Tazer JL start stop anyone else have issues

[JC2692]

I’m just running with the tazer not connected currently until a fix is available.

As an update to you and this thread in general,


Joe from ZAuto contacted me and send a return label and offered to send me a new Tazer. I got off work this morning and randomly, everything started working properly. I kept the Tazer plugged in the last few days and it seems to have worked itself out, I guess. I literally did nothing after my original troubleshooting, just kept it plugged in. I've made 3 back and forth trips today, and everything has worked fine. I told Joe I'd let him know if anything changes and I wish I had an answer for you, but they would have taken care of me if the issues persisted.

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[WranglerMan]

I to am hoping that after I run a month with no Tazer to ensure all works as designed I can plug my Tazer back in and at least adjust my tire size and set TPMS limits, I was one of those that honestly did not care for ESS but since getting it back after having the battery replaced I have been just using it and I hate to say this it’s not been that bad, it works perfectly and after awhile it’s don’t really notice it but I’m sure I will this summer .

My goal is to proceed slowly and check each operation so I can possible pinpoint any problems but it honestly could come down to just haveing a crappy battery from the get go, at least that’s what I am hoping for.

 

[Zenk]

I to am hoping that after I run a month with no Tazer to ensure all works as designed I can plug my Tazer back in and at least adjust my tire size and set TPMS limits, I was one of those that honestly did not care for ESS but since getting it back after having the battery replaced I have been just using it and I hate to say this it’s not been that bad, it works perfectly and after awhile it’s don’t really notice it but I’m sure I will this summer .

My goal is to proceed slowly and check each operation so I can possible pinpoint any problems but it honestly could come down to just haveing a crappy battery from the get go, at least that’s what I am hoping for.

Just an FYI... I have a Tazer JL Lite, and this morning my battery was dead. It all started last Friday morning on my morning commute when I tried to remote start, but nothing happened, so I had to do a in car start. That evening on the way home, it remote started fine, but I noticed my Off Road pages stopped working. I parked the Jeep and didn't try to start it again until today (Monday), and dead battery. Pulled the Tazer JL Lite, and after charging the battery was able to start again. With the Tazer JL Lite removed (But still married), I still have my tires size set and my Off Road pages are now working again. I will run without the Tazer for a while and see if I still have battery issues.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

@Zenk

Was wondering if you tried to jump start it all all. If so how did things proceed?

So, are you saying you placed a trickle charger on it overnight, lets say and then the JL started?

Also, when you said you went to it on Monday and "dead battery" , what did you see... did you see absolutely no dash lights, nothing?

Just trying to get info for my own personal data base so to speak.

 

[Zenk]

@Zenk

Was wondering if you tried to jump start it all all. If so how did things proceed?

So, are you saying you placed a trickle charger on it overnight, lets say and then the JL started?

Also, when you said you went to it on Monday and "dead battery" , what did you see... did you see absolutely no dash lights, nothing?

Just trying to get info for my own personal data base so to speak.

Yes, I jump started it. I then drove it to work, which is where I am now... still have to go out and try to start it to drive it back home. I will put it on a trickle charger tonight when I get it home.

Ok... dead(technically not dead but very low) battery symptoms were scary. My dash was going crazy and every light in the dash was going on and off. My wipers even started and would not turn off. I was unable to get my start button out of the "run" position. But eventually, it all went dead. Then I attempted a jump start from another vehicle. No joy at first, then I let it charge for about 20 minutes. It was still stuck in "run" on the ignition, but then it suddenly let me get it to the off position and from there I was able to actually start it up. It was unlike any other dead battery symptoms I have ever seen before. Hope this helps, I know what I am describing is not normal.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

@Zenk

Thanks for the info. Other's have had similar experiences (as you are having) and mentioned them on the forum.

Guys that have a programmer like a Tazer JL or Flashcal and guys that do not have a programmer in the mix have experienced similar issues. Someday in the future we will know what causes this issue.

As for the jump start.... yes, hook up cables with a donor vehicle that is running. Do wait for say 5 or so minutes minimum before you attempt to start the JL. As you saw the JL will jump start ..... but you do need to do the 5 or so min. wait thing.

Keep us updated on your situation....

.

 

[WranglerMan]

@Zenk I am still testing my JL with no Tazer installed, it’s been right at two weeks since getting it back from the service ppl.

I never had the issues you had, all I had problems with was ESS said not ready battery was charging in the ESS message window screen and my voltage displayed in the EVIC was 14.2+ but all other functions of the Jeep operated normally,

When I picked it up from service the voltage still read high in the 13+ range but I had been conversing with @Rhinebeck01 prior to getting my Jeep back and had already purchased a tender and multimeter so the next day I believe after getting it back I put it on the tender for about 10-12hrs and after it indicated it was 100% I followed @Jebiruph instruction on taking the correct voltage reading and the main read 12.7 and ESS read almost 12.6

Since then my voltage swings like it did when I first purchased my JL as in going down the road it reads 12.7-12.9 and as I decelerate by braking or just getting off the throttle the voltage ramps up to over 14 and once stopped goes back down the the 12.7 range

I have not been monitoring my voltage for mayvbe 3-5 days as everything has been working and I have been letting ESS do it’s thing and all is well but today I looked at the voltage for the first time and it seemed a tad higher right after startup as it was in the 13+ range but after running a few errands it dropped back to the 12+ range during idle and when I got home I pulled my meter and checked the main battery while it was all connected but not running and voltage was a solid 12.7 and voltages at the main negative and N1 and N2 were also 12.7 so my charging system seems to be operating correctly

The voltage swinging thing has always baffled my mind but the service folks say it’s never supposed to read 14+ all the time and I have been told this multiple times, say it has something to do with battery management but who knows, all I know is when I had my issues they tested my battery and found it bad but did not say what was bad other than they used a GR8 Tester and it failed and I am not sure what that piece of equipment does.

As I have said from the very beginning I have no idea if the Tazer caused my issues but I have not heard of loads and loads of ppl reporting battery issues while using a Tazer but it does draw power while plugged in but also is supposed to go to sleep after about a minute and before all my issues I did observe the LED light on the front going silent after about a minute.

For now I am running without it and come the first of the year I will remarry it to my Jeep but only change tire size and TPMS limits and then remove it so there is no possible power usage and then monitor again for several weeks to a month to ensure correct operation of all functions of the JL and then if all goes well I will plug it back in and start using the “Live” features again although I have to be honest and say one of the big issues I has was ESS and the Tazer does disable this but since running with out the Tazer I have been forcing myself to use it so I know it’s working and it’s honestly not that bad once you figure out that it’s pretty easy to control without a programmer

Please keep us all informed on what you find out about your issues but I would suggest you check all fuses to ensure they are firmly seated and also have your battery load tested as there have been reports of bad batteries from ppl not running programmers

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

Just to add a data point: I have the original Tazer, not the new mini/lite. It’s been plugged in since June. 9k miles. I tested ESS just now based on this thread and it worked as designed (i.e. it’s as annoying as I remember it!)

 

[WXman]

I've been having trouble with my start stop feature this week since updating to v6. I actually am one of the few who likes the SS feature, so I did NOT turn the "SS KILL" function on with the Taser.

The Start Stop screen now says "Not Ready Battery Charging", then switched to "Not Ready Battery Protection Mode"? My battery indicator is saying my voltage is 13.6, so it's not low, but that is only reading the main battery I'm assuming. I just find it a strange coincidence that these messages popped up all of a sudden? I've had my Tazer through 2 different updates and everything functioned properly until I updated to v6. I disconnected the battery hoping to reboot, but still have the same messages regarding battery.

Anyone else had any similar issues?

Exact same thing here. Mine just spent 16 days in the shop because of it. Happened shortly after upgrading to 11.0.6 firmware. Dealership went through and did a full re-learn procedure on my Jeep and all is working well now. I reverted back to firmware 11.0.3 on the Tazer because I never had trouble with it back then and I still don't today. The latest Tazer firmware seems to be buggy.

 

[WranglerMan]

@WXman are you running live features off the Tazer ?

 

[joe@zauto]

Those with issues, do you have tow group / aux buttons?
Those have a different battery setup than the ones without.
And are you in a colder climate - did it act up when cold out?

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

Those with issues, do you have tow group / aux buttons?
Those have a different battery setup than the ones without.
And are you in a colder climate - did it act up when cold out?

I’m one WITHOUT issues. Yes, I have tow group. Yes, I’m in a cold climate (Daytime temps in 30s when parked at work. At home I’m garaged, and temp in there is in 50s.) I run 11.0.6 on original Tazer with an OBDII extension cable.

 

[joe@zauto]

I’m one WITHOUT issues. Yes, I have tow group. Yes, I’m in a cold climate (Daytime temps in 30s when parked at work. At home I’m garaged, and temp in there is in 50s.) I run 11.0.6 on original Tazer with an OBDII extension cable.

Same with mine. Tow group. 11.0.6, 11.0.7, heck I’m running code that SHOULD brick my Jeep but I can’t replicate this no matter what I try. And it’s 24 degrees out yesterday.
1000+ Tazers in JL’s at this point with just maybe 5 people that have said any sort of battery issue, and it’s hard to say if it was tazer related, and if it is, is it firmware version or a defective component or what.
I’d love to get to the bottom of it though, which is why I ask questions. The more details the better.
The ESS function on the tazer literally mimics your finger pressing the ESS button a couple seconds after startup. That’s not going to cause issues. AP Kill sends messages for a few seconds after startup. Low likliness. NavInMo sends commands whenever you start and stop. And the radios are buggy to begin with, which is why if anyone has a problem I blame the radio first. Especially the 8.4 Uconnect. They’re buggy even without a Tazer.

The ESS battery is apparently different depending on tow package or not, perhaps a clue. Cold weather related? Possibly, we didn’t hear of this over the summer.

 

[Zenk]

Those with issues, do you have tow group / aux buttons?
Those have a different battery setup than the ones without.
And are you in a colder climate - did it act up when cold out?

I have the tow group with aux buttons and live in northern Virginia.

 

[WranglerMan]

@joe@zauto I have a pretty basic Sahara JLU with no tow package and no aux buttons, I have never used Tazer software below 11.06 so can’t comment on not having issues before that firmware.

I initially intallled my Tazer right after my lift and set my tire size, TPMS limits, ESS to off and a few other things and never had any issues but a few months after the install I started reading some were seeing ESS error messages and batteries were dead and they were seeing there battery voltage displayed in the EVIC was 14+ volts and my voltage had been showing this for months but again I had no issues so I never really gave it much thought but I was curious so I unmarried my Tazer and removed it and after a few start/Stop cycles my ESS screen displayed “start/Stop not ready battery charging” and ESS never worked and my voltage was still readig. 14+ volts.

I had a few TSB’s I wanted the dealer to address and also have them change my oil so I figured I would bring up the ESS system and battery charging issue to them and after they checked it they reported my main battery has failed a GR8 test so they replaced it and upon picking it up the voltage was still kinda high but down from the 14+ to low 13’s bust ESS worked perfectly.

The next day I think I put a battery tender on it and left it there for about 10 hrs and it reported battery was ready and I used a multimeter to check main and ESS battery and both were in the 12.5-12.7 range and ESS worked perfectly, I have been driving it pretty much everyday and just let ESS do what it does and my battery voltage in the EVIC displays voltages from 12.8-14.3 depending on what I’m doing but at idle it’s been as low as 12.6 and even driving it’s been as low as the 12.6 as well and when decelerating it ramps up to over 14 and then back down and the dealer says that’s normal it should never read the solid 14+ volts all the time

It’s been about two weeks since my battery was replaced and all works like it did when first purchased with the voltage swinging and ESS works as designed and my Tazer is currently removed.

Im honestly not sure the Tazer was the issue as I have always stated but it’s odd that the battery voltage jumped up to over 14+ volts after using the Tazer for a while but that’s not to say that my main battery just did not crap out on its own, my plan is to put the Tazer back in at the first of the year but not leave it in and just change a few vehicle settings and not use the live functions so I can keep it unplugged and see what happens and then after a month or so start using the live functions and monitor voltage and check ESS operations randomly to see if it works

As you stated if it was a software issue or hardware issue you would think more would be reporting issues and not just a few here and there, I’m honestly hoping it’s not a Tazer issue as I like what it does and I’m not some electronic engineer so can’t decipher what normal on the JL versus what not normal on the electronics stuff

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