16.9 volt reading

JKrob15

JKrob15

Member
Has happened twice in the past couple weeks. Get a cluster of warnings, powering steering, pull over vehicle will shut down soon, etc.. voltage reading shows 16.9v

Turn the vehicle off, turn it back on and it’s back to behaving normal except for a check engine light that goes away after a few miles of driving. AUX battery?
 

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I haven’t replaced the batteries, it’s a 2024 built in May.

It seems when the aux battery goes out, there are a wide range of symptoms people are experiencing. The high voltage is what is throwing me off
 
JKrob15 said:
Has happened twice in the past couple weeks. Get a cluster of warnings, powering steering, pull over vehicle will shut down soon, etc.. voltage reading shows 16.9v

Turn the vehicle off, turn it back on and it’s back to behaving normal except for a check engine light that goes away after a few miles of driving. AUX battery?
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Alternator or high impedance on main battery.

On my old CJ-5, alternator problems caused me issues. It was going out when I was in Canyonlands. I found an alternator in the closest "big" town. A kind couple helped me install it since my tools were at the bottom of everything.

When I was in in New Mexico, it seemed like a big hand stopped the Jeep in the middle of nowhere. Total loss of power 90 miles from anywhere. After about 10 minutes, it just started up and we made it back to San Antonio.

One day, when I was returning from work in the chasm of IH-10, I felt that great hand again. Somehow I managed to roll into a small opening among the 20 ft tall concrete walls. A policeman noticed me, stopped, and said he would call for a tow truck. Maybe 5 minutes later I turned the key and the Jeep fired up, and I drove off. Sometime later I noticed that the voltage indicator on the dash was pegged. A failed voltage regulator in the alternator was causing the problem. The over voltage fried the ignition module so I replaced it with one from NAPA. I fixed the alternator by replacing only the regulator.

Over voltage is a serious issue!
 
Dropped the Jeep off today have it looked at and fixed. Service advisor mentioned these new batteries are only good for 2-3 years, which seems kind of short to me.They also mentioned to replace both batteries, it costs around $800; not sure if that includes labor. Seems kind of crazy to me. Should be covered under warranty, just thinking of the potential costs incurred out of warranty coverage.
 
JKrob15 said:
Dropped the Jeep off today have it looked at and fixed. Service advisor mentioned these new batteries are only good for 2-3 years, which seems kind of short to me.They also mentioned to replace both batteries, it costs around $800; not sure if that includes labor. Seems kind of crazy to me. Should be covered under warranty, just thinking of the potential costs incurred out of warranty coverage.
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2-3 years is normal. When I had mine done they were under warranty. They said customer pay would have been like 1200 bucks IIRC. But there's no inflation.
 
WJCO said:
2-3 years is normal. When I had mine done they were under warranty. They said customer pay would have been like 1200 bucks IIRC. But there's no inflation.
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Is the 2-3 year lifespan a new trend with these newer vehicles with ESS? I have't had a gas vehicle in a while so a little rusty. I remember batteries lasting many years beyond that. Of course use-case matters, but getting 6+ years out of a battery use to be a thing.
 
JKrob15 said:
Dropped the Jeep off today have it looked at and fixed. Service advisor mentioned these new batteries are only good for 2-3 years, which seems kind of short to me.They also mentioned to replace both batteries, it costs around $800; not sure if that includes labor. Seems kind of crazy to me. Should be covered under warranty, just thinking of the potential costs incurred out of warranty coverage.
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When my main battery was replaced under warranty 4 years ago, the warranty charge was about $850. The replacement is doing fine thus far.
 
JKrob15 said:
Is the 2-3 year lifespan a new trend with these newer vehicles with ESS? I have't had a gas vehicle in a while so a little rusty. I remember batteries lasting many years beyond that. Of course use-case matters, but getting 6+ years out of a battery use to be a thing.
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I would guess that and just crappier products.
 
This is probably a good time to learn about pulling your AUX battery and only running with one battery. There is lots of information out there on the best way to do that.
 
Thanks, and I have had the AUX out for over five years on my JL. I have never had a battery/electrical issue.
 
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