Secondary Battery issues!!!!!!

[RockHopper]

Well the known secondary battery issues wreaked havoc on my Jeep during a Rally competition. It malfunctioned and siphoned all the power from my large battery, causing my Jeep to literally die without warning numerous times throughout the rally. I am so disappointed, as it impeded my ability to effectively compete. The scary part is when it stopped, it would stop while engaged in drive, and I could not get it into park for quite a while. I am lucky it didn't happen while on the freeway.

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[jebiruph]

Well the known secondary battery issues wreaked havoc on my Jeep during a Rally competition. It malfunctioned and siphoned all the power from my large battery, causing my Jeep to literally die without warning numerous times throughout the rally. I am so disappointed, as it impeded my ability to effectively compete. The scary part is when it stopped, it would stop while engaged in drive, and I could not get it into park for quite a while. I am lucky it didn't happen while on the freeway.

Did you confirm it was a bad battery? Sounds like it could be a loose ground cable.

 

[RockHopper]

Did you confirm it was a bad battery? Sounds like it could be a loose ground cable.

Yes. We had mechanics on staff at the rally. The battery was bad.

 

[ShotCaller]

That sucks.. Did you have the ESS turned off?

 

[RockHopper]

That sucks.. Did you have the ESS turned off?

I had it disabled when the issues occurred.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I had it disabled when the issues occurred.

Right - they are still "connected" - on my wife's, both batteries actually went bad in the same time period. Both tested as bad, neither would hold a charge. The service guy said they'd seen a lot of that - apparently Jeep had battery issues (both, not just the ESS/aux battery)

 

[ShotCaller]

Right - they are still "connected" - on my wife's, both batteries actually went bad in the same time period. Both tested as bad, neither would hold a charge. The service guy said they'd seen a lot of that - apparently Jeep had battery issues (both, not just the ESS/aux battery)

This is quite serious if your truck can just die going down the highway. Have they fixed the issues? Is it limited to certain build dates?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This is quite serious. Have they fixed the issues? Is it limited to certain build dates?

Don't know - seems some JT owners are having battery issues - with my wife's Jeep - it's a 2018. So apparently it went on for a couple of years??

 

[RockHopper]

This is quite serious if your truck can just die going down the highway. Have they fixed the issues? Is it limited to certain build dates?

I’ll let you all know what the dealership says. I have an early Launch Edition build.

 

[ShotCaller]

maybe I should just go and get 2 new batteries from autozone..just to be safe if its a battery issue.

 

[mazeppa]

Right - they are still "connected" - on my wife's, both batteries actually went bad in the same time period. Both tested as bad, neither would hold a charge. The service guy said they'd seen a lot of that - apparently Jeep had battery issues (both, not just the ESS/aux battery)

@ShadowsPapa

Since both batteries are always in parallel except when the engine is shutdown during an ESS event. Could one defective battery drain/damage the other non-defective battery while the Jeep is parked and both batteries are not being charged by the charging system?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

@ShadowsPapa

Since both batteries are always in parallel except when the engine is shutdown during an ESS event. Could one defective battery drain/damage the other non-defective battery while the Jeep is parked and both batteries are not being charged by the charging system?

I'd have to look at schematics, which I don't have.......... in short, not knowing the exact methodology or having the exact schematics, but just in general, yes, mis-matched batteries can do damage - if one goes bad it presents a load on the other. There's a lot of "it depends" and "what-ifs" in there, but one thing I found a while back when dealing with multiple battery scenarios, one can damage or cause troubles for another.

I wish my wife had told me the exact time her ESS quit working - instead of "oh, by the way, that stopped working a while back" then I'd know better the sequence of events. Likely her ESS stopped working due to the aux battery - and then a week later the vehicle would no longer start without a jump.
The main battery showed 11.5 volts and yet it wouldn't so much as click or crank a fraction of a turn - so either these are made to do nothing when the voltage is too low, or there was no amperage left even with 11.5 volts. After a few hours of charging at the main battery, I achieved 12.9 volts before removing the surface charge and it would hold that for a couple of days, then after a few days, back down to 11.x volts at the main battery.

 

[Mjolnir]

This is quite serious if your truck can just die going down the highway. Have they fixed the issues? Is it limited to certain build dates?

The battery issue is not set to build dates at all.

maybe I should just go and get 2 new batteries from autozone..just to be safe if its a battery issue.

I dont know if you can buy the aux battery at a store.

My suggestion to everyone is to get rid of the aux and do a dual battery setup, or take out the aux and wire the system to not need it (idk how to do this part).

The genesis dual batt kit was one of the best thing I have ever done.

 

[RockHopper]

The battery issue is not set to build dates at all.


I dont know if you can buy the aux battery at a store.

My suggestion to everyone is to get rid of the aux and do a dual battery setup, or take out the aux and wire the system to not need it (idk how to do this part).

The genesis dual batt kit was one of the best thing I have ever done.

I think I am going to go to a dual battery set up. It feels too risky to keep the aux system.

 

[GoVR46]

The battery issue is not set to build dates at all.


I dont know if you can buy the aux battery at a store.

My suggestion to everyone is to get rid of the aux and do a dual battery setup, or take out the aux and wire the system to not need it (idk how to do this part).

The genesis dual batt kit was one of the best thing I have ever done.

I’m looking into getting the Genesis battery setup but will the ESS system still work with it?

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