"Service Charging System" Error - 2021 Rubicon 4XE

[Creakydoor]

2021 Rubicon 4XE, 25000 miles, with a bunch of off-road aftermarket parts (lift, winch, sliders, etc), running on 37's. Regularly charged on 220V Chargepoint charger.

No previous electrical issues with the car to date. A few weeks ago, I was driving on the highway, CEL came on. Scanned the code, was a P0BBD - Hybrid Battery Pack Voltage Variation Exceeded Limit message. First time I had ever seen that code. I was going to the airport so the car sat for 5 days.

I got back and tried to start the car. Power came on (e.g. lights worked, radio worked, etc), but car wouldn't start at all. A bit red error saying "Service Charging System" came on. Car wouldn't start. Couldn't even shift out of park.

Had it towed to dealer 2 weeks ago and they have been looking at it. I've called a bunch of times, and they are looking at it and have had multiple techs take a look. So far, no diagnosis at all. Which seems bad after this long. They are being cooperative and nice, just no results have come out yet.

Service guy seems confident they will find the issue. I'm feeling less and less confident each day it goes undiagnosed. They've offered to pay for a rental, which is nice. But, again, getting nervous.

Curious if others have encountered this issue before. And if so, what ultimately was the solution? I did a little reading, and it seems it could be the hybrid battery, which is replaceable, but I'm worried it's deeper in the wiring, which seems much harder to solve.

Thanks in advance for helping me through this anxious time.

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[Jsteve]

Just received a similar message today I have a 2023 rubicon 4xe 8500 miles completely stock, tried to start it kept telling me to put my foot on the brake and press start. Got out locked vehicle and re attempted to start this time said my fuel door was open!! Opened fuel door got it and repeated the process again jeep started and then I noticed a check engine light. After a short drive and shutting down I have a message to service hybrid vehicle system attached are the faults I captured.

 

[GATORB8]

My experience and solution, hope it helps


https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...-after-12v-battery-replacement-solved.119667/

 

[MATTYs]

Same, been at dealer for a week now. All the research I have seen is new battery (not stock) and system reset. There was one guy who stated high voltage hybrid battery wire was picked and shorted battery and engine ECU. Worst part is I was given a Renegade as a loaner...i mean it's something but I'm paying for a 70k vehicle...I tried telling dealer other issues people had with solutions, we will see

 

[BigLebowski]

I have the same issue, took it to the dealer. They ordered a charge port and harness. Now we wait 2 weeks.

 

[DewHawk]

There seems to be a couple reasons why this happens. The most common one is the 12v battery. This isn’t a unique problem to the 4xe, but it’s a killer for us because it immobilizes the hybrid system when the 12v dies. There isn’t a single JL owner regardless of the powertrain config that should trust the factory batteries (aux or main).

@Creakydoor has the dealer found anything yet? I’m assuming they’ve ruled out the 12v at this point. There’s a few other causes I can think of but the most prominent would be the charge port, IDCM, and associated control modules.

 

[Creakydoor]

After having it for a little over two weeks, I got a call back from the dealer saying that the Jeep was ready. The ultimate solution was the same as @DewHawk called out - the 12V battery.

They replaced the battery, reset all the modules, and ran diagnostics (e.g. hybrid battery, etc) and everything checked out. I've driven it for a week or so, and so far, no error messages. So, fingers crossed that it's nothing more than that.

In general, the charging port seems fine (i.e. charges fine with no issues). And my electrical setup is pretty straightforward - stock setup plus a winch. So, I guess we'll leave it as a bad factory battery and see how it goes.

One thing I have noticed though is that my overall hybrid miles capacity seems lower than usual. I used to get ~20 miles per charge. Now I'm getting ~16 miles per charge. Not sure if that's a different issue, or a side effect of colder weather, etc. But I'm keeping an eye on that.

 

[DewHawk]

After having it for a little over two weeks, I got a call back from the dealer saying that the Jeep was ready. The ultimate solution was the same as @DewHawk called out - the 12V battery.

They replaced the battery, reset all the modules, and ran diagnostics (e.g. hybrid battery, etc) and everything checked out. I've driven it for a week or so, and so far, no error messages. So, fingers crossed that it's nothing more than that.

In general, the charging port seems fine (i.e. charges fine with no issues). And my electrical setup is pretty straightforward - stock setup plus a winch. So, I guess we'll leave it as a bad factory battery and see how it goes.

One thing I have noticed though is that my overall hybrid miles capacity seems lower than usual. I used to get ~20 miles per charge. Now I'm getting ~16 miles per charge. Not sure if that's a different issue, or a side effect of colder weather, etc. But I'm keeping an eye on that.

Good to hear it was a simple fix. My last 4xe had this issue but where I screwed up was charging the 12v up with my Ctek charger so when they read the battery voltage they chalked it up to a random power hiccup to the control module and updated the software. If I’d left it alone, they would’ve swapped my battery out.

If the ambient temps in your area are low enough, you’ll definitely see decreased electric range. The battery has to use some of its own energy to maintain a temperature threshold and supply heat to the cabin based on your climate settings. I’m not seeing a drop in range because mine just doesn’t want to run on electric at all (bad ECH) unless the battery is warm enough and my A/C isn’t demanding any heat to maintain 70* in the cabin.

 

[Creakydoor]

Temperature-wise, it's gone from the 60's/70's down to the 40's/50's. So that could be the difference RE: trying to keep things warmer. I'll keep an eye on it because it seems less than I'm used to. But, I'm also hyper-focused on it since I've had problems. So maybe its normal after all.

Also, I'm running 37's with stock 4.10 gearing, which certainly doesn't help my mileage, but I also hadn't seen it cause big drops either. i.e. I was getting 20miles even with the 37's.

 

[DewHawk]

Also, I'm running 37's with stock 4.10 gearing, which certainly doesn't help my mileage, but I also hadn't seen it cause big drops either. i.e. I was getting 20miles even with the 37's.

That seems about average. I'm on 37's as well with stock gears (right at 99lbs per tire/wheel, woohoo ). Last winter I think the worst I did was about 14 miles of range on one charge, but it was also close to -20*F too so I cut the Jeep some serious slack there. Average straight up MPG based on my fill ups seems to be pretty consistent in the 18's city/highway combined running 91. I know I can get away with 87, but I figure the extra 20-30 cents a gallon is worth having full power available at all times. ?‍

 

[Creakydoor]

Ok, good to know that I'm not totally an outlier there. I'll keep an eye on it to see any trends.

I didn't weigh my tires before I put them on, but my guess is that it's in that ballpark. Mine are KO2's and Fuel Oxide rims.

I usually use 87, but once in a while, I get the 91. I'm in Colorado, so they sell 85 too due to altitude, but I try to stay away from that.

 

[DewHawk]

Ok, good to know that I'm not totally an outlier there. I'll keep an eye on it to see any trends.

I didn't weigh my tires before I put them on, but my guess is that it's in that ballpark. Mine are KO2's and Fuel Oxide rims.

I usually use 87, but once in a while, I get the 91. I'm in Colorado, so they sell 85 too due to altitude, but I try to stay away from that.

Depending on your wheel size (I'm assuming 17's but unsure on your other dimesions) you're sitting right in the range of 93-99lb's ish depending on load D or C 37" K02s. Pretty similar to where I'm at on load E Kanati Trail Hogs.

I'm 40 minutes south east of you. Definitely don't run 85 even out here. The 2.0L Turbo hates getting fed cheap gas like most modern engines these days. Too many people in this state listen to the uneducated sales dudes here that tell them "regular is fine for this altitude". It definitely isn't. I damn near lost my shit on Autonation sales when I went to test drive my old V8 Trailhawk. The sales guy popped out at the gas station to fill it up since it was low on fuel and selected 85 at the pump.

 

[bross181]

ok..have a 22 Rubicon 4xe...so far...check engine lights. At first, transmission oil modulator. 2 weeks later fixed. 2 days later, check engine light....week later they said the hybrid battery went bad, had to replace. But they were on back order. They had my Jeep for almost 2 months. During that time, received the 95B recall notice. I finally get Jeep back, as I am pulling off lot, check engine light on again. Go back in, this time it's the temperature regulator for the hybrid battery. Got it back 2 days later with the advisement not to park in garage and no not charge. Ran off gas only next few weeks. I had access to a free outside charger. Once charged and started, received alert electric temporarily not available...turn out it's in the FORM thing. I was told of you run in electric for a time this happens but I have only been running on gas> Anyway, this FORM things keep going on and off next few months. Tried all the fixes, at the dealer 2 times...it won't go out of FORM. I had a case with Jeep Cares this entire time. They don't Care...I am now scheduled with a 3rd party arbitrator. Jeep still in FORM but now something new...last week, it would not start and I got the alert, service charging system. I exited the vehicle, locked it, got back in and still nothing...now the lasrt read key fob left vehicle..then it read ready to fuel..still wont start, had to get towed to dealer. It's been a week now and still waiting.

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