Stinking, Stupid, Gladiator Rubicon Auxiliary Battery

[Bombato]

The Glad would not start, and the dash lit up like a Christmas Tree with every warning symbol flashing. Examples: low oil, not in park position, stability control wacked, etc. The start/stop system operated properly the day before, and there was no indication of impending doom. Fortunately, I was in the driveway, it was a warm day, and I could make the exchange without taking the P-S wheel off. Had this occurred anywhere else I would have been SOL, I would have removed the P-S wheel had I been on level ground. It would have saved time and jacking the new battery back into place.

My questions are:

1. What indicators did I miss to let me know the aux. battery was failing?
2. Can this battery be load-tested somehow
3. Should I do the battery delete (remove #42 fuse, etc.) and move on
4. Would there be any long-term effect on the electrical system without the aux. battery in use
5. What is the proper way to load test the main battery?
6. How long does the aux. battery lasts under normal driving conditions (months, years)

Thanks in advance for your comments. I am an avid reader of this form and a proud member of the Jeep community

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[AstroZombie]

mine lasted 3 years. I had to replace both batteries. I could have gotten an inexpensive one from amazon but i needed it right away so I got a motorcycle battery from Autozone it was like $100 and teh costco battery was like $250. Been good so far.

My dash would tell me AUX ports will not charge or are disabled (something like that) Plus the starter was operating really slow, like hard time cranking.

Usually you can load test the battery by starting the truck and watch the voltage drop as the engine tries to start.

It's a PITA to replace too. I had to remove a wheel and lower the axle onto a jack stand so i could lay on my back and still reach the battery tray with my arms extended. You can pull the the inner fender back without removing it. I had to bend off teh little tabs of teh harness to fit the ever so slightly larger lead lug on the tiny ass battery.

I chose not to bypass anything. I like the way it all worked as it was designed too. I just wish teh battery wasn't so expensive.

 

[Rebel.Matt]

Mine lasted about 4 years before the main died on me. I'm convinced that the aux was draining my main but I can't actually prove that. I did try to do the aux delete by removing fuse #42 and re-routing the ground to the main, but that did not work. I do want to delete it, but I just haven't had the opportunity to fiddle with it for a day. So I got 4 years out of both batteries, that isn't the worst thing...

 

[Mr._Bill]

The odds are high that the Main Battery is the problem and the new Aux Battery is keeping the system going. If you do not also replace the Main Battery, you will soon have a repeat of the problem.

The Aux Battery is tested at every startup. If it fails the test, you get a red A symbol and a ESS disabled message. There is no test for the Main Battery, but the ESS or Aux Switches unavailable messages are the warning signs there is a problem.

The average life expectancy of the batteries is three years. If they are kept charged they will last longer, if not they will fail faster. Both batteries should be replaced at the same time and fully charged before installation.

 

[Nick916]

My oem batteries lasted 2 years. Symptoms same as Zombie, aux switches disabled and slow crank in the mornings. I opted to switch both with duralast AGM batteries. Make sure you wrap both cable ends in a rag or similar when replacing batteries.

 

[OldButStillJeeping]

A couple months ago, the auto-start quit working and then it left my wife stuck at work with a no-crank no-start situation. 2021 JT Mojave.

I jumped it to limp it home and replaced both batteries using the fender liner removal method from below on the aux battery. Truck is back to 100% ever since.

The other method to replace the aux battery includes removing the main fuse box and I wasn't comfortable doing that.

 

[OldButStillJeeping]

My questions are:

1. What indicators did I miss to let me know the aux. battery was failing? It starts doing wonky stuff on the dash or won't remote start.
2. Can this battery be load-tested somehow. Sure, get a battery load tester.
3. Should I do the battery delete (remove #42 fuse, etc.) and move on. That is your choice, I wouldn't. I personally don't mess with Jeep designed electronics.
4. Would there be any long-term effect on the electrical system without the aux. battery in use. Unknown, that's why some just don't mess with the electronics
5. What is the proper way to load test the main battery? Use a battery load tester. A decent one is $45 at Harbor Freight.
6. How long does the aux. battery lasts under normal driving conditions (months, years). 2 to 5 years. Mine lasted 4 years.

Cheers

 

[Sempe-Fi Rubicon]

My 2022 Rubicon batteries lasted 18 months, dealership replace both under warranty. Both of the new batteries failed again after 12 months. Dealership replaced both again under warranty. I now run a Noco 2A direct connected battery tender whenever it's parked in the driveway. I think my problems are from not driving it enough.... Hoping that the Noco will extend the life of these new batteries, time will tell.

 

[Sav_Gladiator]

Genesis dual battery fixed all my issues. Haven't had any problems since.

 

[montechie]

Genesis dual battery fixed all my issues. Haven't had any problems since.

How long have you been running with the Genesis?

 

[montechie]

My aux was starting to fail just under 3 years and replaced under warranty. The service department caught it while debugging power steering issues when they tested both batteries. Besides the power steering electrical (none of us are 100% confident battery was related), I had no symptoms it was failing (no dash lights, etc). However, doing a code scan showed about 6 12v error codes.

Haven't decided if I'm going to do the bypass, a dual battery setup or just upgrade both OEM batteries with better quality.

 

[sharpsicle]

What led you to replacing the Aux rather than looking at the Main? It doesn't appear you did any kind of testing, so you may have replaced the wrong battery and are still on borrowed time.

 

[Bucephalus]

The AUX in my JT Sport lasted about 3 years. The only warning sign was a day before when it took longer to crank than normal but I paid it no mind. The next day same issue in the morning on the way to a meeting. After the meeting the damn truck would not start. Luckily I had my NOCO jump starter and it was a non issue. Drove straight to the dealer and replaced under warranty. I god damn hate the AUX battery. I'm going to delete it from the Rubicon.

 

[Lost1wing]

With a 2019 build date, my 2020 is still on the original batteries. The NOCO genius 2d works great I have several batteries hooked up this way.

The other day I picked up a couple of those jump start packs to throw under the seat of the JT and the WK2. Both batteries are about the same age.

 

[Pismo61]

With a 2019 build date, my 2020 is still on the original batteries. The NOCO genius 2d works great I have several batteries hooked up this way.

The other day I picked up a couple of those jump start packs to throw under the seat of the JT and the WK2. Both batteries are about the same age.

I got one of those too.We will see.

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