OK, need some help on ESS

[OldManRolling]

OK, a bit confused here. I'm just mechanical enough to be dangerous, but I had the usual AUX battery drain problem. After replacing both the AUX and main battery a few times, I decided to just disable the ESS system. I pulled the fuse and disconnected the terminal cables from the AUX. Everything worked fine except I had the ESS not available message and error light. I could live with that since I just wanted ESS off.


Fast forward 6 months — I’m stopping at a light when the electrical system blinked (radio got weird, lights flickered). When I took my foot off the brake, the engine started back up and I noticed the ESS message was gone. I pulled over to check—fuse was still removed, cables still taped up. No idea how ESS started working again, but it did.

I'm looking for some help on this one. I have to press disable ESS before heading off and at times I forget. Now I have to track my battery voltage which now when driving reads 13.4-13.6. Lower then the 13.8-14 I was getting prior, I'm guessing this means there's a bit of cell damage to the battery and it'll need to be replaced if this keeps up.

Any help on this one is much appreciated.

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[Hootbro]

Other, full aux battery delete.

 

[kb5zcr]

Per my understanding, pulling that fuse only stops the aux battery from being measured (since its not there anymore), it doesn't stop ess from working (or trying to work).

 

[DylanM]

Disconnecting or removing the auxiliary battery will not disable ESS. Pulling the PCR fuse will not disable ESS. Even with the aux disco'd/removed and PCR fuse removed the ESS will still operate if the proper conditions are met, it isn't turned off via its button after the truck is turned on, and the main battery passes the required state of health and level of charge.

Speaking of the main battery health, due to the smart charging system that your vehicle is equipped with, a voltage gauge reading of 13.4-13.6v versus 13.8-14v actually indicates the battery is closer to being fully charged and has a better SOH. Unlike standard charging systems of old which constantly put out something in the 13.5-14.5v range, these new smart charging systems will vary the alternator output quite a bit in response to overall system loads and battery charging needs. They will even effectively shut off the alternator when electrical loads are light and the battery is charged, displaying a reading of 12.8v on the gauge while you're cruising down the road, and still being within perfectly normal operation of the system.

In short, your truck's main battery and charging system are in good shape and working normally, and your ESS is functioning as it should be expected to given the circumstances. If you want to disable ESS without having to push the button every time you turn the truck on, you'll have to use one of the software defeats (JSCAN, TAZER, etc), install a defeat module, or use one of the conditional defeat methods such as disconnecting the hood sensor switch.

 

[Lunentucker]

Traded last year, but my 21 was doing fine on the factory main battery only (AUX bypassed).

 

[OldButStillJeeping]

Old man here... KISS. Keep It Stock, Stupid. And I have done my share of stupid.

No Tazer. No batt delete. Buying 2 damn batteries is easier than all of the alternatives. I have 20 vehicles to maintain on the farm! KISS. A JT that goes south, goes away.

But.. so far... knock on wood... No Problems. 66,000 miles into our JT Moe so far. Love it, so far.

If she gives me crap, I will dump her. The JT, that is. I am not buying more shit or mods to fix something that shouldn't be broken. I'll buy 2 batteries, but no time for wazoo mods. AND... That usually just works. Time and time again. Keep it Stock. The gov regs or boardroom shot callers that made the Jeep dual battery ESS is not something I can fix. But I can throw in 2 new F'n batteries.

Be well. Jeep on. Good luck.

Eric

If you young guys acted like you had a fleet of vehiclces to maintain... would you mess with factory electronics?
Don't mess with it... it can get expensive real fast. Your time is better spent on things other than your truck.
I speak from experience.... Unless your money comes from racing... the mods are lost money.
Buy your wife or GF some flowers and or take her out for a nice dinner instead.

 

[Verne]

Old man here... KISS. Keep It Stock, Stupid. And I have done my share of stupid.

No Tazer. No batt delete. Buying 2 damn batteries is easier than all of the alternatives. I have 20 vehicles to maintain on the farm! KISS. A JT that goes south, goes away.

But.. so far... knock on wood... No Problems. 66,000 miles into our JT Moe so far. Love it, so far.

If she gives me crap, I will dump her. The JT, that is. I am not buying more shit or mods to fix something that shouldn't be broken. I'll buy 2 batteries, but no time for wazoo mods. AND... That usually just works. Time and time again. Keep it Stock. The gov regs or boardroom shot callers that made the Jeep dual battery ESS is not something I can fix. But I can throw in 2 new F'n batteries.

Be well. Jeep on. Good luck.

Eric

If you young guys acted like you had a fleet of vehiclces to maintain... would you mess with factory electronics?
Don't mess with it... it can get expensive real fast. Your time is better spent on things other than your truck.
I speak from experience.... Unless your money comes from racing... the mods are lost money.
Buy your wife or GF some flowers and or take her out for a nice dinner instead.

I'm 48 and I must be old too. I don't mess with shit unless a must. I just maintain the best I can and if the JT starts to act like a lemon, its on the trade block. I applaud you guys who have the balls to mess with stuff. I do not. Hell it stresses me out to take the doors off sometimes LOL!

 

[Lost1wing]

Old man here... KISS. Keep It Stock, Stupid. And I have done my share of stupid.

No Tazer. No batt delete. Buying 2 damn batteries is easier than all of the alternatives. I have 20 vehicles to maintain on the farm! KISS. A JT that goes south, goes away.

But.. so far... knock on wood... No Problems. 66,000 miles into our JT Moe so far. Love it, so far.

If she gives me crap, I will dump her. The JT, that is. I am not buying more shit or mods to fix something that shouldn't be broken. I'll buy 2 batteries, but no time for wazoo mods. AND... That usually just works. Time and time again. Keep it Stock. The gov regs or boardroom shot callers that made the Jeep dual battery ESS is not something I can fix. But I can throw in 2 new F'n batteries.

Be well. Jeep on. Good luck.

Eric

If you young guys acted like you had a fleet of vehiclces to maintain... would you mess with factory electronics?
Don't mess with it... it can get expensive real fast. Your time is better spent on things other than your truck.
I speak from experience.... Unless your money comes from racing... the mods are lost money.
Buy your wife or GF some flowers and or take her out for a nice dinner instead.

I was reading your post and had to double check that I didn't post it. Maintaining a fleet is a hard enough job without modifications.

Some of these mods are quite simple and get that some people may notwant to spend the money on two batteries. The OP did nothing but reduce the overall battery capacity. He would benefit from Tazer or another device to keep ESS from activating during stops without having to remember to turn it off. I have a Tazer for mine, but it was bought for another purpose.


To the OP, KISS! Tazer is something that could help you. It also, could open up another can of worms for you if not done properly. You really should read up on the subject of batteries and ESS before doing any modification.

At this point, you will at least have to charge up your main battery and reset the IBS. Just don't toss on any old charger and start disconnecting things. Read up on the subject. You need an AGM charger to start.

 

[Lost1wing]

Your survey is a little bit off. Tazer is not a battery system. It is used in conjunction with any of the above and not related to the electrical system. It has many purposes. It's purpose here is only to keep the ESS switch in the last position of last shutdown.

 

[sharpsicle]

Not sure what this thread has to do with battery systems...it seems like an incomplete aux delete implementation to me.

I say this in every aux delete thread, so I guess I'll say it here too:

• If you're going to leave ESS active, leave the aux battery in place.
• If you're going to remove the aux battery, you need to deactivate ESS (either via button each startup or a device that remembers last state).

Don't gamble with voltage drops on sensitive electronics in the middle of the road.

 

[YGBSM]

Old man here... KISS. Keep It Stock, Stupid. And I have done my share of stupid.

I'm also an old Jeeper and I think this post is spot-on for some people. Some buy a Jeep to mess with it and that's great. I just add the things I use. No heavy wrenching for me. But if I had bought it as a toy to mess with, kinda like buying a project Jeep to rebuild, then that's a different story.

Also, I must add the song of our people...

Get off... MY LAWN!

 

[dos0711]

Aux battery bypassed. Larger higher capacity battery installed. Tazer to remember button state.

 

[Flyboy2109]

My answer: Autostop Eliminator. Then I removed the aux batt permanently (who wants to keep diving into its hiding spot?). I did not remove the Aux batt cables, just attached them to the main batt. No problems what-so-ever in the last 3 years. Simple.

 

[OldManRolling]

I'm 48 and I must be old too. I don't mess with shit unless a must. I just maintain the best I can and if the JT starts to act like a lemon, it's on the trade block. I applaud you guys who have the balls to mess with stuff. I do not. Hell, it stresses me out to take the doors off sometimes LOL!

The JT is my first Jeep and I do love driving it. Upkeep and putting up with the random issues it gets is another story. This is my daily driver, I bought it early 2020 and has 56k miles on it. It's been hit by a deer that did 17k worth of damage, had some front suspension modifications to get rid of the D-Wobble (2.5" lift on 35's) and a few other upgrades. It's perfect from a config standpoint. It functions as I needed it to perfectly. At this point, from what I've dumped into it if I traded it in now, I'd lose tens of thousands of dollars.

I drive cars till the wheels fall off and this one will be no different. Again, I do love driving the JT. Flipping the tops back, taking the doors off and driving on some long old country backroad or service road is a true treat. There is something to Jeeps that I can't explain to my more frugal friends. With this I'm a glutton for pain, but I have to get my money worths out of it. I definitely can't afford a different vehicle at the current prices and interest rates, but I get it!

 

[OldManRolling]

Your survey is a little bit off. Tazer is not a battery system. It is used in conjunction with any of the above and not related to the electrical system. It has many purposes. It's purpose here is only to keep the ESS switch in the last position of last shutdown.

Yep, that's why I have it listed simply as Tazer. I actually ran one early on when I bought the Jeep but for other reasons but was aware it could manage ESS.

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