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Stop/Start Not Ready-Battery Charging

JeepCares

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Add me to the list. 2021 3.0 with 6700mi. Started off with Uconnect warning and stop/start not ready, but ESS still worked. Took it to the dealer today and they changed the IBS and charged the batteries. When they were done, started the jeep and now I get something like "stop/start not available battery charging," and the ESS doesn't work. They said it was in calibration mode and if it was still doing it in 3-5 days, bring it back. I asked about mileage to get sufficient charge, he said it wasn't mileage related to clear the message, just needed starts and stops, normal routine driving. I'm skeptical, to say the least since new vehicles don't have this error, but we'll see. @JeepCares
Oh brother, thank you for this post. My '20 is saying the same thing. I'm always hesitant to roll into a service dept. for an electrical issue without at least a minute idea of what's happening. This time I'll be able to say the right words to the Service Writer so they won't start "rotating the tires" when they come up empty trying everything else. :)

I do like this forum. Have a problem, and more times than not the good folks here can help.
Hi there--

Thanks for tagging our @JeepCares team and bringing this to our attention.! I'm sorry to hear about the concerns you're both experiencing with your ESS. If you decide to get this addressed by your Jeep dealer and would like additional support, please feel free to send our team a private message!

Courtney
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smithrd65

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I resently had that issue I'm still under warranty and I took it in and they replaced (both batteries). They first tested the batteries and then put them on charge over night and they both failed so they replaced them. I ask the dealer how long before they both failed he said weeks when this happens.
 

future ocean blue

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Took my JL in for the ESS battery not charging issue. They had it for 4-6 hours and switched out the ESS battery. They charged and tested both batteries and found the little one was bad. Who knows how long it will last. It was under warranty so no charge!!
 

Wanted33

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Hi there--

Thanks for tagging our @JeepCares team and bringing this to our attention.! I'm sorry to hear about the concerns you're both experiencing with your ESS. If you decide to get this addressed by your Jeep dealer and would like additional support, please feel free to send our team a private message!

Courtney
Jeep Cares
Sorry for the late reply.......

@JeepCares Thanks Courtney, I have an appointment at my dealer, and I'm sure they will fix the problem. They've always been very helpful.

Jim
 
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JeepCares

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Sorry for the late reply.......

@JeepCares Thanks Courtney, I have an appointment at my dealer, and I'm sure they will fix the problem. They've always been very helpful.

Jim
No worries, Jim! Thanks for the update. Please do not hesitate to reach out if any questions arise in the meantime. I look forward to hearing how your dealer appointment goes!

Courtney
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Mikepa

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Add my 2018 JLUR with 22K miles to this "Start/Stop not available. Charging" list. Still under warranty so brought it in to dealer. Got it back with "just needed a charge". Ugh. This from the same dealer who put 6.5 qts of oil in during my first free Jeep Wave change and who could not find the source of a slow oil leak coming from my top driver's side 3.6L. Put dye in and asked me to come back in a week. Ugh again.
 

OldGuyNewJeep

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Add my 2018 JLUR with 22K miles to this "Start/Stop not available. Charging" list. Still under warranty so brought it in to dealer. Got it back with "just needed a charge". Ugh. This from the same dealer who put 6.5 qts of oil in during my first free Jeep Wave change and who could not find the source of a slow oil leak coming from my top driver's side 3.6L. Put dye in and asked me to come back in a week. Ugh again.
Put a multimeter on it. Do it again in the morning. Did it drop a lot? Of course it did. Plug in your tender. Once charged, pull off the AUX negative and get a reading of each battery. Do it again in the morning. If AUX went down a lot (and disconnected so no parasitic draw), itā€™s probably bad.

Worst. Design. Ever.
 

Fuel Fire Desire

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I just started getting this. November 2017 build date with 37,000mi. I figure itā€™s about time to change batteries. Iā€™m hoping it lasts long enough for me to get my new fenders in so I only have to pull the liner out once.

I mean, I really couldnā€™t care less if the ESS stops working. I just donā€™t want to have a no star situation in the future. The starter still engages just as strong and fast as it always has, but Iā€™ve never had a low battery on a vehicle with an automated starter cycle. Iā€™m not sure if it will just give up and not even try one day.

I did have the remote start fail to operate one cold morning. All I got was one toot from the horn and no start. This was after the jeep had sat for a couple weeks with only one short drive on it since. The remote start worked the next day after a 4 hour drive and it sitting in -15f cold all night.
 
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flyer92

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Apologies for the question, but does this ongoing battery problem apply to standard ESS, eTorque system, or both?
 

Mikepa

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Has anyone seen this problem persist after replacing just the aux battery. I purchased both aux and main batteries but the latter has not shown up yet. I replaced the aux this weekend, took a quick drive to see it "available" but am now seeing the message again.
 

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My "Start/Stop" function stopped working for about 4 months. Didn't really miss it so I didn't do anything about it. After reading this thread I assumed it was due to taking mostly short trips and not giving the aux battery a chance to re-charge. Finally took an hour and half drive out to some trails this weekend and low and behold it kicked in again. So the highway driving thing worked.
I noticed mine is saying battery charging and staying on. I've already had both batteries replaced about 18 months ago. I think this time it's probably due to lack of driving (Thanks COVID lockdowns). I'll have to take a long freeway drive to see if that kicks that aux battery into life.
 

WranglerMan

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I think a lot of these battery issues are caused by mismatched batteries that are of substandard quality and not proper charging.
 

willcasp

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I think a lot of these battery issues are caused by mismatched batteries that are of substandard quality and not proper charging.
I occasionally put my Jeep on a tender. The Start/Stop may work for a day or two. Then it dies again.

I have had the AUX battery replaced once. I will have the dealer look at it again when I take it in for its annual check up.

I write this off to a bad design that is prone to fail. Please change my mind!
 

WranglerMan

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I occasionally put my Jeep on a tender. The Start/Stop may work for a day or two. Then it dies again.

I have had the AUX battery replaced once. I will have the dealer look at it again when I take it in for its annual check up.

I write this off to a bad design that is prone to fail. Please change my mind!
I wish I could convince you itā€™s a great design but FCA dropped the ball on this design using it on a Jeep Wrangler.

If your Jeep sits a lot itā€™s best to put it on a tender/maintainer that is sized correctly for the stock batteries so like a 5 amp NOCO but in all honesty I believe you could use a 10 amp NOCO as when the Jeep is idle the batteries are connected as one so itā€™s just one big battery but that smaller motorcycle ESS battery is just sad as itā€™s not sized the same in amp hours as the 70 aH full size battery plus I honestly donā€™t believe the batteries that are used are of acceptable quality.

There are ways around bypassing the baby battery and just maintaining it for backup purposes but as we all know batteries start to degrade from day one and regardless of what batteries are used they all have a life cycle but some have shorter lives than others based on their design and quality of construction.

You as a Jeep owner have to decide what your needs are and go from there but the choices are pretty simple

1. Maintain the original design and just be diligent on maintaining the factory batteries

2. Bypass the aux battery and DONā€˜T USE ESS but still maintain them.

3. Go to some type of better dual battery system ( There are a few choices )

Regardless of what battery system you go with if your Jeep is not driven a lot use a quality maintainer to keep the batteries at peak so you get the maximum life from them.
 
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willcasp

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I wish I could convince you itā€™s a great design but FCA dropped the ball on this design using it on a Jeep Wrangler.

If your Jeep sits a lot itā€™s best to put it on a tender/maintainer that is sized correctly for the stock batteries so like a 5 amp NOCO but in all honesty I believe you could use a 10 amp NOCO as when the Jeep is idle the batteries are connected as one so itā€™s just one big battery but that smaller motorcycle ESS battery is just sad as itā€™s not sized the same in amp hours as the 700 aH full size battery plus I honestly donā€™t believe the batteries that are used are of acceptable quality.

There are ways around bypassing the baby battery and just maintaining it for backup purposes but as we all know batteries start to degrade from day one and regardless of what batteries are used they all have a life cycle but some have shorter lives than others based on their design and quality of construction.

You as a Jeep owner have to decide what your needs are and go from there but the choices are pretty simple

1. Maintain the original design and just be diligent on maintaining the factory batteries

2. Bypass the aux battery and DONā€˜T USE ESS but still maintain them.

3. Go to some type of better dual battery system ( There are a few choices )

Regardless of what battery system you go with if your Jeep is not driven a lot use a quality maintainer to keep the batteries at peak so you get the maximum life from them.
You are correct. You won't convince me. The system fails my basic use case. On average, I drive my jeep 4 times a week. 20 miles on days I drive it. I should not need to do anything to make the system work. It should just work.

As an example, I have an Audi Q5 that can sit for a week. ESS will work just fine.

Since FCA uses ESS to meet their MPG statements with the EPA, the system needs to "just work" for standard use cases. As you can see in the threads, it clearly does not. This seems fraudulent on the part of FCA to me.
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