Gladiator Mojave - Battery Issue - won’t shut off

[Swans_Warchief]

I have a 2022 Jeep gladiator Mojave… A lot of exterior mods but nothing interior or electronic, one light bar that is connected to Aux 1 button..


56k miles - nothing Offroad.

Has been - I fine drove it just a couple of days ago… I work from home so I don’t drive every day. Last night I went to crank it up and when I pushed the start stop button all the lights come on in the dash, but it would not crank.

And ultimately, it would not shut off at all after about 30 mins of messing with it. The lights stayed on the dash. The fob worked fine. It would lock and unlock the truck and headlights worked with flash. But the dash inside would simply not shut off and I started getting weird error messages on the screen:

“Car not in park”
“Power steering needs servicing”

The windshield wiper would randomly come on ultimately had to go to bed and leave everything on. It simply would not shut off and I wasn’t sure how to disconnect any battery terminals at 2 AM.

So from reading online it sounds like it may be my main battery and my auxiliary battery or one or the other.

I’m not super mechanical, but does this need to be changed at a jeep dealership?

There are a couple good local mechanics shops near me. Can I have it done there and what’s an expected price to have something like this done?

I’m assuming I have to have it towed, but I can’t get it out of park and I don’t want them to have to drag it up on a tow truck. Just not sure how to move forward at this point…

thanks in advance

SW

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[Gvsukids]

There are a couple good local mechanics shops near me. Can I have it done there and what’s an expected price to have something like this done?

Good question to ask them.

 

[KevinC]

If you are serious, and in fact not mechanically inclined enough to change out a battery, you may need to find a friend who is. A dealership or neighborhood auto shop is going to charge you money to do something you can do in your driveway.

What I would do in a tight spot like this.
1. Buy a voltmeter and see where you are on volts. Read in the sub forum batteries and find your baseline and how to check.
2. Go to the auto parts store and buy the battery that has failed and replace it.

If you were close to me, I would help. Look for a local Jeep club near you. South Florida is full of them.

 

[GoatPowder]

If it sits most of the time it's entirely possible the batteries are just too weak to start; low voltage can make it do some weird things.

Only thing I would check before investing in tools (assuming you don't own a voltmeter or microVAT) is: can you twist the cables on the battery posts by hand?

My positive was loose from the factory, as in as tight as it would go it would never be fully tight on the post... I hit a bump driving and it would only stay in 3rd gear and have me the park messages when I tried to restart it. 4 years later and second battery I still have a "terminal screw" I ran into it to keep it tight.

 

[In3briatedPanda]

battery on this vehicle is very easy to change. you need a ten mm socket and an extension. the extension is the for the battery bracket. I did have to wiggle my positive loose with a flat head, but nothing a home kit would not have.

if you use a voltmeter with the stock configuration, youre not getting an accurate reading due to the batteries being parallel. you need to remove the terminals to accurately test the main or aux.

I replaced my main battery this week. i have a 2021 JT with 30k miles on it.

Monday my remote start would not work, just click and not start. Slow start from the push button. when i got to work, 8 miles later, start/stop not ready messages, battery charging message, aux switches not available during charging.

I replaced my main battery first. It was showing 12.3 volts out of the truck nothing connected., under load it would dump to 11.4, time to replace. It smelled sulfated on that side of the truck, could just be me though.

i still get the aux switch warning and 'battery charging' message but ive read on the forums it can take 50 miles to charge the aux. I rarely drive that far. My JT will sit tonight and tomorrow so ill know if my aux drained the main.

If anything, ill replace my aux this weekend. I do not think it is bad, but maybe, its been five years and this is my first experience with ESS (why is it not ASS, Auto/ Start Stop vs Engine Stop/Start) and an aux battery that is not a marine/deep cycle.

good luck OP

 

[JeepCares]

Hi SW,

We are sorry to learn about your vehicle concerns. If you decide to schedule an appointment with an authorized dealership and need extra support, please send us a private message with your VIN.

Blair
Jeep Cares

I have a 2022 Jeep gladiator Mojave… A lot of exterior mods but nothing interior or electronic, one light bar that is connected to Aux 1 button..


56k miles - nothing Offroad.

Has been - I fine drove it just a couple of days ago… I work from home so I don’t drive every day. Last night I went to crank it up and when I pushed the start stop button all the lights come on in the dash, but it would not crank.

And ultimately, it would not shut off at all after about 30 mins of messing with it. The lights stayed on the dash. The fob worked fine. It would lock and unlock the truck and headlights worked with flash. But the dash inside would simply not shut off and I started getting weird error messages on the screen:

“Car not in park”
“Power steering needs servicing”

The windshield wiper would randomly come on ultimately had to go to bed and leave everything on. It simply would not shut off and I wasn’t sure how to disconnect any battery terminals at 2 AM.

So from reading online it sounds like it may be my main battery and my auxiliary battery or one or the other.

I’m not super mechanical, but does this need to be changed at a jeep dealership?

There are a couple good local mechanics shops near me. Can I have it done there and what’s an expected price to have something like this done?

I’m assuming I have to have it towed, but I can’t get it out of park and I don’t want them to have to drag it up on a tow truck. Just not sure how to move forward at this point…

thanks in advance

SW

 

[Batterycap]

Disconnect the battery. Deprive all systems of electricity. Then reconnect. It's no longer surprising how many issues this solves.

 

[NotSo Bright White]

Once you get this resolved, you need to get a battery tender based on your comment that you don’t drive everyday. I had issues with both of my Gladiators with the ESS. I don’t drive either one of them enough due to the parasitic draw they experience. Both went back to the dealership where they spent hours undergoing test. They never replaced anything under warranty.

After plugging them in to a battery tender, everything started working perfectly after about a week of trickle charging. I got 4.5 years on the 2021 JTRD batteries and no issues yet on the 2023 JTM. I have gotten used to plugging them in every time I drive one.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I replaced my main battery first. It was showing 12.3 volts out of the truck nothing connected., under load it would dump to 11.4, time to replace. It smelled sulfated on that side of the truck, could just be me though.

i still get the aux switch warning and 'battery charging' message but ive read on the forums it can take 50 miles to charge the aux. I rarely drive that far. My JT will sit tonight and tomorrow so ill know if my aux drained the main.

I don't know where the heck that 50 miles bit comes from. More shade-tree lore because it worked for someone once.
If your voltage was THAT low, you should have charged the aux battery with a good charger, charged the new main with a good charger, all the while the IBS sits and is reset.
DO NOT EVER rely on the truck to charge a battery. Always charge them before install - and any time you swap one battery you REALLY need to charge the other.
As FCA says - only put the IBS back on fully charged batteries.

You can also have one battery that has a problem and it won't "drain the other" - more lore.

I have a 2022 Jeep gladiator Mojave… A lot of exterior mods but nothing interior or electronic, one light bar that is connected to Aux 1 button..


56k miles - nothing Offroad.

Has been - I fine drove it just a couple of days ago… I work from home so I don’t drive every day. Last night I went to crank it up and when I pushed the start stop button all the lights come on in the dash, but it would not crank.

And ultimately, it would not shut off at all after about 30 mins of messing with it. The lights stayed on the dash. The fob worked fine. It would lock and unlock the truck and headlights worked with flash. But the dash inside would simply not shut off and I started getting weird error messages on the screen:

“Car not in park”
“Power steering needs servicing”

The windshield wiper would randomly come on ultimately had to go to bed and leave everything on. It simply would not shut off and I wasn’t sure how to disconnect any battery terminals at 2 AM.

So from reading online it sounds like it may be my main battery and my auxiliary battery or one or the other.

I’m not super mechanical, but does this need to be changed at a jeep dealership?

There are a couple good local mechanics shops near me. Can I have it done there and what’s an expected price to have something like this done?

I’m assuming I have to have it towed, but I can’t get it out of park and I don’t want them to have to drag it up on a tow truck. Just not sure how to move forward at this point…

thanks in advance

SW

You can check your battery voltage with a Walmart $15 VOM (Volt Ohm Meter)
Open hood, connect the meter to the posts of the main battery. Read meter.
If it's lower than about 12.2, you are in danger territory as that's under 50% charge.
That's where you get ESS not available, battery charging or aux switch not available messages.
And again, the AUX battery has NOTHING to do with the aux switches. They share a name - that's all, otherwise they really share nothing.
Both batteries are connected together, so if one is low, so is the other. The aux switches are powered by both batteries, not the aux battery.

 

[In3briatedPanda]

I don't know where the heck that 50 miles bit comes from. More shade-tree lore because it worked for someone once.
If your voltage was THAT low, you should have charged the aux battery with a good charger, charged the new main with a good charger, all the while the IBS sits and is reset.
DO NOT EVER rely on the truck to charge a battery. Always charge them before install - and any time you swap one battery you REALLY need to charge the other.
As FCA says - only put the IBS back on fully charged batteries.

You can also have one battery that has a problem and it won't "drain the other" - more lore.




You can check your battery voltage with a Walmart $15 VOM (Volt Ohm Meter)
Open hood, connect the meter to the posts of the main battery. Read meter.
If it's lower than about 12.2, you are in danger territory as that's under 50% charge.
That's where you get ESS not available, battery charging or aux switch not available messages.
And again, the AUX battery has NOTHING to do with the aux switches. They share a name - that's all, otherwise they really share nothing.
Both batteries are connected together, so if one is low, so is the other. The aux switches are powered by both batteries, not the aux battery.

TL/DR:
You once again are correct. My truck sat from Friday 12pm to Saturday 7pm. No issues, cranked right up.


Story for Data:
Friday morning my ESS message was no longer present and my aux switches warning message did not pop up either. I DID NOT drive 50 miles. I did have 5-6 key cycles. Whether that’s anything, I’ll be corrected . All of my warning messages that I had Monday-Thursday were all gone Friday morning after replacing my main battery Wednesday evening: I drove maybe 20 miles over those days.

for more data: I turn off my ESS as part of my start up process. I turn off Ess, then my seat belt. I never use ESS.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I did have 5-6 key cycles. Whether that’s anything, I’ll be corrected . All of my warning messages that I had Monday-Thursday were all gone Friday morning after replacing my main battery Wednesday evening: I drove maybe 20 miles over those days.

Cycles, and a time (a coupe of hours if I recall) of sitting without a heavy draw, will help the IBS recalibrate to the new situation, so yes - it counts.

ESS won't really matter for the batteries that anyone can tell, but lack of driving is bad.
Suggestion: if you don't drive frequently, or over 30 minutes per trip, a battery tender will actually save you money in the long run - batteries will last longer and be more reliable.

 

[In3briatedPanda]

Cycles, and a time (a coupe of hours if I recall) of sitting without a heavy draw, will help the IBS recalibrate to the new situation, so yes - it counts.

ESS won't really matter for the batteries that anyone can tell, but lack of driving is bad.
Suggestion: if you don't drive frequently, or over 30 minutes per trip, a battery tender will actually save you money in the long run - batteries will last longer and be more reliable.

factory batteries from 2021 with 30k miles. I am as surprised as you the main lasted this long. A battery tender is on the Christmas list.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

factory batteries from 2021 with 30k miles. I am as surprised as you the main lasted this long. A battery tender is on the Christmas list.

You dun good! Here's hoping the next 4 yeas/30K sees no need for any battery replacement.

 

[Schaft]

factory batteries from 2021 with 30k miles. I am as surprised as you the main lasted this long. A battery tender is on the Christmas list.

Christmas in July

 

[Schaft]

Christmas in July

A battery tender, was the single most intelligent purchase I have made, since owning my JTRD. And I thank shadowsPapa, among others, for stressing that point, over and over again.

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