Remote Start Not Working

[WranglerMan]

Hey Guys,

Its been along time since I've been here, don't ask lots going on in my life.

Anyway I have a 2018 JLU with a dual Genesis setup running Full River batteries and its been installed just at 4 years and zero issues but recently been seeing some issues, first the key fob was not being detected so I replaced the batteries in both and still acted up then the remote start quit working.

I put a volt meter on the batteries while they were separated and both measured 12.5-12.7 but when I hit the remote start the lights flash and the engine tries to crank for just a second then nothing.

They both charge to 100% with my Odyssey 20 amp charger fine so I drove over to Autozone and Advance auto and had them run a rest and was told both were bad I asked what caused the failure and was told low CCA’s as one was 220 and the other was 218 so would low CCA’s cause this issue, all works fine except the remote start as it starts fine with the FOB and no error messages on the dash.

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[Dyolfknip74]

If you get in and shut the doors, try remote starting. IIRC the display will tell you why it can't complete the start.

 

[WranglerMan]

I'll try that today, I'm sure it will work as its been sitting on my odyssey charger all night, the funny thing is if I hit the Genesis boost button under the hood and then try the remote start it works but once they disconnect it wont

 

[garyji]

4 year old batteries?? Replace them!

G.

 

[WranglerMan]

4 year old batteries?? Replace them!

G.

Yes both batteries are just a month over 4 years old, they hold a good charge but failed on CCA’s from what I was told by Autozone and Advance Auto with there hand held tester, I remember back in the old days batteries lasted a lot longer.

I'm guessing when I connect them together using the boost button that the CCA’s are enough for it to work but when they separate the 220 CCA’s is not enough as new they had 750

 

[Dyolfknip74]

I'll try that today, I'm sure it will work as its been sitting on my odyssey charger all night, the funny thing is if I hit the Genesis boost button under the hood and then try the remote start it works but once they disconnect it wont

Ya, I'm not sure on anything Genesis as I don't run it.

 

[WranglerMan]

Ya, I'm not sure on anything Genesis as I don't run it.

No worries, I have ordered two new Full River 750’s and they will be here Friday so hoping this fixes my issues.

 

[Nvdardx28]

When I found my remote start wasn't working, it was only starting 70% of the time. I immediately went out and put a new aux battery and starting battery. This was about a year ago and I haven't had any issues since.

 

[WranglerMan]

If you get in and shut the doors, try remote starting. IIRC the display will tell you why it can't complete the start.

Just pulled it off the Odyssey Charger and got in the jeep and tested the remote start and all worked as designed, no messages on dash I then got my volt meter out and both show 12.9 and are connected as one.

I will let it sit and once the main drops to 12.7 or less they disconnect and I will try it then but when they are connected all seems to work as designed so guessing the two connected provided enough CCA’s to start but disconnected the main crank battery does not.

As I said the batteries tested with low CCA of 220 and are 4 years old so I am guessing they haven given up.

I did consider going to one battery and pulling the Genesis kit but I have aux lights and a winch connected to the secondary so opted to go with the original setup even though it doubled my cost.

 

[WranglerMan]

Well guys I have tried all I know what to do on these batteries, I ran both thru a reconditioning process outlined by Odyssey and if the batteries are connected as one thru my duel Genesis system the remote start works fine but once they disconnect all I get is the lights to flash once and here one click and nothing but the push to start button inside the jeep works every time.

Not sure why the push to start works but not the fob, maybe there is more involved in the remote start versus pushing the ignition button.

I even sat in the jeep with the duel batteries disconnected and tried it and all I get is a remote start failed message and does not say why

Anyway new batteries will be here Friday hopefully and I can only hope this fixes the issue.

I can only assume it has to do with the batteries be 4 years old and they are tired since according to the folks at Autozone and Adavance the CCA’s are pretty low at 220 but it still boggles my mind even with the 220 CCA’s it starts by pushing the button but no remote start if both batteries are not connected as one so the question is are there more things involved in using the key fob for remote start versus pushing the button ?

 

[Nvdardx28]

That's pretty much what I observed when I was having issues as well. Push to start worked every time and my the starter showed no signs of weakness cranking over the engine but the remote start was intermittent. My battery(s) also was about 4 years old so I swapped them and the issue went away (starter and aux). Does your dual battery setup still have an aux cell? I wonder if the remote starter is sensitive to the aux battery being weak and that is the cause. Having dual Odyssey batteries I would expect you to get a bit more than 4 years out of them. A conditioning phase is a good idea but it will only help very little on an old battery. As batteries age the chemistry breaks down and conditioning doesn't do anything for the chemistry.

 

[Rangemaster]

Check the fob batteries, mine was too weak to start. I ended up putting new batteries in my fob and it fix the problem.

 

[WranglerMan]

That's pretty much what I observed when I was having issues as well. Push to start worked every time and my the starter showed no signs of weakness cranking over the engine but the remote start was intermittent. My battery(s) also was about 4 years old so I swapped them and the issue went away (starter and aux). Does your dual battery setup still have an aux cell? I wonder if the remote starter is sensitive to the aux battery being weak and that is the cause. Having dual Odyssey batteries I would expect you to get a bit more than 4 years out of them. A conditioning phase is a good idea but it will only help very little on an old battery. As batteries age the chemistry breaks down and conditioning doesn't do anything for the chemistry.

No aux battery cell as when you install the Genesis kit you remove the baby aux and connect the pos cable from it to the main crank battery.

I called Genesis offroad and spoke to Mike who is one of there techs and he advised he has seen some batteries last 10 years and others last only 3-4 it all depends on there environment, when first installed I put them on a charger weekly then got lazy and at times would go for longer periods without charging and other than going back and fourth to work I did a lot of short trips and most of the batteries life was in south Texas and according to my research heat is a killer.

You are correct I would have expected longer than 4 years, they both charge to 100% but CCA’s are low according to the test both places did and said both were in the 220 range on CCA’s

They were warranted for 4 years so I'm out of luck on the warranty.

I have no issues other than remote start and on a few ocassions I get the FOB not detected message but both FOBS have new batteries so my only uneducated guess is the batteries are bad and I have to move on, now if I replace both and still have an issue that will be another story.

 

[Nvdardx28]

No aux battery cell as when you install the Genesis kit you remove the baby aux and connect the pos cable from it to the main crank battery.

I called Genesis offroad and spoke to Mike who is one of there techs and he advised he has seen some batteries last 10 years and others last only 3-4 it all depends on there environment, when first installed I put them on a charger weekly then got lazy and at times would go for longer periods without charging and other than going back and fourth to work I did a lot of short trips and most of the batteries life was in south Texas and according to my research heat is a killer.

You are correct I would have expected longer than 4 years, they both charge to 100% but CCA’s are low according to the test both places did and said both were in the 220 range on CCA’s

They were warranted for 4 years so I'm out of luck on the warranty.

I have no issues other than remote start and on a few ocassions I get the FOB not detected message but both FOBS have new batteries so my only uneducated guess is the batteries are bad and I have to move on, now if I replace both and still have an issue that will be another story.

You are absolutely right that heat is the killer. Being in southern TX, my concern would be the heat. I wouldn't advise putting them on the charger weekly. That is only going to work against you in the heat and could shorten the life of the batteries. I've designed and built lead acid batteries chargers and I'm familiar with these issues. Excessive charging can result in the electrolyte turning into a gas and escaping the cells. I would recommend putting them on a charger once every few months during the cooler parts of the year.

I don't know anything about the Odyssey chargers but unless they can accurately measure the temperature of the environment, the chargers will likely charge at a particular voltage assuming a temperature of 75F-85F. In temperatures higher than that, the charger will likely over charge the batteries. The JL charging system measures the temperature and adjusts the charging rates according.

 

[WranglerMan]

You are absolutely right that heat is the killer. Being in southern TX, my concern would be the heat. I wouldn't advise putting them on the charger weekly. That is only going to work against you in the heat and could shorten the life of the batteries. I've designed and built lead acid batteries chargers and I'm familiar with these issues. Excessive charging can result in the electrolyte turning into a gas and escaping the cells. I would recommend putting them on a charger once every few months during the cooler parts of the year.

I don't know anything about the Odyssey chargers but unless they can accurately measure the temperature of the environment, the chargers will likely charge at a particular voltage assuming a temperature of 75F-85F. In temperatures higher than that, the charger will likely over charge the batteries. The JL charging system measures the temperature and adjusts the charging rates according.

Well I have since retired and left Houston and am back in the midwest.

Here are the two chargers I have used, the NOCO 10 has a AGM setting but the Odyssey 20 does not.

So your advice is not to charge them weekly even if it sits for several days undriven ?

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