Voltage too high? Electronics going in and out?

[lynn82]

Check the specs on your battery

dealership sold me vehicle with wrong battery installed causing high voltage and electronic issues

I purchased a 2021 gladiator about six months ago from North Knox jeep dealership with a lifetime warranty with all services being done there.

Recently too reliable companies told me my voltage was extremely high (fire risk) and the wrong battery was in my jeep.

I was sold the jeep with an incorrect 2023 (650 CCA) mopar battery, causing high voltage (15+) and overcharging. Installed by dealer.

The specs for this jeep requires (730-800 CCA) as well as there being a 2nd battery.
With voltage being (13.7-14.7)

my voltage has been better (14.6)since installing the correct battery’s. Definitely recommend checking the specs.

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[Jaxmax]

Small battery will require more charging after startup but should reach 13 volts then charging should drop off, alternator is a smart device and charges to volts but doesn’t care what size battery you have.
Your saying the Jeep dealer put the wrong smaller battery in and removed the auxiliary battery. Sounds more like you had a bad battery that was failing and also taking down the aux battery, not sure about the extreme fire risk, much more likely you were going to be left sitting with a Jeep not being able to start. Jeeps come with two size batteries if yours had the smaller one when replacing ,you can take plastic “spacer brace” out and put a larger battery in, I did this on my wife’s Wrangler. My dealer will not take my wife’s Wrangler as a trade unless aux battery I had removed is installed, your dealer removing the aux battery is a very bad sign.
Lastly did the dealer you paid for full warranty replace the batteries? Anyway Lynda welcome , sounds like you’re in a good place now……Jack

 

[Thunderspud]

Nothing of note to comment on the substance of your battery issues.....that said, I am here for any and all Knoxville-area Jeep dealer slander.

I have tried to work with all of them over the years for various things on multiple vehicles. Mainly due to necessity. If the interaction is limited to the parts counter and asking for a specific part, you might be fine........anything beyond that, and your day is definitely gonna be worse than when it started. Every third vehicle here is a Jeep, I am convinced they just don't need to care. Sort of a "weatherman in San Diego" scenario, really.

Rant over. Welcome to the club! Enjoy your truck.

 

[Hootbro]

Did your aux battery get properly load tested or replaced? While the H6 battery may be incorrect for some JT's, unless you had the extra electrical load on like the aux switches and the heavier duty 850W cooling fan running, I doubt that H6 battery alone is the sole source of any "over voltage".

If you put in the H7 battery and the aux was not replaced or load checked, you may be masking a marginal aux battery for now.

 

[BearFootSam]

Check the specs on your battery

dealership sold me vehicle with wrong battery installed causing high voltage and electronic issues

I purchased a 2021 gladiator about six months ago from North Knox jeep dealership with a lifetime warranty with all services being done there.

Recently too reliable companies told me my voltage was extremely high (fire risk) and the wrong battery was in my jeep.

I was sold the jeep with an incorrect 2023 (650 CCA) mopar battery, causing high voltage (15+) and overcharging. Installed by dealer.

The specs for this jeep requires (730-800 CCA) as well as there being a 2nd battery.
With voltage being (13.7-14.7)

my voltage has been better (14.6)since installing the correct battery’s. Definitely recommend checking the specs.

My dude, you got bad information. Battery voltage is a product of chemistry not battery size. The nominal voltage for a lead acid cell is about 2 volts, a three cell battery yields 6v, a six cell unit 12v (in series), and so on for 24v units. You can see the battery voltage therefore must be divisible by 2, which 15 is not.

Regardless, a tiny lawnmower battery and a dump truck battery each will make 12v independent of capacity so the story you were told re the CCA (instantaneous discharge capacity) of the battery was a load of BS.

If the system voltage reads 15v, then it has to be a charging system issue, not a battery problem. But even then I'm dubious as the charging voltage can be up to 14.6 ish, but that isn't necessarily what the battery itself is seeing. It's the system voltage which is a product of battery voltage, alternator output and total load or demand.

Long story short, you are being gaslit and need to find another shop or help.

 

[MoxiesDad]

High charging voltage was due to bad (weak) batteries, not battery size. The charging voltage dropped after installing a good battery.

 

[jebiruph]

Both my Wrangler and Gladiator have had the alternator voltage reach 15.1 volts due to infrequent driving not maintaining the battery charge and the system being designed to aggressively charge the batteries. 15.1 volts seems high, but it's because of the system design and not the size of the battery.

 

[kb5zcr]

I don't know squat about these smart alternators, but folks on here say you should reset your IBS when replacing a battery. Do you know if that happened?
Also, a new battery should be fully charged before installation, as they might have been sitting on a dealers shelf for months and months before being sold.

 

[lynn82]

Small battery will require more charging after startup but should reach 13 volts then charging should drop off, alternator is a smart device and charges to volts but doesn’t care what size battery you have.
Your saying the Jeep dealer put the wrong smaller battery in and removed the auxiliary battery. Sounds more like you had a bad battery that was failing and also taking down the aux battery, not sure about the extreme fire risk, much more likely you were going to be left sitting with a Jeep not being able to start. Jeeps come with two size batteries if yours had the smaller one when replacing ,you can take plastic “spacer brace” out and put a larger battery in, I did this on my wife’s Wrangler. My dealer will not take my wife’s Wrangler as a trade unless aux battery I had removed is installed, your dealer removing the aux battery is a very bad sign.
Lastly did the dealer you paid for full warranty replace the batteries? Anyway Lynda welcome , sounds like you’re in a good place now……Jack

No, the dealer refuses to stand by there product and warranty they sold.

I was sold the jeep with both batteries being smaller then requested. That made the alternator go into overcharge making high voltage (15+)affecting the electric system like remote start and start stop.
The jeep hasn’t worked right since purchase. Works and sounds better now that it has the correct CCA.

Did your aux battery get properly load tested or replaced? While the H6 battery may be incorrect for some JT's, unless you had the extra electrical load on like the aux switches and the heavier duty 850W cooling fan running, I doubt that H6 battery alone is the sole source of any "over voltage".

If you put in the H7 battery and the aux was not replaced or load checked, you may be masking a marginal aux battery for now.

From day one the remote start and start stop didn’t work properly. Now that I took my jeep to a reputable company and my 2 batteries have been replaced to the recommended (760 CCA) and alternator checked. the voltage is normal (14.6 volts) it sounds better just cranking it up, the remote start work the first time (I don’t have to press the button 4times) and even the stereo sounds better (cutting in and out)
Not only was it a small battery but it is still under warranty and the dealer refuses to stand by the product and warranty they sold. With all service being done by them.
As a woman, I actually appreciate the 2 company that informed me my voltage was too high, now that the jeep works better I might actually like it.

I don't know squat about these smart alternators, but folks on here say you should reset your IBS when replacing a battery. Do you know if that happened?
Also, a new battery should be fully charged before installation, as they might have been sitting on a dealers shelf for months and months before being sold.

yes the new battery was reset and alternator checked. By a real reputable company. The jeep Now has normal voltage and electronics working better. Like remote start, start stop, stereo.

 

[sharpsicle]

I mean, there is a TON of bad information in here, but if your Jeep is working that’s what’s important.

 

[JTdiRtyD]

I mean, there is a TON of bad information in here, but if your Jeep is working that’s what’s important.

Agreed. The second shop isn't wrong, but it was poorly explained to the OP.

Too small of CCA could cause the IBS to overcharge the battery, especially the longer it's installed as the battery will start showing signs of being weak because it can't recover after vehicle starts. BUT, the IBS should also have gone into maintaining mode once the battery reached the proper voltage after charging, so I'm curious if OP will be back in another 6 months from seeing similar issues because of a faulty IBS?

Now why it was causing electrical issues? My guess is poor connections somewhere, and in the process or replacing the batteries that was resolved.

 

[jebiruph]

My 2020 with max tow came from the factory with the smaller battery, so that's not the problem. The dealer sold the vehicle with a bad or not fully charged main battery (and probably aux too) that is not covered under a lifetime warranty. The OP expected the batteries to be covered and is not happy with having to pay for new batteries.

 

[jebiruph]

@lynn82, be sure to research and check for corrosion on your doors, hood, tailgate, windshield and hinges. You might still have time on the 5 year factory warranty to get it fixed.

Edit: Any Jeep dealer can do factory warranty work.

 

[PaulW]

lynn82
Pay attention
1) High voltage has nothing to do with a battery like yours. What high voltage means is the battery has a low state of charge and the ECU is raising the voltage to get it charged.
2) The battery you have is just fine. Of course there are better choices but your concern has nothing to do with the battery choice.

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