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Dead Battery After 2 weeks

Wendell36

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Hello Everyone. I was wondering if anyone else had an issue with their battery dying when the vehicle is parked for just a couple weeks. I recently was deployed to Northern California for a couple weeks to fight the Dixie fire and when I returned to the firehouse, my vehicle was dead. When I say dead, it was dead-dead. Would not take a charge from the battery charger and would not be jump started. I contacted the Dealer and they said it was a known problem and I should consider a battery tender. As if I am always near an outlet when I park my car. Cant' believe a modern vehicle can't be parked for a couple weeks without draining the batteries. I have a few light accessories wired to the auxiliary switches and a front winch. I will check to see what kind of draw I am getting when the batteries are replaced. I would imagine people leave these things parked at airports and all sorts of places while taking vacations. Seems ridiculous. Anybody else have the same problem and what did you do to work around the issue. Anyone ever see a small solar battery charger that can be cleanly mounted? Thanks for your input.
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Rokon

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I've put my JTR up for the past two winters in an unheated garage. Sat 5 months each time, no battery tender. Always started right up. Would take about 20 miles of driving to bring the ESS battery to full charge.
You have a problem.
 

Hootbro

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More than a handful of either JL or JT owners have complained of like issue. Most times it starts with one of the two batteries either the main or the smaller ESS battery taking a dump and if not diagnosed quick enough, the first battery that fails will take down the other one since they are in a relay controlled quasi parallel circuit.

My money is both batteries are fried and that dealership is kicking the can with the battery minder suggestion rather than troubleshoot it and replace as necessary one or both batteries.

I have easily gone 3+ weeks without starting and it will start on first attempt. Only thing is that maybe the ESS battery will be low and disabled with a message but a good drive brings both batteries back up fine if they are healthy.
 

foo.c

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Ask them for something from Jeep that says this is normal behavior.
 
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Wendell36

Wendell36

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Well, both batteries were replaced and covered by the warranty. I will pull out my meter and see what kind of draw my aftermarket accessories are pulling. The dealer claimed the smaller motorcycle sized battery behind the front wheel well that keeps the accessories operating when the start/stop function is engaged is typically the problem, and when it drains, it pulls from the main battery.
 

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Beemer533

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Well I just had had the same thing happen to me. My JTM only has 1500 miles on it and with the holidays and being sick this week I haven't driven it since last Friday, around 7 days of sitting. We have definitely had some cold days in the last week, but nothing below 20 or so and that was only for a couple of days.

I went to get something out of it tonight and it was totally dead, I had to use my key to get in. With my wife's Corolla hooked up to it to about 20 minutes before it would start.

Is there any reason I shouldn't call the dealer and have them test the batteries? 7 days and dead in a brand new vehicle is crazy. I'm also concerned because I am about to start up my work travel for the year and the truck will be sitting frequently for a week or two without use at the airport.

So far the only items I have added are under hood lights, which are obviously off when the hood is closed and an IA JL3001 head unit.

Other than being dead tonight, I haven't had any issues at all with it.
 
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Wendell36

Wendell36

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Well I just had had the same thing happen to me. My JTM only has 1500 miles on it and with the holidays and being sick this week I haven't driven it since last Friday, around 7 days of sitting. We have definitely had some cold days in the last week, but nothing below 20 or so and that was only for a couple of days.

I went to get something out of it tonight and it was totally dead, I had to use my key to get in. With my wife's Corolla hooked up to it to about 20 minutes before it would start.

Is there any reason I shouldn't call the dealer and have them test the batteries? 7 days and dead in a brand new vehicle is crazy. I'm also concerned because I am about to start up my work travel for the year and the truck will be sitting frequently for a week or two without use at the airport.

So far the only items I have added are under hood lights, which are obviously off when the hood is closed and an IA JL3001 head unit.

Other than being dead tonight, I haven't had any issues at all with it.
I would definitely contact the dealer. I had to have my rig towed to them. It is a known issue with the vehicle and they are recommending a battery tender. Sounds like a recall issue they do not want to address and will be replacing batteries until the warranty runs out.
 

ShadowsPapa

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They have battery issues. A GOOD dealer will fully charge the battery for xx hours, then test the battery.
My wife's 2018 WK2 would have dead batteries after sitting 3 or 4 days. Dealer replaced both after they got to the point charging them overnight didn't help. Dealer said they've had a lot of bad batteries in Jeeps come through.
One wonders if the IBS isn't tuned for the batteries they are using and they aren't getting them fully charged leading to short battery life...........
Unless the batteries are getting up to at least 12.6 volts then they are never getting fully charged.
If you don't see 12.6-12.8 volts on these batteries, they ain't charged fully.
 

Beemer533

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Appreciate the input. I was originally thinking about letting it go and waiting for it to happen again, but really there is no reason for it to have died other than a bad battery. I'll bring it in when I get back home next week, hopefully I will be able to drive it there.....
 

dcmdon

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Either way, they should replace the batteries under warranty. Not driving a car for 2 weeks is not that out of the ordinary.

In the future, there is a Fuse you can pull that shuts everything down. Putting it in place is actually part of the PDI (pre delivery inspection) that the dealer does. It ships without the fuse in place.

Details should be in your manual.
 

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Beemer533

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Well my JTM, has been at the dealer since Wednesday, yesterday they finally finished testing them and they said just the main battery is bad. They also found that the negative terminal on the main battery is not tightening properly. That part they had to order so I don't get the truck back until Monday...
 

KX L

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They have battery issues. A GOOD dealer will fully charge the battery for xx hours, then test the battery.
My wife's 2018 WK2 would have dead batteries after sitting 3 or 4 days. Dealer replaced both after they got to the point charging them overnight didn't help. Dealer said they've had a lot of bad batteries in Jeeps come through.
One wonders if the IBS isn't tuned for the batteries they are using and they aren't getting them fully charged leading to short battery life...........
Unless the batteries are getting up to at least 12.6 volts then they are never getting fully charged.
If you don't see 12.6-12.8 volts on these batteries, they ain't charged fully.
Bill, Not sure that people understand the 12.6-12.8 Volts is for a battery that doesn't have any load on it at all and is in standby position. The 12.6+ ensures the battery is fully charged and ready to have the key turned on and then used to start the vehicle.

From what I've been taught about car batteries they need at least 14 Volts charging when the engine is running.

For a Harley, in order to pass a charging system voltage test the minimum is 13.2V.
 

ShadowsPapa

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Bill, Not sure that people understand the 12.6-12.8 Volts is for a battery that doesn't have any load on it at all and is in standby position. The 12.6+ ensures the battery is fully charged and ready to have the key turned on and then used to start the vehicle.

From what I've been taught about car batteries they need at least 14 Volts charging when the engine is running.

For a Harley, in order to pass a charging system voltage test the minimum is 13.2V.
That's why I say "batteries" - usually I say after charging overnight, disconnect charger, etc.
Charging voltage needs vary with battery technology and ambient temperature.
13.8-14.2 typical with ambient temperature of about 60 or was it 70...... can't recall now. The voltage regulator circuit I designed regulates at about 14.2 at 70 degrees.

I'm surprised it passes at 13.2 - but then it's going to depend on battery condition - is the battery presenting a load or not and what's it's state of charge, etc.

These trucks may show 12.6/12.7 volts on the cluster at times, depending on conditions so people shouldn't freak out about that - as long as it's not ALWAYS there. I've gone miles with 12.7 on the screen while driving the interstate in NE. It's normal, it's a smart system. But most of the time I see 14.6-14.7 volts on the display. Seems high but then it's doing a lot more than just keeping the battery up - and these batteries aren't your typical wet lead acid batteries.

A fully charged battery, after being charged properly, and in good state, should read about 12.6 after the surface charge is removed. That's battery itself, all alone, nothing else going on, no engine, no nuttin'. Battery fully charged and disconnected from charger, surface charge removed, 12.6 at least.
In the truck it's possible the electronics will bleed off that surface charge - normally I say charge it, shut off charger, run headlights for about 15-20 seconds or so to remove surface charge, turn everything off, wait a few seconds and measure the battery voltage (no engine, no charger) and if it's not 12.6 - you have a problem.
 

CrazyCooter

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@Wendell36 Thank you very much for the sacrifice in coming up to the north state and fighting the fires. I know working out of town is part of the job for the seasonal state wildland guys, but this year I met so many city and county firefighters that were up here doing what they could.........


I too had my battery dead after about 9 days parked recently. I only drive the truck on Friday and even then it isn't but maybe 6-10 miles. I had noticed the past few weeks the "AUX switches not available" message when I started it up the past 3 weeks in a row........ In my case, I think it could be a few things.....I left a lit USB cord plugged in, Streamlight was also plugged into the rear console socket, and I also had my ARB cooler off but plugged in.........Then add in the smart alternator charging that really doesn't exceed 13.6v running until the battery is almost charged?

I plugged mine into a 4ah battery tender I had for a week and no issue again since, but I have been driving it 1-3 hours on the weekends tuning my suspension. I think that's enough to recover it.
 
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ShadowsPapa

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That's damned hard on batteries and engines.........
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