Over the past few months, my much better half, Maine Prepper Girl, has been having problems with her 2020 Jeep Wrangler. I had a 2008 Jeep Wrangler, and both Jeeps have been very reliable. So the issue started with a check engine light and a couple of ABS-related codes. A couple of weeks ago, the problem expanded to having her dash light up like a Christmas tree. She was unhappy and nervous about driving anywhere, which is to be expected. Shutting the Jeep off, then turning it back on would improve the problem - temporarily.
Riding anywhere from a few miles to a couple hundred would bring back the check engine light and eventually the Christmas tree dash. I read the codes and generated reports via the phone app connected to my code reader, and researched. Based on reading quite a few Reddit posts and watching a couple dozen YouTube videos I determined the proboem was the Auxillary battery.
Auxillary battery?
Yup. The 2020 Jeep Wrangler has that idiotic option where it shuts off at a complete stop. The auxillary battery powers the starter to get the vehicle going again when it’s time to move again. When the aux battery begins to die, wacky and strange things begin to happen.
Well - I bought a new aux battery and following a YouYube video that showed the easiest way to install, took out the old and in with the new. One of the videos I watched suggested the Jeeps computer needed approx 40-50 miles to reset with tghe new battery.
Well, we are over 300 miles in and so far no issue.
So, that was probaly a bit excessive for me to pass on the point that there is a ton of information out there - for FREE. In today’s hard economic environment, doing work yourself can save a ton of money. This $200 auxillary battery and my effort would have cost me $400 if I took the Jeep to the local shop.
By the way, I’m not any kind of mechanically inclined engineer. I do OK, but if I can do it anyone can.
Figured I’d share.
Jake
Very true, my sister had a cross fire by Chrysler, built by Karmen,( Mercedes) and she getting code massages and the car ran crappie, Chrysler dealer had no one who could work on it and Mercedes would work and local mechanic she had no idea what was wrong. She was up in MA and I'm here in FL, many hours of searching found the cam shaft positioned was the culprit, found one on Amazon and she ordered it, the mechanic put it in and the can was fixed for about $150.00, dealer cost if they could have figured it out????? Though this didn't help me fix my John Deere mower with a B&S Itek engine,.after much searching and pulling the engine down after only129 hours, I found one of the alternator magnets had broken and shorted out the voltage regulator, plus the back fire valve on the carb would stop working after it heated up. The engineers decided they didn't need a heat shield between the carb and muffler, about4 inches apart.
I can’t count the number of items I have fixed using youtube university, or Rumble..
Dishwasher, my van, hundreds of $ not being paid out gives me more fun $.