Thoroughly confused

[Slickwilly]

2020 Gladiator overland. Auto start stop has never worked. Recently all warning lights started flashing and wouldn't go in gear. Main battery tested bad so I replaced it and solved the issues. After research I decided to eliminate the ess battery in case it was draining the main battery. Removed the negative ess cable and pulled fuse 42 per instructions. Now auto stop start functions perfectly??

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[sharpsicle]

What you did didn't disable ESS. It only isolates the Aux battery. You still have ESS just running on a single-battery system. If it did, you'd have a warning light on the dash saying ESS was inoperative.

 

[Slickwilly]

Oh that makes sense. Hopefully the single battery can power all systems.

 

[Mr._Bill]

Oh that makes sense. Hopefully the single battery can power all systems.

As long as you always turn off ESS using the button on the dash, the single battery will not be an issue, until it needs replaced again.

The primary purpose of the ESS battery is to keep the computers and electronics stable. The two batteries are paralleled together all the time, except during the startup test and during ESS events. The intent of the ESS battery is to keep the computers from rebooting due to low voltage, which can happen when the main battery ages when using ESS with just the primary battery connected.

 

[Slickwilly]

Well new battery was temporary fix. All warning lights started flashing again and wouldn't shift out of park. Auto start stop will only function of auxiliary battery is disconnected. When I bypass auxiliary battery it works fine but warning lights flash no matter what. Off to the dealership I guess.​

 

[Puch]

Well new battery was temporary fix. All warning lights started flashing again and wouldn't shift out of park. Auto start stop will only function of auxiliary battery is disconnected. When I bypass auxiliary battery it works fine but warning lights flash no matter what. Off to the dealership I guess.​

Let us know what happens at the dealership. I’m personally interested because I removed my AUX battery and pulled F42 about 2k miles ago. I haven’t had any issues.

 

[Slickwilly]

I will definitely post an update

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Well new battery was temporary fix. All warning lights started flashing again and wouldn't shift out of park. Auto start stop will only function of auxiliary battery is disconnected. When I bypass auxiliary battery it works fine but warning lights flash no matter what. Off to the dealership I guess.​

You did actually disconnect the correct cable, I hope. 2020 is different than later years.
Have you ever bothered looking at the system voltage when it's running, or checked the voltage of the new battery you installed when the truck is off using a $15 volt meter from Walmart or Menards?

Sounds like you may have an under-voltage situation - like it's not charging that main battery or something else went wrong.
You could have blown the high current fuse in the process of making your changes or replacing the main battery.

 

[Slickwilly]

Battery shows 12.5 engine off and 14.3 running. When things go crazy i know it's coming because nothing happens when I push start button. Push it again and it starts but errors everywhere. Sometimes it also happens if I hit a bump or steep incline. Every light goes off and even runs rough.​

As far as the right cable I'm sure. It's even tagged auxiliary battery.​

 

[ShadowsPapa]

12.5 volts is low, but not horribly low - not low enough to cause issues unless the battery itself is actually bad.
Possible bad connection/loose connection, charge the battery and have it checked.
Check for loose cables. Make sure the IBS is tight on the battery terminal and the cable is tight on the top of the IBS.

 

[Rocksalt]

yes, sounds like a loose ground. esp if it isxtriggered by bumps in the road

 

[ShadowsPapa]

yes, sounds like a loose ground. esp if it isxtriggered by bumps in the road

More than one Jeep owner has had issues with grounds - and there's a bunch of them.

 

[Slickwilly]

I appreciate the input. Tried to drive to the dealership yesterday. All my warning lights went off and power steering stopped working while I was driving. Pulled over and restarted it and power steering was working. Made it home so I guess I'll have it towed. I can't find any ground issues. Talked to dealer on the phone and he said its probably the pcm. I'll keep y'all posted.

 

[Rocksalt]

have them check that all yer fuses are propetly seated too

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I appreciate the input. Tried to drive to the dealership yesterday. All my warning lights went off and power steering stopped working while I was driving. Pulled over and restarted it and power steering was working. Made it home so I guess I'll have it towed. I can't find any ground issues. Talked to dealer on the phone and he said its probably the pcm. I'll keep y'all posted.

Power steering itself is controlled by an ECU, but it's fused through the high current fuse array.
Have you looked at the charts of all of the grounds on these trucks? Hootbro has posted ground location drawings and no kidding, there's grounds all over the place. For the rear, there's multiple ground points on the frame. Likely similar for the front - not just body grounds.
But do check the fuses in the PDC. Easy to do - pull the cover off and make sure all fuses are inserted fully.
Of they Jeeps we've owned I've never seen or had a fuse issue - they were always fully inserted and making great contact. Never had one that I could push in any farther, but others have had such problems.

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