you don't isolate them, you will likely get a false pass because both batteries are contributing to the test.

Even if you isolate them, in my experience, the Jeep electrical system is more conservative when it comes to failing batteries. Meaning, it might fail according to the Jeep but pass the load test. I have had this happen before. The test came back as "passed" but not fully charged; however, I knew the battery was still bad because there was no reason for the battery NOT to be fully charged. I ended up replacing the main battery, and the message went away.

My recommendation is disconnect the AUX negative cable from the main battery and isolate it, and then remove fuse F42. If the message goes away, then it was likely just the AUX battery. You could just leave it disconnected and go about your day. Alternatively, you could replace and reconnect the batteries.

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