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Secondary Battery issues!!!!!!

Mjolnir

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I’m looking into getting the Genesis battery setup but will the ESS system still work with it?
Yes it does. How the wiring is set up, you have a size 25 battery as the aux and size 25 as your main. The positive terminal for the aux battery is not used with the install, so you just wrap it in electrical tape and leave it. Looking to find a different way to do this.

I had my aux battery die on me 3 times, replaced twice. So I took it out and with the genesis kit, haven't had a problem in over a year.
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Mjolnir

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

Well. Technically with the dual kit you still have the aux setup. But you have a bigger battery with a smart solenoid that actually allows the "second" battery to be charged.

Another benefit is the built in button that allows the batteries to connect so you can jump yourself i necessary.
 

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Yes it does. How the wiring is set up, you have a size 25 battery as the aux and size 25 as your main. The positive terminal for the aux battery is not used with the install, so you just wrap it in electrical tape and leave it. Looking to find a different way to do this.

I had my aux battery die on me 3 times, replaced twice. So I took it out and with the genesis kit, haven't had a problem in over a year.
Thanks for the reply, as much city driving as I do, don’t really want to lose ESS. (Although most seem to hate it.lol)
 

Mjolnir

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Thanks for the reply, as much city driving as I do, don’t really want to lose ESS. (Although most seem to hate it.lol)
I hate it and turned it off with my Tazer, but it works perfectly fine. Nothing changes besides the battery sizes, and how the system charges both batteries.

I have had this system in my JK for 6 years and still no issues at all. One of my favorite things to do to my jeeps
 

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When my secondary battery failed, I just got an ESS warning. When I near end of warranty, I will try to find two Odyssey batteries in sizes that will fit the two positions.
 

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Mjolnir

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When my secondary battery failed, I just got an ESS warning. When I near end of warranty, I will try to find two Odyssey batteries in sizes that will fit the two positions.
Eh. I really doubt you will find an odyssey that will be the same size as the aux. Idk how many companies actually make them that size. If you do i know many people will be happy for that.

I was at first thinking of doing the same thing, however I refused to be DOA randomly. After it happening to me three times in 6 weeks, with no drain in the system, I had to fix it.

If you have no issues currently, might as well wait, no reason not to!
 
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RockHopper

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I hate it and turned it off with my Tazer, but it works perfectly fine. Nothing changes besides the battery sizes, and how the system charges both batteries.

I have had this system in my JK for 6 years and still no issues at all. One of my favorite things to do to my jeeps
I also had it turned off, and yet the aux battery still caused issues.
 

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I also had it turned off, and yet the aux battery still caused issues.
Turning off ESS simply means it won't shut off at the stop light, nothing more. IT doesn't re-wire anything or make any real changes. It only disables the stopping of the engine and subsequent restart.
If there are battery issues, there are battery issues. You haven't done anything to or with the battery or wiring by shutting down ESS. All the Tazer and Jscan do is set ESS to off like the BUTTON does, but keeps it off, nothing more or less.
 

DreamedofaJeepSomeday

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Somewhat off-topic, but last Spring I read threads on this forum that stated emphatically that the auxiliary battery's purpose was starting the engine during ESS cycles. But the manual says its purpose is to take care of electrical loads while the engine is shut down. Which implies that the main battery is always used for starting.

Anyone here have insights?
 

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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 like the kit, but I shouldn't have to spend over 500$ fixing this issue myself.

https://www.genesisoffroad.com/jt-dual-battery-kit

I guess I'll just have to hope I'm not out in the boondocks if it ever fails, or involved in an accident.
 

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DreamedofaJeepSomeday

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ShadowsPapa

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I like the kit, but I shouldn't have to spend over 500$ fixing this issue myself.

https://www.genesisoffroad.com/jt-dual-battery-kit

I guess I'll just have to hope I'm not out in the boondocks if it ever fails, or involved in an accident.
The odds are that you won't have such a problem. If you look at numbers on this forum, it's a small percentage, especially when compared to other issues. Since people with such issues tend to be more vocal - which makes sense, yeah, I would be, too - it becomes clear this is a bad issues for some, but a small minority. My wife's vehicle never left her stranded. She had issues made worse because she rarely uses the GC. It may sit for a week, or even 10 days, never get started. As long as it was driven and the main battery kept charged, she was just fine. ESS didn't work, but other stuff did and it started. It also was a simple jump start with my jump start pack. I tossed it into her GC when she drove it so she could easily start it just in case.
The numbers of people having anything more than ESS not working and the aux battery going is small in the grand scheme of things.
This is yet another issue that my own JT has not experienced in nearly a year and over 10,000 miles - and I'm the sort that never buys a lottery ticket as I never win anything. If it's a contest, I lose, if something tends to break, it will break for me.
 

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Somewhat off-topic, but last Spring I read threads on this forum that stated emphatically that the auxiliary battery's purpose was starting the engine during ESS cycles. But the manual says its purpose is to take care of electrical loads while the engine is shut down. Which implies that the main battery is always used for starting.

Anyone here have insights?
The manual is correct, but the aux battery is able to power a start. Due to the starting process on the 2018 Wranglers, they would still start with the main battery disconnected, but they wouldn't start with the aux battery disconnected. That lead to the aux battery being incorrectly identified as the starting battery. Lots of information here https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/3-6l-ess-dual-battery-consolidated-information.25377/
 

DreamedofaJeepSomeday

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The manual is correct, but the aux battery is able to power a start. Due to the starting process on the 2018 Wranglers, they would still start with the main battery disconnected, but they wouldn't start with the aux battery disconnected. That lead to the aux battery being incorrectly identified as the starting battery. Lots of information here https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/3-6l-ess-dual-battery-consolidated-information.25377/
Thanks! Incredible amount of good information.
 

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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.
We sincerely regret to hear about your experience. Are you considering visiting your dealer? If so, please send our team a private message. We would be happy to provide additional support.
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