Starter Protection Mode

[astet12]

Help! I only have found one other thread to have this issue. I had my Jeep at the dealership and they are also confused by what happened. First off, I have a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Sahara JL. I was at a red light and my automatic start stop kicked in and my engine shut off. When I took my foot off the break to go, the Jeep shut off and the light "A!" flashed. That stopped pretty quickly. I tried to start the Jeep again and it make a click noise but would not turn over. While in "run" a few different messages showed and then " Starter Protection Mode - Wait to Start" with a countdown appeared. The countdown ended and nothing happened. About another minute went by and my Jeep turned on by itself. I drove safely home. Then later that night I went to start my Jeep again and it made the same click sound and would not turn over. I tried multiple times and it would not start. We tried to jump start the Jeep, and disconnect and reconnect the battery. We ended up having it towed. In the morning, the dealership called and said that it started right up and everything seems fine. No codes where stored and they weren't sure where to even start with diagnosing the problem. I drove it home and all was well. Then, two days later, the same thing happened, not with the start/stop while driving, but when I went to start the car. Any one out there experience this? What was the outcome? Any input might help. Thank you!

Sponsored

 

[SIGP2101]

I have this same thing, did you ever solve this issue?

 

[astet12]

I have this same thing, did you ever solve this issue?

Never was resolved at the dealership. They told me they never heard of this before and they would have to investigate, which would be hours of labor. To solve it, I just always turn off the start stop option on the dash when I drive the Jeep. Hasn’t happened again since.

 

[jmccorm]

While in "run" a few different messages showed and then " Starter Protection Mode - Wait to Start" with a countdown appeared.

Guessing from the facts you've presented: it's purpose may be to prevent the starter from overheating and destroying itself. Out of curiosity, had you hit the Start button a number of times just before the message appeared? If I was an automaker, I might have a message like that appear based upon starter temperature, the starter current, or the number of times the started had been used within a short period of time (or the duration it was used).

BTW, live and let live is healthy attitude to have in life, but not the best attitude when it comes to vehicle faults. If you've got something wrong with your vehicle, and it's under warranty, it's probably best that you track it down now and on your own terms, rather than it failing... perhaps in a different way (under normal starting)... later down the road. And possibly not under warranty.

 

[SIGP2101]

Never was resolved at the dealership. They told me they never heard of this before and they would have to investigate, which would be hours of labor. To solve it, I just always turn off the start stop option on the dash when I drive the Jeep. Hasn’t happened again since.

So you turn off start stop before you crank the engine? Didn't know that was possible?

 

[Dyolfknip74]

So you turn off start stop before you crank the engine? Didn't know that was possible?

It doesn't. Op starts jeep and hits button right away.

 

[SIGP2101]

It doesn't. Op starts jeep and hits button right away.

How do you do that with Jeep that doesn't want to start in the first place and displays "Starter Protection Mode" instead? Only if this problem didn't occur ever after again this would be possible.

 

[Dyolfknip74]

How do you do that with Jeep that doesn't want to start in the first place and displays "Starter Protection Mode" instead? Only if this problem didn't occur ever after again this would be possible.

Couldn't tell you. What does dealer say?

 

[ColoradoMike]

To solve it, I just always turn off the start stop option on the dash when I drive the Jeep. Hasn’t happened again since.

Unfortunately, I think this resolves or heads-off a lot of issues and potential issues. It's just a best practice. Every time I start mine. Wish the feature didn't even come on the vehicle. Don't want to use a Tazer or the like, because it sounds like there are lots of potential issues that can pop up there, too... so I just press the button every time I drive. Don't want that feature ever working. Because it seems to cause problems. And I would love to save the environment by burning less gas/making less exhaust... but not with this inherently problematic feature.

 

[jmccorm]

I did some googling and found that on the Jeep Cherokee, most of the time this is due to a weak battery. In a rare instance or two, it's due to a bad starter. Might be worth having your battery checked out?

 

[Wanted33]

I did some googling and found that on the Jeep Cherokee, most of the time this is due to a weak battery. In a rare instance or two, it's due to a bad starter. Might be worth having your battery checked out?

That's what I was thinking. If the small batteries dead, and the start stop mode is on it may be trying to use the small battery to start the engine in those situations. Of course that's just a SWAG (scientific wild ass guess).

 

[SIGP2101]

I did some googling and found that on the Jeep Cherokee, most of the time this is due to a weak battery. In a rare instance or two, it's due to a bad starter. Might be worth having your battery checked out?

That is my assumption as well. Jeep is on trickle charger now and I am hesitant to drive. Have dealer scheduled next Wednesday and it is 25km away. Up here is really cold now, in combination with depleted batteries I want to be sure that I will be making it to the dealer but will they be able to test batteries - that it is another question. If I make it there, batteries will be somehow charged I assume. You know usual spiel: "we can't replicate the problem" come back on the flat bed truck.

Thanks for the input guys!

 

[jmccorm]

You know usual spiel: "we can't replicate the problem" come back on the flat bed truck.

If you have a Tazer or another tool, be sure NOT to clear all your fault codes before your visit. They'll want to see signs of a previous failure (if they're just halfway good at their job, anyhow).

 

[SIGP2101]

If you have a Tazer or another tool, be sure NOT to clear all your fault codes before your visit. They'll want to see signs of a previous failure (if they're just halfway good at their job, anyhow).

Car is stock, I just changed oil once and 5 tire rotation once. That is that is all. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[astet12]

If you have a Tazer or another tool, be sure NOT to clear all your fault codes before your visit. They'll want to see signs of a previous failure (if they're just halfway good at their job, anyhow).

When I had mine towed to the dealership, they ran a diagnostic and no codes showed. AND it started up just fine for them when they got to my Jeep the next morning. We researched and assumed it was a weak second battery, because the start/stop has a separate battery.

Sponsored