$1,350 battery replacement?

[ShadowsPapa]

The real lesson here is that if you feel you've been "ripped off" - and in the past you've been treated special, go back to that business and have a chat with them. No one here can resolve it other than either sympathize or suggest it's not a big deal.

I told a couple of people how much my wife and I have spent with them in the last 10 years, and the last attempt at solving the problem was unacceptable.
I got not only a free hour+ of body shop time measuring things out (they have zero connection to the warranty side of my vehicle), but other concessions.

In the past, I got almost an hour of free diagnostics time for an HVAC issue by just talking with them, and in another case, they cut a bill in half (knocking almost $200 off a bill) because they felt bad it was taking so long and costing so much more than we had talked about.
I got a free tank of gas in another case when I simply asked about a part that had come with past Jeeps (but Jeep decided to leave out of the 25 models) - and the part thrown in for free. I wasn't even asking for a free part - I was just asking what happened to it!

Yeah, in the end, the real lesson is - talk to the dealership if you have been treated special in the past, but felt ripped off the last time. No one else can solve it or give money back.

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[jebiruph]

The only $99 fuse I'm aware of would be the high capacity fuse array. If that actually needed replaced, that is an indication that the N3 fuse was blown and all that needed to be done was to move the N3 cable to the N4 terminal to get power back to the electrical systems. That would only take about 10 minutes and it's possible nothing else needed replaced.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The only $99 fuse (f I'm aware of would be the high capacity fuse array. If that actually needed replaced, that is an indication that the N3 fuse was blown and all that needed to be done was to move the N3 cable to the N4 terminal to get power back to the electrical systems. That would only take about 10 minutes and it's possible nothing else needed replaced.

Hard to say since we don't know any further details. Was there a jump start involved

and then relief to learn it's just the stupid ESS acting up (everything locked up, no power, no cranking, couldn''t get it in neutral, had to put the transfer case in neutral to have a passing Jeep yank the whole rig and trailer to side street.)

A bit of a probable misquote here is that it was "just the stupid ESS acting up".
The problem wasn't ESS acting up.
Did the fuse blow first, or later?
IF the batteries were not bad, but replaced anyway, then the dealer really did rip him off.
However, if the batteries were found to be bad, that could have resulted in the fuse going.
Too bad there wasn't more actual information-details.

 

[jebiruph]

Hard to say since we don't know any further details. Was there a jump start involved


A bit of a probable misquote here is that it was "just the stupid ESS acting up".
The problem wasn't ESS acting up.
Did the fuse blow first, or later?
IF the batteries were not bad, but replaced anyway, then the dealer really did rip him off.
However, if the batteries were found to be bad, that could have resulted in the fuse going.
Too bad there wasn't more actual information-details.

It is hard to say what actually happened, but I thought I'd take this opportunity to bring up the N3 fuse for those that may not be aware of it, the effect it can have and the temporary work around.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It is hard to say what actually happened, but I thought I'd take this opportunity to bring up the N3 fuse for those that may not be aware of it, the effect it can have and the temporary work around.

And it's a simple fix or replacement, can buy them at online MOPAR stores pretty easily.

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

The real lesson here is that if you feel you've been "ripped off"

Yes. That's not a lesson, that's my entire point of posting: Did I get ripped off?
Some said yes, some said no, and some just want to insult me because... internet. LOL
Didn't want anything from the post but a comparison of how much others have paid, and got my answer. All good.

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

It is hard to say what actually happened, but I thought I'd take this opportunity to bring up the N3 fuse for those that may not be aware of it, the effect it can have and the temporary work around.

Thanks, noted in case it happens again! Solution for now is to not forget to keep my Tazer plugged in and turn the damn thing off permanently.

 

[Rick_Jame55]

Let this be a lesson to everyone - don't trust Jeep dealers.
Glenn E. Thomas Jeep in Long Beach, CA just charged me the following to repair a non-op ESS system that left me stranded:

Fuse - $99
Battery x1 - $454
Battery x1 - $240
Push Pin x4 - $31.80
Rivet x4 - $51.20
Labor - $375

I needed it fixed and was in a hurry. Yes, I'm an impatient fool for agreeing to this. Regretting it now. Hey, @JeepCares, does this sound excessive to you?
At this point I feel like there's no other option but public shaming.

Cost me $360 for a new battery from Batteries Plus. I removed the aux battery (Diesel model) tied and wrapped all the connections to the aux battery. Removed said fuse. Half hour max.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Thanks, noted in case it happens again! Solution for now is to not forget to keep my Tazer plugged in and turn the damn thing off permanently.

Tazer does nothing - all it does is "press" the button for you when you start your Jeep. ESS is still there, 100%, all functions, everything about it is still there and still watching things.
All it doesn't do is shut the engine off, otherwise, the whole system is exactly the same. You can't disable ESS, only prevent the engine from stopping at a stop sign.
So having tazer there or not did zip for you - it does nothing that YOU can't do by pressing that button.
Those of us who want to save the money simply remember to press the button - same exact thing.

Don't blame ESS - this would have happened anyway, no matter what.

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

Hard to say since we don't know any further details. Was there a jump start involved

Both batteries bad (original 6yo batteries, so probably due anyway) and fuse was blown. Can only speculate what happened and when. Did not attempt to jump start and potentially burn up more stuff.

Sequence of events:
- Stopped at a light, heard a loud "pop!" and everything turned off
- Dashboard dark, nothing worked, opened and closed door and "brake and press button" message appeared
- Tried to start, few clicks from under the hood, a sizzling noise (!), bunch of warnings, then everything goes dark again
- Tow truck driver tries to start it and no clicks or anything, just immediately goes dark including dome lights. Slight burning/hot electronics smell. He recommend not trying to jump it in case something shorted out.

If the ESS gave me a warning or if the battery was low, I would have obviously just towed it home, ordered some parts, and fixed it myself. In this case I was more concerned about the thing burning down in my driveway more than expensive dealer service centers, so off it went to Jeep.

So the mystery here is: Why did the ESS activate if the batteries weren't good? Thinking it must have been an immediate failure on restart because it's designed not to do that and leave you stranded if the engine is already running.

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

Hard to say since we don't know any further details. Was there a jump start involved

Both batteries bad (original 6yo batteries, so probably due anyway) and fuse was blown. Can only speculate what happened and when. Did not attempt to jump start and potentially burn up more stuff.

Sequence of events:
- Stopped at a light, heard a loud "pop!" and everything turned off
- Dashboard dark, nothing worked, opened and closed door and "brake and press button" message appeared
- Tried to start, few clicks from under the hood, a sizzling noise (!), bunch of warnings, then everything goes dark again
- Tow truck driver tries to start it and no clicks or anything, just immediately goes dark including dome lights. Slight burning/hot electronics smell. He recommend not trying to jump it in case something shorted out.

If the ESS gave me a warning or if the battery was low, I would have obviously just towed it home, ordered some parts, and fixed it myself. In this case I was more concerned about the thing burning down in my driveway more than expensive dealer service centers, so off it went to Jeep.

So the mystery here is: Why did the ESS activate if the batteries weren't good? Thinking it must have been an immediate failure on restart because it's designed not to do that and leave you stranded if the engine is already running.

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

Hard to say since we don't know any further details. Was there a jump start involved

Both batteries bad (original 6yo batteries, so probably due anyway) and fuse was blown. Can only speculate what happened and when. Did not attempt to jump start and potentially burn up more stuff.

Sequence of events:
- Stopped at a light, heard a loud "pop!" and everything turned off
- Dashboard dark, nothing worked, opened and closed door and "brake and press button" message appeared
- Tried to start, few clicks from under the hood, a sizzling noise (!), bunch of warnings, then everything goes dark again
- Tow truck driver tries to start it and no clicks or anything, just immediately goes dark including dome lights. Slight burning/hot electronics smell. He recommend not trying to jump it in case something shorted out.

If the ESS gave me a warning or if the battery was low, I would have obviously just towed it home, ordered some parts, and fixed it myself. In this case I was more concerned about the thing burning down in my driveway more than expensive dealer service centers, so off it went to Jeep.

So the mystery here is: Why did the ESS activate if the batteries weren't good? Thinking it must have been an immediate failure on restart because it's designed not to do that and leave you stranded if the engine is already running.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

If it detects an electrical system issue as in low battery voltage, it will go into self-preservation mode and start disabling things - then you'll get a warning to pull over as it's about to shut down.
So they may leave you stuck if it happens while you are driving.

Sizzling is ->
* "short" meaning grounded wire, etc.
* Battery internal issue- short (6 years on Jeep batteries? WOW, that's got to be a record! 3 to 4 is pretty lucky. I bet that a battery was ready to go whether you were driving or stopped)
* Connection issue - such as loose connection - they often "sizzle" and burn due to the amperage trying to get through the resistance of the connection.

Sequence of events:
- Stopped at a light, heard a loud "pop!" and everything turned off

You stopped at a light - did the engine also shut down via an ESS stop event?

If so, it's very possible that it had a battery issue at that time, and during the restart process (it may have wanted to restart due to multiple reasons) and during that time, the battery separate, then reconnect after the starter sequence is finished. If there was a massive unbalance in charge between the two batteries, reconnecting them could have "popped" the fuse.

I can think of a number of ways this could have happened - and even ways you'd have been stuck in a self-preservation - shut down in 2 minutes event and had to pull off the highway while driving.
My bet is - it was going to happen - either while stopped, or while driving, and - that one of the two batteries being the human equivalent of 120 years old, was bad or going, and that led to a blown fuse (a pop). That fuse array is right by the firewall on the PDC/fuse panel.

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

You stopped at a light - did the engine also shut down via an ESS stop event?

Should clarify: the ESS shut it down like any other ESS activation (indicator light for ESS), lifted my foot off brake to restart and that's when it popped and everything went dark.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Should clarify: the ESS shut it down like any other ESS activation (indicator light for ESS), lifted my foot off brake to restart and that's when it popped and everything went dark.

Ok, it's making a lot of sense now - how things likely went down, knowing how the system works.

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