Winter battery issue every year

[Icinia]

I have a very frustrating issue with my JL. I got the jeep in 2019 with only 49 miles on it in March. The next winter 2020, when the temps went down to almost zero the battery died in a coffee kiosk line. The dealership put a new battery in it. Two weeks later it died again. So they put a new battery harness on it. 2021 winter battery died. So they put a new alternator and new battery in it. 2022 battery dies in these temps and they put a new starter in it and new battery. 2023 battery dies and they rewire something and added a part that took almost 3 months to get and a new battery. I kept saying something is unnaturally draining the battery. 2024 battery dies and they tried saying I don’t drive it enough to keep it charged. Only my son and two friends who have JK models and haven't driven their jeep for weeks, they started right up. I have a friend whose JL wrangler is his fun car. Hasn’t driven it for months and it started right up. So there is something wrong with my system. I told the dealership they should have lemoned it right away and now it’s too late. They also claim my model JL does not have an aux battery so that’s not the issue. They keep pushing me to trade it in but it’s paid off and I got $60,000 in it and they are only offering $35,000 which is bogus. Im currently waiting for the tow truck. Has anyone else had this issue and found a solution?

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[WannFly]

OEM battery is crap (anything they replace under warranty is same crap), change it to something better. Northstar X2 platinum (hybrid AGM battery) is what I use. Both my RAM and Jeep sits for weeks on end without anyone touching, let alone driving. They are doing just fine. I no longer have to deal with zero degrees though.

If there is a parasitic drain, its easy to check it with a multimeter in series. Lots of YT video and threads on that. Forget the dealer tech, run your own test to see whats drawing the life out of your battery

 

[BstingGray]

X2 on checking for a parasitic battery draw. Do you have any electrical accessories connected to your battery?

 

[Diesel1776]

Let's just say, I chose Mechanical Engineering for a reason.

Though in all seriousness, assuming you drive it regularly ... like others have said, it's likely a parasitic drain. Where? Now that's the kicker. I've even read rumors of there being a slight parasitic draw from all the OEM electrical hardware that comes with the vehicles -- whether or not there's any truth to that, IDK.

Search up "Intelligent Battery Sensor (IBS)" on the forum. That thing could possibly be another source of what's throwing your batteries out of whack.

 

[Icinia]

X2 on checking for a parasitic battery draw. Do you have any electrical accessories connected to your battery?

Just a winch

 

[The Last Cowboy]

The biggest parasitic draw is from those aftermarket tracking devices that many dealers install, and they sell to you as a security device.

And, are you sure you have no auxiliary battery? If you have eTorque you don’t. It wouldn’t be the first time a dealership shop or owner didn’t know.

 

[bllprk]

Do they replace BOTH batteries every time? If the baby battery is dead, its going to kill the mamma battery every time.

 

[garyji]

Go back to Joe's question. Is it eTorque or not?? If you ONLY added a winch, go to Piryo's post about a top quality Main Battery. (I'm an Odyssey fan boy) ESPECIALLY in Montana!! If it is not eTorque, you MUST replace the main and Aux.

G.

 

[Htfan]

Which engine does your 2018 have?

There weren't as many options that year. It either has a small AUX battery or a 48v battery (eTorque} second battery mounted underneath. Either could be what's causing a problem.

I agree with the other comments about an undiagnosed parasitic drain.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

Let's just say, I chose Mechanical Engineering for a reason.

Though in all seriousness, assuming you drive it regularly ... like others have said, it's likely a parasitic drain. Where? Now that's the kicker. I've even read rumors of there being a slight parasitic draw from all the OEM electrical hardware that comes with the vehicles -- whether or not there's any truth to that, IDK.

Search up "Intelligent Battery Sensor (IBS)" on the forum. That thing could possibly be another source of what's throwing your batteries out of whack.

It’s not a rumor. OEM config absolutely has parasitic drain. Manual even tells you to disconnect the battery or use a charger if Jeep will sit for a few weeks.

I’m into year 6 of ownership and just formed a habit of bi-weekly charging with a good, 20a Odyssey 6 stage charger/maintainer. I also eliminated the little ESS battery by pulling fuse F42 and disconnecting its negative cable.

 

[Icinia]

The biggest parasitic draw is from those aftermarket tracking devices that many dealers install, and the. Sell to you as a security device.

And, are you sure you have no auxiliary battery? If you have eTorque you don’t. It wouldn’t be the first time a dealership shop or owner didn’t know.

It’s the ETorque

 

[The Last Cowboy]

An H7/94R fits. Don't ever buy a Mopar battery again. I've had great results with Super Start from O'Reilly's. Batteries Plus sells a Northstar with their brand on it.

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