IMPORTANT BATTERY INFO FOR ALL JT OWNERS

[aussiejt]

Recently I had been having issues with my electronics starting to fail in my gladiator.

The Auto stop/start symbol come up on my dash months ago (which I actually wasn’t upset about) then more recently remote start stopped working, which was more annoying as I live close to work and would start it from inside 10 minutes before I left. Then I was having messages like “aux function unavailable” and “parking sensors disabled” etc. etc.

The battery had been testing fine but finally decided to replace it. Once I replaced it, it came up with an unclearable code and a message “service shifter”.

I know from searching the forum and all over the net that the message seems fairly common, with a number of ways people have fixed it.

Short story long, I had to have it towed less than a kilometre to my mechanic, because I found that pulling the park release cord only works while you’re pulling on it and won’t allow the engine to run once you’ve released the brake, making it impossible to flat tow.

Side note; the nearest dealership is 3 hours away in Melbourne, as they all seem to slowly but surely be abandoning Jeep/Dodge/Chrysler, presumably to make way for all the Chinese crap coming into the country.

After 3 days of scratching their heads, they managed to find a SECOND SMALLER BATTERY underneath the main battery. Changed that out and everything is fine again (including auto stop/start)

I could be wrong but I haven’t found a single sources of information to say that they have a second battery. In fact the tray under the main battery showed no indication that there was anything hidden under it!

Anyways, hopefully this is some helpful info for you guys. Sorry for the long rant.

Cheers legends!

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[Jaxmax]

That's the aux battery which powers the electronics when engine shuts off at a stop. A lot here , including me removed it and don't use the stop start . Search aux battery there are tons of threads on it, really brings out the opinions when one comes out. Glad it worked out fo rya!.....Jack

 

[Lost1wing]

Page 169 of the 2020 owners manual covers battery locations and ESS fault light. Other years may vary.

 

[aussiejt]

That's the aux battery which powers the electronics when engine shuts off at a stop. A lot here , including me removed it and don't use the stop start . Search aux battery there are tons of threads on it, really brings out the opinions when one comes out. Glad it worked out fo rya!.....Jack

So the second battery is purely for Auto stop/start? Or more so for driving all the electronics? I would have guessed it would bring a lot more problems removing the battery entirely. Thanks for the help guys

 

[Jaxmax]

Your system works ok other then you have two batteries to replace. The small hidden battery powers the electronics while the stop/ start is working so when Jeep starts up voltage is steady then they connect again . So for most part if you push the button on dash everytime you get in to disable start stop you have basically a dual battery system…..Jack

 

[aussiejt]

Chalk this up to another reason why I hate the system!

 

[Lost1wing]

Tip!

Once you get your Jeep batteries functioning normally, monitor your ESS page in front of the steering wheel. It will give you an indication of your battery status. Every now and then look at this page at engine start. It would be nice to see Stop Start Ready soon after engine warm up. If it says Not Ready Battery charging, for longer periods of time, you need to change your driving habits and or put an AGM battery charger on it.

Long before you got the ESS warning light you could have seen Battery Charging msg on most of the time.

If you only came here sooner, like when the ESS warning light came on, we could have saved you some grief.

 

[JT ME]

Aussiejt, I share your dismay with Jeep Australia. My servicing dealer in the ACT. has called it quits with Stellantis products. This leaves me with a four and a half hour drive to the next jeep dealer. Mine is still under warranty in order to maintain the roadside assistance I have to have service at the dealer every 12 months.
My stop start worked for one week after I purchased last year. At my first service they replaced the aux. battery that allowed the system to function for about another week. Don't get me wrong I am not a fan of this system and was not upset at the fact it was not working however I do worry about being stranded in the middle of nowhere. At the next service I informed the service tech. of the inoperative SSV. They told me that the dash cam was draining the battery They said I should drive more. I live in rural Snowy Mountains every drive for me is long for me I have 36000kms. in a year and a half. I don't think that's the problem. The SSV page just tells me stop start not ready constantly. I have never had any other issues or messages. Maybe someone out there has some info. to help. Thanks

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Recently I had been having issues with my electronics starting to fail in my gladiator.

The Auto stop/start symbol come up on my dash months ago (which I actually wasn’t upset about) then more recently remote start stopped working, which was more annoying as I live close to work and would start it from inside 10 minutes before I left. Then I was having messages like “aux function unavailable” and “parking sensors disabled” etc. etc.

The battery had been testing fine but finally decided to replace it. Once I replaced it, it came up with an unclearable code and a message “service shifter”.

I know from searching the forum and all over the net that the message seems fairly common, with a number of ways people have fixed it.

Short story long, I had to have it towed less than a kilometre to my mechanic, because I found that pulling the park release cord only works while you’re pulling on it and won’t allow the engine to run once you’ve released the brake, making it impossible to flat tow.

Side note; the nearest dealership is 3 hours away in Melbourne, as they all seem to slowly but surely be abandoning Jeep/Dodge/Chrysler, presumably to make way for all the Chinese crap coming into the country.

After 3 days of scratching their heads, they managed to find a SECOND SMALLER BATTERY underneath the main battery. Changed that out and everything is fine again (including auto stop/start)

I could be wrong but I haven’t found a single sources of information to say that they have a second battery. In fact the tray under the main battery showed no indication that there was anything hidden under it!

Anyways, hopefully this is some helpful info for you guys. Sorry for the long rant.

Cheers legends!

I'm really shocked because it's all over fakebook pages, all over every Jeep forum, including Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, Gladiator and others. It's been a thing since 2016 for some Jeeps, and 2018 for Wrangler and Gladiator. There's thousands of posts here and in the Wrangler side talking about it, it's in the owners manual even.

Every Jeep we've owned since 2016 has had that - and never a problem with that battery - but we've known it's there I guess because I read the book!

 

[aussiejt]

I'm really shocked because it's all over fakebook pages, all over every Jeep forum, including Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, Gladiator and others. It's been a thing since 2016 for some Jeeps, and 2018 for Wrangler and Gladiator. There's thousands of posts here and in the Wrangler side talking about it, it's in the owners manual even.

Every Jeep we've owned since 2016 has had that - and never a problem with that battery - but we've known it's there I guess because I read the book!

True enough lol. But it’s hard to look for something when you don’t know there is a thing to look for haha. Without going to page 169 of the owners manual to look for a possible second battery. Also wouldn’t have thought to search for aux battery on this forum when I was trying to solve the service shift debacle.

I think the biggest take away that everyone can agree on is that across the board the messages that come up on the dash aren’t best suited to what the actual problem is a lot of the time!

Thanks everyone!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

True enough lol. But it’s hard to look for something when you don’t know there is a thing to look for haha. Without going to page 169 of the owners manual to look for a possible second battery. Also wouldn’t have thought to search for aux battery on this forum when I was trying to solve the service shift debacle. Thanks everyone!

Don't be afraid to ask questions.

Glad somehow, someway, someone finally figured it all out!!

 

[Labswine]

True enough lol. But it’s hard to look for something when you don’t know there is a thing to look for haha. Without going to page 169 of the owners manual to look for a possible second battery. Also wouldn’t have thought to search for aux battery on this forum when I was trying to solve the service shift debacle.

I think the biggest take away that everyone can agree on is that across the board the messages that come up on the dash aren’t best suited to what the actual problem is a lot of the time!

Thanks everyone!

Flat tow is very easy. Just put your transfer case in neutral and flat tow all day. This is the method used by those with large motor homes here in the US when they flat tow their Jeeps behind it so that when they get to a camp ground, they still have a vehicle to get out and about with.

BUT, if you are referring to a 'flat tow' behind a tow truck, i.e. front end off the ground with the rear wheels on the pavement, then, yeah, you've got a problem as towing that way, even with the t-case in neutral, can mess up the t-case. Don't remember how, but, do remember reading references to that issue.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

 

[SoK66]

Just like with a flashlight, where you wouldn't just replace one of two batteries because the weaker one will shorten the life of the new one, same goes for this bloody system. When the little POS in the fender needs replacing (it will always die first) you should dig deep, pony up the cash and replace the main battery as well.

FWIW, we run five '21 JT Sport Max Tows in our Jeep Tour business. We've been doing the aux battery delete (removing the aux battery negative cable and pulling fuse 42) on them one at a time as the "A!" warnings come up on the dash. We've run several of them that way for two years now and haven't had a single issue.

 

[Flyboy2109]

"So the second battery is purely for Auto stop/start? Or more so for driving all the electronics? I would have guessed it would bring a lot more problems removing the battery entirely. Thanks for the help guys "


Many of us have simply removed it and Most likely someone has already said so. I removed the aux battery long ago and found the JT has aux battery leads long enough for me to simply run them up the the main battery. I do not allow stop-start to function so I don't need it or the aux battery headaches it causes. Some people say pull some fuse to do the delete, I never have bothered nor found it necessary. Cheers, mate!

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