Weird ESS thing

[MSFTMatt]

My ESS stopped working several months ago. Didn’t matter if I was in the parameters for it to work or not. Never had any battery issues, aux or otherwise. Was on a weeklong overlanding trip through northern AZ about 2 weeks ago and it just started working again and it’s still working for the past week that I’ve been home. Pretty strange.

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[sharpsicle]

Sounds like you weren't ever in the parameters for it to work and now you are. Like, charge level.

 

[MSFTMatt]

It worked for about 8 months, then stopped for about 6 months

 

[49Gramps]

I find that I need to do a long drive (hour plus) weekly for it to function, short drive just don't do it.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

My ESS stopped working several months ago. Didn’t matter if I was in the parameters for it to work or not. Never had any battery issues, aux or otherwise. Was on a weeklong overlanding trip through northern AZ about 2 weeks ago and it just started working again and it’s still working for the past week that I’ve been home. Pretty strange.

Your batteries were not fully charged - that's what it sounds like to me.
If you go back to your short or infrequent drives, the battery level may well drop to the point in a few weeks, it will stop working.
I'd be willing to bet that before your trip - if you had measured battery voltage with the truck off, at rest, it would have been down to something around 12.2 volts or so.
It takes some driving to keep the batteries topped off.

These have quite a parasitic draw while sitting. Driving 20 minutes to work, then 20 back 5 days a week isn't going to keep them fully charged.

Didn’t matter if I was in the parameters for it to work or not.

There's a list of parameters over 2 and 1/2 dozen long. Catalytic converter temperatures, and much more.
Did you check battery voltage with the truck sitting, off, to see where that was at? Bet it was low.

 

[MSFTMatt]

Oh wow, interesting. I figured my 35 min drive each way to work would give tge battery enough juice. I certainly did not miss it not working tho

 

[MattK]

As others have said it sounds like low battery charge level. I had the same problem at one point but after a long trip it would start working again until I was back to short trips.

If you’re fortunate enough to have a house/garage you can get a trickle charger to help keep the batteries in good shape.

 

[ross neill]

If you disconnect the main battery take a volt reading of main and the two cables ( aux) your aux will be lower put a amg charger to just the cables when not connected to main battery and then to the main to balance the batteries that’s what I did when my ess stopped working if it happens again I will try to get a warranty to replace it

 

[ShadowsPapa]

If you disconnect the main battery take a volt reading of main and the two cables ( aux) your aux will be lower put a amg charger to just the cables when not connected to main battery and then to the main to balance the batteries that’s what I did when my ess stopped working if it happens again I will try to get a warranty to replace it

That's because now the whole load of the vehicle is on the aux battery unless you take the two ground cables apart from each other.

They are actually balanced because they are always connected in parallel.
In other words, one can't be lower than the other. It's like two tanks of water with a tube connecting the two tanks together at the bottom - they will equalize.
Can't have one at 12.2 and the other at 12.6

 

[ross neill]

All I know is that the ess was not ready until I did that and it and it been working for a week now I’m thinking my aux battery is about to crap out my jt turned two in February

 

[MSFTMatt]

That's because now the whole load of the vehicle is on the aux battery unless you take the two ground cables apart from each other.

They are actually balanced because they are always connected in parallel.
In other words, one can't be lower than the other. It's like two tanks of water with a tube connecting the two tanks together at the bottom - they will equalize.
Can't have one at 12.2 and the other at 12.6

That makes sense. I'll keep an eye on how long it lasts before, if, the ESS fails again.

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