Carquestions: Where Is The Jeep Grand Cherokee's Battery Charge Monitor?

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Our buddy Mark Whinton from Carquestions, who always manages to find the obscure problems with today’s complex automobiles, wonders: why can’t the new Jeep Grand Cherokee tell if it’s battery isn’t being charged? As he points out, this omission could leave drivers stranded if their accessory belt were to break, without ever warning them of the problem. Is Mark nit-picking? Possibly, but in this business, one lesson gets learned again and again: you gotta sweat the details. In light of Mark’s research we’re as curious as he is: did Chrysler simply overlook this, or is this a case of conscious decontenting? Over to you, ChryCo…

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Ion Ion on Aug 11, 2011

    I've seen plenty of car's omit the battery charge indicator for example a 2010 Camry. What I find interesting is that most cars now have tachometers. Is that really the only knock they have on the GC? I've seen cars like the Fit without a temp gauge and it's more likely that your car will overheat than your belt will break.

  • Pgcooldad Pgcooldad on Aug 11, 2011

    Bottom line is this. You (carquestions)said in a reply to Steven02, "The red battery symbol listed on pg 269 is supposed to be in the bottom left corner of the EVIC according to the manual and come on when you start the car as a bulb check or when there is a system failure – which as you can see in the video does not occur" and "The Canadian User’s (first edition) manual only has 92 pages and the only ref to it is on pg 59 under “What to do in emergencies” and all it says is “the light shows the status of the charging system…have the vehicle serviced immediately” So ... Have you taken it to dealer to have it checked out? It's under warranty right? Stop beating around the bush with your answers and have a qualified service technician look at the problem then report back to us. It's pretty obvious that a battery light is supposed to go on during the "bulb check", regardless if its giving you a warning about the battery or charging system.

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    • Steven02 Steven02 on Aug 11, 2011

      @carquestions There is a difference between it not working and stating that it isn't there (as your video states). Did you try turning the key to on and letting accessories run down the battery? What was the charge of the battery after you short trip with it?

  • Windswords Windswords on Aug 11, 2011

    "Possibly, but in this business, one lesson gets learned again and again: you gotta sweat the details." Or in the car blog business you could Google the owners manual before accusing a business of not, well, doing its business, and find that yea, it does have such a warning. And if it's not working on this particular vehicle, then have it serviced under warranty.

  • DenverMike DenverMike on Aug 11, 2011

    @Mark Why didn't you just let it run down until the engine stalled? Turn on some lights, defroster, radio and maybe a blower fan or two? These are just "Questions" Brian Ross would ask... Actually most of those accessories would get shut down systematically as computer sees them as non essential for travel. Oh and if not the "batt" light, the ABS light & CEL among others would kick on long before the engine stalled.

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