Gladiator will not hold charge. ESS service light always on.

[Toots20]

Had my 2020 Gladiator for about 5 months now bought it used with 33,000 miles on it. Ran fine with no issues for about the first 3 months then out of no where BAM problems. Started with a dead battery gave it a jump and the ESS light came on figured it just threw a code no biggie. After first Jumpstart it ran normal for next 4 days then bam dead battery again I put in on the charger checked it out battery was fully charged let it sit over night came out next morning dead again. Checked for any draws on the battery couldn't find anything. Went and bought a new main battery hooked it up worked fine for a couple days then same issues. Checked again for any draws nothing. Took it back to the dealer they said aux battery was bad I had them replace it. Dealer had it for over a week finally call me to come pick it say it's good to go I get there and it's dead yet again. Tech at the dealership says he has no idea and they can't find anything drawing off the battery to make it keep dying. And the damn ESS service light is still on. Ive taken it back to dealership twice now and they still have no idea whats going on. One thing i have noticed is even with the jeep turned off and locked with the keys out of it, the dash screen with keep turning off and on saying press brake push button to start and gear shifter lights will turn off and on has anyone else had anything like this happen before? This is my first jeep I love it but I'm starting to regret the purchase. Thank you for any info or help.

Sponsored

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Disconnect the IBS from the crank battery, unplug it and let it sit 10 minutes or so -
Separate the aux and crank batteries at the negative battery cable on the crank battery.
Charge the aux battery using a charger with an AGM setting. Let it go through all of the necessary charging steps.
Charge the crank battery using a charger with an AGM setting. Let it go through all of the necessary charging steps.
Put the IBS back on the crank battery, reconnect the aux battery negative at the crank battery's negative post.

That resets the IBS and starts both batteries out at 100% SoC (State of Charge)

There will always be a drain on the batteries on these trucks. There has to be to keep things alive. It should be minimal, but after a week, they'll draw the batteries down a bit, often from 12.7 volts to 12.4 or less. So if it sits a lot - you may need to get a battery tender - a float charger.
I don't know how you checked for draws, but it must not be sensitive because there IS a draw on these while sitting.
And there have been cases of the 2020s having things that didn't go to sleep, allowing more draw than normal.

 

[Casique]

Install a Synergy system.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Install a Synergy system.

Without actually knowing where the trouble is, spending over a grand, and maybe STILL having the issues of batteries being down?

 

[Casique]

Come on, you know where the issue is! The ESS battery is killing the main battery.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Come on, you know where the issue is! The ESS battery is killing the main battery.

Not necessarily. I know enough to know that's not necessarily it. They replaced the AUX battery with new. It's not always that battery. I've proof of that in my own experiences, and so do others.
And there have been instances of 2020's having excess draw - there's a TSB somewhere on it.
And I resolved the issues with my 2020 by doing exactly as I suggested to the OP.

I diagnose and troubleshoot, not replace due to hate or not understanding how things work, sorry.
Two new batteries and he's still got a problem - some testing needs to be done and he needs to find a new dealership shop.

 

[Hootbro]

One thing i have noticed is even with the jeep turned off and locked with the keys out of it, the dash screen with keep turning off and on saying press brake push button to start and gear shifter lights will turn off and on

I have seen this before on the Wrangler JL side. Some claim pulling the F25 fuse for the shifter for a few minutes seem to alleviate the issue for some but not all. Me personally, I would lean on a possible bad cluster.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...gear-indicator-staying-on.11896/#post-1219171

Sponsored