Sponsored

Dead battery under 20,000 mi.

WendyH

Member
First Name
Wendy
Joined
Aug 11, 2021
Threads
4
Messages
23
Reaction score
16
Location
SC
Vehicle(s)
2020 Jeep Gladiator
Occupation
Purchasing Agent
2020 Gladiator
The main battery died, had to jump it to get to dealer. I read on line that the manufacturer had received a bunch of defective batteries. Apparently this was one of them. I had just under 20,000 miles on it the dealer covered it but it was inconvenient because I had to walk four and a half miles to get home the night that it died. Just wanted to put it out there as a warning!
Sponsored

 

Aceofspades61

Member
First Name
David
Joined
Sep 10, 2021
Threads
0
Messages
5
Reaction score
11
Location
North Carolina
Vehicle(s)
2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon
Occupation
Design Engineer
I had both the main and the start/stop batteries replaced at 33,000. Fortunately mine started with an error code for the start/stop system so I wasn't caught off guard!
 
OP
OP

WendyH

Member
First Name
Wendy
Joined
Aug 11, 2021
Threads
4
Messages
23
Reaction score
16
Location
SC
Vehicle(s)
2020 Jeep Gladiator
Occupation
Purchasing Agent
I had both the main and the start/stop batteries replaced at 33,000. Fortunately mine started with an error code for the start/stop system so I wasn't caught off guard!
I forgot about the message! Yes, I had a message that started coming up everytime I started it, "auxillary switch temporarily unavailable battery charging". I am new to all of the electronics etc, my last vehicle was a 2003 Jeep Wrangler X with hand crank windows! LOL
 

ShadowsPapa

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bill
Joined
Oct 12, 2019
Threads
178
Messages
29,091
Reaction score
34,572
Location
Runnells, Iowa
Vehicle(s)
'22 JTO, '23 JLU, '82 SX4, '73 P. Cardin Javelin
Occupation
Retired auto mechanic, frmr gov't ntwrk security admin
Vehicle Showcase
3
2020 Gladiator
The main battery died, had to jump it to get to dealer. I read on line that the manufacturer had received a bunch of defective batteries. Apparently this was one of them. I had just under 20,000 miles on it the dealer covered it but it was inconvenient because I had to walk four and a half miles to get home the night that it died. Just wanted to put it out there as a warning!
Actually warranty, not the dealer covered it, but that's semantics........... dealers cover nothing, Jeep does.

This isn't unknown for sure. Had the same thing happen in a 2018 Grand Cherokee at about 13,000 miles. A few Gladiator owners have already had batteries replaced.

All of this means - it started at least back as far as 2017 and went on for at least 3 years - maybe more.
The dealer that replaced the 2018 WK2 batteries said they'd had a number of Jeeps come through with bad batteries.
 
OP
OP

WendyH

Member
First Name
Wendy
Joined
Aug 11, 2021
Threads
4
Messages
23
Reaction score
16
Location
SC
Vehicle(s)
2020 Jeep Gladiator
Occupation
Purchasing Agent
Actually warranty, not the dealer covered it, but that's semantics........... dealers cover nothing, Jeep does.

This isn't unknown for sure. Had the same thing happen in a 2018 Grand Cherokee at about 13,000 miles. A few Gladiator owners have already had batteries replaced.

All of this means - it started at least back as far as 2017 and went on for at least 3 years - maybe more.
The dealer that replaced the 2018 WK2 batteries said they'd had a number of Jeeps come through with bad batteries.
Interesting... poor quality control at the battery factory?
 

Sponsored

ShadowsPapa

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bill
Joined
Oct 12, 2019
Threads
178
Messages
29,091
Reaction score
34,572
Location
Runnells, Iowa
Vehicle(s)
'22 JTO, '23 JLU, '82 SX4, '73 P. Cardin Javelin
Occupation
Retired auto mechanic, frmr gov't ntwrk security admin
Vehicle Showcase
3
Interesting... poor quality control at the battery factory?
Apparently..............
would be interesting to follow the path back and see where the batteries Jeep uses are actually made (by which of the very few companies remaining that make batteries)
 
OP
OP

WendyH

Member
First Name
Wendy
Joined
Aug 11, 2021
Threads
4
Messages
23
Reaction score
16
Location
SC
Vehicle(s)
2020 Jeep Gladiator
Occupation
Purchasing Agent
Apparently..............
would be interesting to follow the path back and see where the batteries Jeep uses are actually made (by which of the very few companies remaining that make batteries)
I agee!
 

ilovebikes99

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2021
Threads
5
Messages
386
Reaction score
417
Location
MI/FL
Vehicle(s)
'21 Gladiator Willys Blackout
Occupation
Motorcyclist
I forgot about the message! Yes, I had a message that started coming up everytime I started it, "auxillary switch temporarily unavailable battery charging". I am new to all of the electronics etc, my last vehicle was a 2003 Jeep Wrangler X with hand crank windows! LOL
So it was screaming at you it's not well and you kept driving it until you had to get a tow?
Unless you really had a lot of stuff going on that's a bit negligent. Should have taken it in to avoid issues. Electronics don't like high or low voltage
 

ShadowsPapa

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bill
Joined
Oct 12, 2019
Threads
178
Messages
29,091
Reaction score
34,572
Location
Runnells, Iowa
Vehicle(s)
'22 JTO, '23 JLU, '82 SX4, '73 P. Cardin Javelin
Occupation
Retired auto mechanic, frmr gov't ntwrk security admin
Vehicle Showcase
3
So it was screaming at you it's not well and you kept driving it until you had to get a tow?
Unless you really had a lot of stuff going on that's a bit negligent. Should have taken it in to avoid issues. Electronics don't like high or low voltage
LOL - sorry, no. I get that message all the time in the winter for ESS. It isn't a huge red flag saying "DO NOT DRIVE ME! IT'S RISKY!"
It wasn't screaming at her.
Not negligent and not something that a reasonable ordinary driver would be excited about. So ho-hum, can't use the aux switch, battery charging. If I freaked every time I got the ESS unavailable, battery charging, I'd never drive the thing and yet - it's a normal message.

It's not going to hurt the electronics - they shut down before anything bad happens.
Thus the message she got. It's a pretty generic message. No risk of real damage, only inconvenience. That's because it started - meaning it had plenty of power to start, but the system sensed a low battery. Once it was started the voltages would have been normal due to the charging system.
Been through this sort of thing on my own vehicles.
 

ilovebikes99

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2021
Threads
5
Messages
386
Reaction score
417
Location
MI/FL
Vehicle(s)
'21 Gladiator Willys Blackout
Occupation
Motorcyclist
LOL - sorry, no. I get that message all the time in the winter for ESS. It isn't a huge red flag saying "DO NOT DRIVE ME! IT'S RISKY!"
It wasn't screaming at her.
Not negligent and not something that a reasonable ordinary driver would be excited about. So ho-hum, can't use the aux switch, battery charging. If I freaked every time I got the ESS unavailable, battery charging, I'd never drive the thing and yet - it's a normal message.

It's not going to hurt the electronics - they shut down before anything bad happens.
Thus the message she got. It's a pretty generic message. No risk of real damage, only inconvenience. That's because it started - meaning it had plenty of power to start, but the system sensed a low battery. Once it was started the voltages would have been normal due to the charging system.
Been through this sort of thing on my own vehicles.
You are incorrect because you don't know that the software monitors battery voltage and discharge rates. If the system was in good condition, the battery would never be depleted as it is getting charged by the alternator.
The car is programmed to display an error message once battery is below the healthy threshold. You will get stranded and then you will cry on the forum that the car is crap and you had to get a tow and Jeep sucks. A generic message is "Ice Warning". The ESS message you're getting is an error message. It is not normal to get the ESS message when the battery is relatively fresh (under 3-4 years).
 

Sponsored

OP
OP

WendyH

Member
First Name
Wendy
Joined
Aug 11, 2021
Threads
4
Messages
23
Reaction score
16
Location
SC
Vehicle(s)
2020 Jeep Gladiator
Occupation
Purchasing Agent
So it was screaming at you it's not well and you kept driving it until you had to get a tow?
Unless you really had a lot of stuff going on that's a bit negligent. Should have taken it in to avoid issues. Electronics don't like high or low voltage
I claim ignorance, not negligent. I assumed it was another message like others that I saw like low tire pressure, which I did take care of. I thought it was telling me by charging it was taking care of the issue. Like I said, it is new to me...
 
OP
OP

WendyH

Member
First Name
Wendy
Joined
Aug 11, 2021
Threads
4
Messages
23
Reaction score
16
Location
SC
Vehicle(s)
2020 Jeep Gladiator
Occupation
Purchasing Agent
You are incorrect because you don't know that the software monitors battery voltage and discharge rates. If the system was in good condition, the battery would never be depleted as it is getting charged by the alternator.
The car is programmed to display an error message once battery is below the healthy threshold. You will get stranded and then you will cry on the forum that the car is crap and you had to get a tow and Jeep sucks. A generic message is "Ice Warning". The ESS message you're getting is an error message. It is not normal to get the ESS message when the battery is relatively fresh (under 3-4 years).
Excuse me but I did not cry on the forum and never said the TRUCK is crap nor that Jeep sucks. I have had Jeeps for years and love my Gladiator. Obviously it's the battery that is at fault not Jeep. As I said in my original post I put it out there because I had read where other people may also have the problem. Isn't that what forums are for?
 

ilovebikes99

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2021
Threads
5
Messages
386
Reaction score
417
Location
MI/FL
Vehicle(s)
'21 Gladiator Willys Blackout
Occupation
Motorcyclist
Excuse me but I did not cry on the forum and never said the TRUCK is crap nor that Jeep sucks. I have had Jeeps for years and love my Gladiator. Obviously it's the battery that is at fault not Jeep. As I said in my original post I put it out there because I had read where other people may also have the problem. Isn't that what forums are for?
Sorry it was not directed towards you!
 

ShadowsPapa

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bill
Joined
Oct 12, 2019
Threads
178
Messages
29,091
Reaction score
34,572
Location
Runnells, Iowa
Vehicle(s)
'22 JTO, '23 JLU, '82 SX4, '73 P. Cardin Javelin
Occupation
Retired auto mechanic, frmr gov't ntwrk security admin
Vehicle Showcase
3
You are incorrect because you don't know that the software monitors battery voltage and discharge rates. If the system was in good condition, the battery would never be depleted as it is getting charged by the alternator.
The car is programmed to display an error message once battery is below the healthy threshold. You will get stranded and then you will cry on the forum that the car is crap and you had to get a tow and Jeep sucks. A generic message is "Ice Warning". The ESS message you're getting is an error message. It is not normal to get the ESS message when the battery is relatively fresh (under 3-4 years).
I've specialized in auto electric longer than most members have been alive.
I do know how these work.

There's enough voltage to start the vehicle - thus, no harm to any electronics
The system senses a battery issue but the charging system maintains the voltage in the proper range for electronics operation (otherwise you get other error messages and a shutdown)
So - no damage would occur. You would be operating at 12.6 or above.
Once voltage is low enough - it will prevent starting and thus prevent damage. I've had things shut down due to low voltage (due to a blown fuse in the charging system) on another Jeep vehicle. If it starts - voltage is adequate. The aux error message was not a warning about system voltage.

It IS normal to get that ESS message under certain conditions. You haven't done much looking here, apparently. Several people have gotten the same message. And then it works fine later. Mine is 2 years old, ESS works fine, but in certain weather when it has sat for 3 or 4 days, you get that message. The battery is "not being depleted" it's just not 100% so the system says there's not capacity to enable ESS at that time. A standard lead/acid battery with a voltage of 12.4 volts is only 75% charged - and yet it's got more than enough to power basic electronics and prevent damage. (these are not standard lead-acid batteries, though)

I've also had experience with Jeep bad batteries. What generally happens is the AUX battery goes bad and in the process, the main battery ends up going, (or other sets of conditions)


(I know a bit about electronics - I designed the computers that were the interface for the Compressor Controls Corp Series IV turbo-compressor controllers costing a few hundred thousand dollars. )
 

ShadowsPapa

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bill
Joined
Oct 12, 2019
Threads
178
Messages
29,091
Reaction score
34,572
Location
Runnells, Iowa
Vehicle(s)
'22 JTO, '23 JLU, '82 SX4, '73 P. Cardin Javelin
Occupation
Retired auto mechanic, frmr gov't ntwrk security admin
Vehicle Showcase
3
Excuse me but I did not cry on the forum and never said the TRUCK is crap nor that Jeep sucks. I have had Jeeps for years and love my Gladiator. Obviously it's the battery that is at fault not Jeep. As I said in my original post I put it out there because I had read where other people may also have the problem. Isn't that what forums are for?
You didn't do anything wrong. And that includes any thoughts on that message you saw. There was no way to know it would leave you stranded. Many of us get "xxx not ready, battery charging" messages. And normally it works out fine. One Jeep we had gave the messages about ESS not ready and what the dealer said happened is that the AUX battery was bad - and the way these things are designed it apparently can lead to the main battery going belly-up as well.
Mine has operated for OVER 2 years with a "ESS not ready, battery charging" message off and on and I expect that message to come up again when temps get down under 40 degrees or so and yet things work just fine.
If I saw THIS message - "auxillary switch temporarily unavailable battery charging" - I'd not be alarmed. It says "battery charging" and it says "temporarily". If it was ALWAYS there and in conjunction with some other message, I might take note.

There was no chance of any damage. You will get other messages if the voltage gets too low. These are smarter than all that. And I HAVE gotten those messages on other Jeeps.
Sponsored

 
 



Top