All this talk about batteries!

[Mr._Bill]

So the aux battery is only 14aH, would it be beneficial to add something higher like 28aH or higher?

Only if your ESS turns off and restarts the engine a great amount of times during your regular driving.

The purpose of the Aux Battery is to keep the computers and electronics stable during ESS events. They are paralleled together all the time, except during the startup test to see if the Aux Battery is there and at an acceptable voltage level, and during ESS events. Otherwise, the system sees the two batteries as one. The two battery design is intended to prevent marginal batteries from causing the computers to reboot from low voltage during ESS events.

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[Mr._Bill]

Is there a way to add a full size battery in place of teh small aux battery?

Not easily. The Aux Battery is where it is because there is no room for it in the engine bay.

I added the equivalent of a Genesis dual battery system and left the factory setup in place. The Smart Isolator is mounted near the Main Battery, and the second battery is attached to the frame behind the right rear wheel. It has been in place over four years. It gave me the ability to jump start with the push of a button when the Main Battery started to fail.

 

[Mr._Bill]

I just had to replace my batteries. The main battery was the one that actually went bad, but I replaced both of them.

You gas guy have it rough having to go through the wheel well or pulling the entire fuse box. Us diesel guys have the aux box right below the main battery.

It's really not as difficult as reported by the internet. My Main battery failed and I replaced it about a year ago. The Aux battery lasted another six months. I finally had to change it out when it got cold. I delayed it until I had to because of all the reports about how difficult it is. It was actually fairly easy. I just turned the wheels all the way to the left, took two bolts out of the liner, and pulled two plastic pins out of the lower corner. I was able to peel back the liner far enough to reach up from the bottom and undo the three bolts. I turned the battery sideways, undid the bolts, and swapped it out. I was surprised at how simple and easy it was.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

As far as stalling while driving it seems to be related to the now over complicated electrical system. I would love for to hear why you think the stalling has nothing to do with the electrical system??

That can be any number of things. And it can happen to other vehicles as well. You've never had a fuel pump die and leave you stranded?
You've never had an ignition system fail and leave you stranded?
This sort of thing isn't new and doesn't happen more often with modern vehicles.
I worked in a shop that was about a mile from I80 and 3 or 4 miles from I35.
Constantly had vehicles towed in that had died on the interstate - for a multitude of reasons.

The odds of ESS failing to restart are extremely slim. You had it happen - but was there some other reason it didn't restart?
Other vehicles use this - even with the second battery. Chevrolet has used it with at least one model, as well as some of the more luxury brands.

It's really not as difficult as reported by the internet. My Main battery failed and I replaced it about a year ago. The Aux battery lasted another six months. I finally had to change it out when it got cold. I delayed it until I had to because of all the reports about how difficult it is. It was actually fairly easy. I just turned the wheels all the way to the left, took two bolts out of the liner, and pulled two plastic pins out of the lower corner. I was able to peel back the liner far enough to reach up from the bottom and undo the three bolts. I turned the battery sideways, undid the bolts, and swapped it out. I was surprised at how simple and easy it was.

So much talk with hate and emotion, so little logic. People over-complicate things in their mind when it's really not that complex.
The stories of "it stopped and won't restart" are extremely few - but the internet makes it look like a major problem.
The PCM tracks when each injector has fired, when each plug has fired, the stopping point of each piston and more and knows how to restart it with minimal effort. It also will limit the time the engine is off, and will restart when the voltage reaches to a certain point (or because of other factors)
If there's a problem there's a problem - likely there were other signs, or something else was going on.
ESS doesn't cause an engine to simply die going down the road. it's not even in play.
And as far as fires or engines dying going down the road - some should work as mechanics for years where the shop has 24/7 towing service and see just how many vehicles die just going down the road. I'd be willing to bet that the instances have DECREASED when you look it as a percentage of vehicles on the road.
Things are more complicated (according to some) but far more reliable as well.
But let something happen once to someone and all of a sudden, it's a world problem.
I think part of it was that some people thought they knew vehicles because it was pretty easy to swap a few parts and get things going - but they never really knew what they were doing or why - and in some cases, yeah, it ran, but wasn't right.
(we have discussions like this on Tuesday mornings in Gene's shop - all of the stuff we've seen over the years)

 

[Swordfish44]

That can be any number of things. And it can happen to other vehicles as well. You've never had a fuel pump die and leave you stranded?
You've never had an ignition system fail and leave you stranded?
This sort of thing isn't new and doesn't happen more often with modern vehicles.
I worked in a shop that was about a mile from I80 and 3 or 4 miles from I35.
Constantly had vehicles towed in that had died on the interstate - for a multitude of reasons.

The odds of ESS failing to restart are extremely slim. You had it happen - but was there some other reason it didn't restart?
Other vehicles use this - even with the second battery. Chevrolet has used it with at least one model, as well as some of the more luxury brands.



So much talk with hate and emotion, so little logic. People over-complicate things in their mind when it's really not that complex.
The stories of "it stopped and won't restart" are extremely few - but the internet makes it look like a major problem.
The PCM tracks when each injector has fired, when each plug has fired, the stopping point of each piston and more and knows how to restart it with minimal effort. It also will limit the time the engine is off, and will restart when the voltage reaches to a certain point (or because of other factors)
If there's a problem there's a problem - likely there were other signs, or something else was going on.
ESS doesn't cause an engine to simply die going down the road. it's not even in play.
And as far as fires or engines dying going down the road - some should work as mechanics for years where the shop has 24/7 towing service and see just how many vehicles die just going down the road. I'd be willing to bet that the instances have DECREASED when you look it as a percentage of vehicles on the road.
Things are more complicated (according to some) but far more reliable as well.
But let something happen once to someone and all of a sudden, it's a world problem.
I think part of it was that some people thought they knew vehicles because it was pretty easy to swap a few parts and get things going - but they never really knew what they were doing or why - and in some cases, yeah, it ran, but wasn't right.
(we have discussions like this on Tuesday mornings in Gene's shop - all of the stuff we've seen over the years)

I actually never have had a fuel pump die on me ever. And the vehicle that had the starting issues was brand new (400 miles). They ended up replacing the starter twice for the same issue. It’s hard to believe constantly restarting the engine during operation has nothing to do with the premature failure in the starter. But that’s just my opinion.

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