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Jeep Grand Cherokee L > Battery Discharge Issue

Callander

Active member
Jeep Grand Cherokee L > Battery Discharge Issue, woke up found battery dead down to 8v dead. It was about maybe after 18 hours none use.
I charged it up took about 12 hours to charge to full which tells me typically good battery. Bad battery's typically charge fast and discharge fast.
Now this was 2 days after I bought it.
I figured maybe I left something on, by mistake. So the past two days we used it one long trip and another short one. Been off for about 14hours and Volt is down to 11v.
Now I am thinking what the heck. We been overly paranoid we left something on before. So now checking each time we get out is the 'off' is showing on Start/Stop Button, all lights off, all doors closed.
We are taking it back to the dealership to have them troubleshoot issue. Kind of sucks its only a week old and killed the battery twice. A few more times and that none deep cell is toast.
We have not modified it, its 100% stock.

I was wondering if there is someone else having this issue. Could it be something we doing, or just random bad alternator, fuse, or wiring issue. Random may mean a bigger factory issue as well.
The Jeep is a fully loaded Grand Cherokee L Summit v6. Only thing its missing is passenger side screen and Rear Seat entertainment.
 

KySummit

Well-known member
I just came off a Ford Ranger forum (traded it in on my Summit) People had problems with the Battery Management System. Which lets battery voltage drop to 11 volts before recharging. Something to do with the AGM batteries, gas saving, and Auto stop/start.

Some people disconnected the Intelligent Battery Sensor to allow charging all the time ( I don't recommend and this also disabled Auto Stop/Start or were running trickle chargers when not in use. I have used a trickle charger on my new Summit a couple times already.

Article -

From owners manual -

BATTERY SAVER ON/BATTERY SAVER
MODE MESSAGE — ELECTRICAL LOAD
REDUCTION ACTIONS — IF EQUIPPED
This vehicle is equipped with an Intelligent Battery
Sensor (IBS) to perform additional monitoring of
the electrical system and status of the vehicle
battery.
In cases when the IBS detects charging system
failure, or the vehicle battery conditions are
deteriorating, electrical load reduction actions will
take place to extend the driving time and distance
of the vehicle. This is done by reducing power to or
turning off non-essential electrical loads.
Load reduction is only active when the engine is
running. It will display a message if there is a risk
of battery depletion to the point where the vehicle
may stall due to lack of electrical supply, or will not
restart after the current drive cycle.

When load reduction is activated, the message
“Battery Saver On” or “Battery Saver Mode” will
appear in the instrument cluster.
These messages indicate the vehicle battery has a
low state of charge and continues to lose electrical
charge at a rate that the charging system cannot
sustain.
NOTE:
 The charging system is independent from load
reduction. The charging system performs a diagnostic
on the charging system continuously.
 If the Battery Charge Warning Light is on it may
indicate a problem with the charging system
Ú page 109.
The electrical loads that may be switched off (if
equipped), and vehicle functions which can be
affected by load reduction:
 Heated Seat/Vented Seats/Heated Wheel
 Rear Defroster And Heated Mirrors
 HVAC System
 115 Volt AC Power Inverter System
 Audio and Telematics System
Loss of the battery charge may indicate one or
more of the following conditions:
 The charging system cannot deliver enough
electrical power to the vehicle system because
the electrical loads are larger than the capability
of the charging system. The charging system is
still functioning properly.
 Turning on all possible vehicle electrical loads
(e.g. HVAC to max settings, exterior and interior
lights, overloaded power outlets +12 Volt,
115 Volt AC, USB ports) during certain driving
conditions (city driving, towing, frequent stopping,
etc.).
 Installing options like additional lights, upfitter
electrical accessories, audio systems, alarms
and similar devices.
 Unusual driving cycles (short trips separated by
long parking periods).
 The vehicle was parked for an extended period
of time (weeks, months).
 The battery was recently replaced and was not
charged completely.
 The battery was discharged by an electrical load
left on when the vehicle was parked.
 The battery was used for an extended period
with the engine not running to supply radio,
lights, chargers, +12 Volt portable appliances
like vacuum cleaners, game consoles and
similar devices.
What to do when an electrical load reduction
action message is present (“Battery Saver On” or
“Battery Saver Mode”)
During a trip:
 Reduce power to unnecessary loads if possible:
 Turn off redundant lights
(interior or exterior)
 Check what may be plugged in to power
outlets +12 Volt, 115 Volt AC, USB ports
 Check HVAC settings (blower, temperature)
 Check the audio settings (volume)
After a trip:
 Check if any aftermarket equipment was
installed (additional lights, upfitter electrical
accessories, audio systems, alarms) and review
specifications if any (load and Ignition Off Draw
currents).
 Evaluate the latest driving cycles (distance,
driving time and parking time).
 The vehicle should have service performed if
the message is still present during consecutive
trips, and if the evaluation and driving pattern of
the vehicle did not help to identify the cause.
 

Callander

Active member
Some people disconnected the Intelligent Battery Sensor to allow charging all the time ( I don't recommend and this also disabled Auto Stop/Start or were running trickle chargers when not in use. I have used a trickle charger on my new Summit a couple times already.

From owners manual -

BATTERY SAVER ON/BATTERY SAVER
MODE MESSAGE — ELECTRICAL LOAD
REDUCTION ACTIONS — IF EQUIPPED
...
Thank you, from my understanding The Battery Saver On - I believe the intent is if your engine is running but the alternator can not supply enough amps to keep up with the load, your battery would drain to the point of failure. We are not seeing that here. I am seeing the trickle charger is having a hard time keeping up with battery drain, ex: 15 amps charges to full 14.2v. Stops, trickle charger comes on now voltage is 12.8 and voltage keeps falling at 3amps. So whatever is discharging or active is pulling > 3amp constant load off that's crazy. Most cars pull miliamps or .001-.15amps maybe. for things like keep the computer and antiteft on. If not driven will have a low battery dead battery in weeks or month. To clarify all charging I am doing is with an external charger with the engine off.

That system you mention is useful to keep battery from failing if the alternator is overloaded. I could see it being an issue with after market accessories. With it off you run the risk of failure or detection of battery failure on a highway driving. I seen or heard of a case of the annoying auto start/stop battery is trying to supply load to entire car because of a bad distribution fuse off main battery. It's not designed for that, and fails quite fast. Disconnecting the small red wire would disable it the auto stop start to disable but I beleive that's a separate issue. We all are annoyed with auto stop crude... they should put a button to disable it permanently in.

Two possibilities are something is partial grounded or something is on that should be off. A power fold seat trying to close though its closed but motor is on and stuck. A wire partial grounding to chasis typically blows fuses to prevent a fire but if for some reason its drawing less then MAX amps will see this too.
 

KySummit

Well-known member
Thank you, from my understanding The Battery Saver On - I believe the intent is if your engine is running but the alternator can not supply enough amps to keep up with the load, your battery would drain to the point of failure. We are not seeing that here. I am seeing the trickle charger is having a hard time keeping up with battery drain, ex: 15 amps charges to full 14.2v. Stops, trickle charger comes on now voltage is 12.8 and voltage keeps falling at 3amps. So whatever is discharging or active is pulling > 3amp constant load off that's crazy. Most cars pull miliamps or .001-.15amps maybe. for things like keep the computer and antiteft on. If not driven will have a low battery dead battery in weeks or month. To clarify all charging I am doing is with an external charger with the engine off.

That system you mention is useful to keep battery from failing if the alternator is overloaded. I could see it being an issue with after market accessories. With it off you run the risk of failure or detection of battery failure on a highway driving. I seen or heard of a case of the annoying auto start/stop battery is trying to supply load to entire car because of a bad distribution fuse off main battery. It's not designed for that, and fails quite fast. Disconnecting the small red wire would disable it the auto stop start to disable but I beleive that's a separate issue. We all are annoyed with auto stop crude... they should put a button to disable it permanently in.

Two possibilities are something is partial grounded or something is on that should be off. A power fold seat trying to close though its closed but motor is on and stuck. A wire partial grounding to chasis typically blows fuses to prevent a fire but if for some reason its drawing less then MAX amps will see this too.
Yes you may have another issue. I never use the auto stop/start. I also don't like how everything lights up when you open the door. Also when I was working at my trailer hitch area the tailgate door kept opening and closing. So now I am looking to disable that sensor/function.
 

Callander

Active member
Might have found the issue what baffles me is how voltage is greater or in this case > -40 worked its way up too -78 dc. place positive on metal A/C line placed negative on ground reversed polarity gave positive numbers. I was just probing different areas to see if I get a voltage hit on anything. Was a bit surprised to see DC voltage that high, I mean it does not make sense,,Maybe a hybrid battery or a poorly grounded motor spinning motor.. I do not know. It's strange The voltage kept decreasing, or increasing depending on your polarity.
Regardless never a good thing when you measure voltage across two types of ground, metal from a/c hose and chassis. Tells me a/c may have a short or is somehow generating voltage from alternator and ground example with test was charging with charger. This should help dealership isolate issue. To clarify these test was with Engine off. I will keep poking around post updates.

Changed my mind on poking around.. let's say voltage is true, I was to Ground that metal and it supplied enough amps too... well best for the experts to look into.
 

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Callander

Active member
Ok... so voltage is more likely an accumulation on diode failures in alternator, some how ground to a/c hose. 6 diodes and 6 x 12v = 78vdc. Just a wild guess but bad diode in alternator would explain a lot. Cause the battery to drain completely overnight. Not sure if new alternator will fix it, one must consider how the diodes failed right?
 

GrandeL21

Member
Morning Callandar! Any update from your dealer ?
Mine just called, claims the rear latch module is the cause for the batter to drain.
 

Callander

Active member
Yes got mine back today, it's the latch. The voltage is no longer show across the chassis. It is showing 0vdc. Do not ask me how or why but it looks like latch was grounding out or trying to close the back. My wife remembers it showing check door alert after shutting it off. The part is on back order. So may be awhile before we see it. We are going to try and not use the backdoor till it can be replaced.
 

fifthwheel

Well-known member
Star case: # S2123000067
I see a recall coming.
Sooo encouraging to finally hear of a glitch with a fix( pun intended). On the other hand it’s sooo discouraging to hear the plethora of problems plaguing the L.
I don’t have a problem with glitches long as there’s fixes….. in a timely manner. Hope Jeep can soon get their arms around some of these issues, specifically those associated with Uconnect, which in and of itself would solve a vast # of them.
 

Callander

Active member
Sooo encouraging to finally hear of a glitch with a fix( pun intended). On the other hand it’s sooo discouraging to hear the plethora of problems plaguing the L.
I don’t have a problem with glitches long as there’s fixes….. in a timely manner. Hope Jeep can soon get their arms around some of these issues, specifically those associated with Uconnect, which in and of itself would solve a vast # of them.
It is discouraging, so trying to be optimistic. They did do some software updates that might help with those. I have not ran across any issues on that front yet. Figure I give a chance to fix the issue just glad they found it, took my concern serious. Still not wure why there was DC voltage on two grounds and now there is not. Possible the tech while connecting and disconnected the ground and other stuff might have fixed it. Worse case its intermittent problem < those take a considerable amount of troubleshooting. I have admit I feel we are beta testing it lol.
 

MattJeepL

New member
Jeep Grand Cherokee L > Battery Discharge Issue, woke up found battery dead down to 8v dead. It was about maybe after 18 hours none use.
I charged it up took about 12 hours to charge to full which tells me typically good battery. Bad battery's typically charge fast and discharge fast.
Now this was 2 days after I bought it.
I figured maybe I left something on, by mistake. So the past two days we used it one long trip and another short one. Been off for about 14hours and Volt is down to 11v.
Now I am thinking what the heck. We been overly paranoid we left something on before. So now checking each time we get out is the 'off' is showing on Start/Stop Button, all lights off, all doors closed.
We are taking it back to the dealership to have them troubleshoot issue. Kind of sucks its only a week old and killed the battery twice. A few more times and that none deep cell is toast.
We have not modified it, its 100% stock.

I was wondering if there is someone else having this issue. Could it be something we doing, or just random bad alternator, fuse, or wiring issue. Random may mean a bigger factory issue as well.
The Jeep is a fully loaded Grand Cherokee L Summit v6. Only thing its missing is passenger side screen and Rear Seat entertainment.
After researching this forum I found it was an issue with the latch motor. Just had it replaced literally hours ago. Hope it’s the permanent fix.
 

GrandeL21

Member
After researching this forum I found it was an issue with the latch motor. Just had it replaced literally hours ago. Hope it’s the permanent fix.
How long did you wait for the part to come in? Also was it just the motor or was there other hardware replaced?
 

MiSoProh

Well-known member
I was wondering if there is someone else having this issue. Could it be something we doing, or just random bad alternator, fuse, or wiring issue. Random may mean a bigger factory issue as well.
The Jeep is a fully loaded Grand Cherokee L Summit v6. Only thing its missing is passenger side screen and Rear Seat entertainment.
What exactly is a passenger side screen?
 

GrandeL21

Member
Same. So are you still driving yours? Is it still draining the battery or are you avoiding it by not opening the back door?
Update. Looks like the part has been released to the parts distribution center. Should be shipping out soon and will have a tracking number.
 
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