[JoseBours]

Hi, I own a 2015 RRS Supercharged with the Vogue package. It used to be my fathers vehicle but I have had it for a little over a year. During that year, the Auto Start/Stop feature never worked. During a routine oil change at the dealership I asked them to look into why it wasn't working. I figured it was a bad auxiliary battery, but they said both batteries tests came back as "good" and that it was probably something else, so I let it be for the moment since I didn't have the time to leave it an extra day for diagnosis.

Long story short, right after New Years, my vehicle dies. Both batteries are gone and are not taking a charge. I begin to research for the replacement batteries and none of my local parts stores can find an auxiliary battery that can fit my vehicle. I called the dealership and received a quote for $700.86 dollars to sell me both batteries, $289.00 for the main battery, $15.00 core deposit and the big whammy was the auxiliary battery at $340.77.

After that quote, I decided to not purchase the OEM part (rare for me!) because it seemed way too much for such a small battery, so the search began. If you look for a replacement battery either for a Jag or LR you will find that they have a proprietary part. It turns out that 99% of smaller capacity batteries have blade style posts, but the Jaguar/Land Rover OEM battery has regular cone or tower type posts

(Actual picture of my dead OEM battery)

If you have any type of "toys" (ATV, SBS, motorcycles, etc.) you will know that those batteries do not work on your Land Rover because of the difference in terminals, even if they are the same 14Ahr capacity and size. Having the closest dealership a few hundred miles away motivated me to find a better and more permanent solution. The next few days I spent a lot of time going through the different parts stores and internet sights looking for a proper fix that would not include cutting the terminals and splicing new ones in.

Here is what I came up with...

I followed both battery cables and found that they were both very easy to replace. The ground just goes from the battery to a grounded bolt, and the positive cable goes to another bolt under the plastic housing on top of the battery

Here you can see the new negative terminal, with the OEM part still there.

Here is a better view of the positive terminal, and you can actually see the OEM cable still in the background.

I even left both OEM cables in place (held with zip ties) in case the next owner wants to go back to original configuration. It has now been a few weeks with this fix, and the Start/Stop feature is working perfectly, the car runs better is feels more responsive both from the line as well as at higher speeds!

To sum it all up, I ended up spending well under 50% of what the dealership wanted for the batteries, and that $340 dollar auxiliary battery was replaced with a $40 dollar battery and 2 prefabbed battery cables from Auto Zone. For the record, the main battery was replaced with a Duralast Platinum (can't remember the model) that comes up in the Auto Zone computer as the correct replacement for the vehicle.

Hope this helps!

 

[Ham Hands]

The better running/more power off the line is from the new Main Battery running the accessories and providing spark more consistently. I wished I had read your post before you bought the Aux battery. I hated that damned auto start/stop crap as it robs performance on take off and I bought the vehicle for it's performance so I decided to permanently disable that feature. So I really don't have much use for that battery. I'm glad you are happy and got it sorted out though for sure!

 

[JoseBours]

Hi @Ham Hands, I am well aware of the fact that the new battery has everything to do with the performance improvement. I am also aware that many people find the Auto Start/Stop feature in their vehicles very annoying (including my father, the PO of this RRS), but I am one of the many that think vehicle features should be maintained and kept up to date.

I did run my car without the auxiliary battery for about day and a half, and once everything was set to my almost stock fix, that's when the real performance improvement was noticeable. On the flip side, I would worry about alternator life in the mid to long term, due to the increased current demand due to the missing amperage from the auxiliary battery.

As a side note, it was not only the Start/Stop feature that was recuperated. Other small automatic functions were restored, like the automatic shut down when Park is engaged and you unbuckle the seatbelt. Sometimes my soft close feature was failing, as well as the automatic opening of the dealer installed electronic lowering steps.

According to the user manual, when the computer notices a drop in battery voltage, certain non essential features will be disabled. This held true for my car, and like I mentioned before, it didn't happen until bothe batteries were in place.

 

[nyc_sport]

Interesting. The auto stop/start ceased working on my 2016 TD6 a month or two ago. It is going in for an annual service this weekend. I find the loss of auto start/stop a godsend, so if the aux battery is to blame I have no interest in replacing, no matter the cost. But what else might be impacted by a dead aux battery?? Don't care about auto shutdown either, and I have no soft close or auto steps. Thanks

 

[Ham Hands]

Hi @Ham Hands, I am well aware of the fact that the new battery has everything to do with the performance improvement. I am also aware that many people find the Auto Start/Stop feature in their vehicles very annoying (including my father, the PO of this RRS), but I am one of the many that think vehicle features should be maintained and kept up to date.

I did run my car without the auxiliary battery for about day and a half, and once everything was set to my almost stock fix, that's when the real performance improvement was noticeable. On the flip side, I would worry about alternator life in the mid to long term, due to the increased current demand due to the missing amperage from the auxiliary battery.

As a side note, it was not only the Start/Stop feature that was recuperated. Other small automatic functions were restored, like the automatic shut down when Park is engaged and you unbuckle the seatbelt. Sometimes my soft close feature was failing, as well as the automatic opening of the dealer installed electronic lowering steps.

According to the user manual, when the computer notices a drop in battery voltage, certain non essential features will be disabled. This held true for my car, and like I mentioned before, it didn't happen until bothe batteries were in place.

I'm glad you got it sorted out... My amperage is in the 14's when running, high 12's when not. And my soft door close features and other options you mentioned all work well. From my research the only features the AUX battery is for is for the Auto-Start feature. I may be wrong but since everything else is working great I don't think so. Either way, I'm glad you are back to good. I'm glad to see this community growing as I'm coming from Jeepforum.com where the community is huge and DIY's and online help is the backbone of the website. I'd love to see this site grow half as much as that one. And with nice pics such as in this thread and step by steps that is just what will happen. Enjoy your ride and your features restored.

 

[Mancerator]

Hello Ham Hands. I am currently driving a 2014 Grand Cherokee Overland ( fortunately the last model year before start/stop) and have been a registered member of jeepgarage.org since 2014. I recall there being threads on jeepgarage about disabling start/stop with a device that plugs into the OBD port and basically remembers the last setting it had when shut off. Don't know whether there is also one for the Range Rovers but that might be a good solution. My wife drives a 2018 RRS V8 which is why I joined this forum, I may soon be driving a 2016 RRS TDI and totally agree that both forums are invaluable. I am curious as to which Jeep you had and how you would compare it to your Range Rover? Thanks

 

[JoseBours]

Interesting. The auto stop/start ceased working on my 2016 TD6 a month or two ago. It is going in for an annual service this weekend. I find the loss of auto start/stop a godsend, so if the aux battery is to blame I have no interest in replacing, no matter the cost. But what else might be impacted by a dead aux battery?? Don't care about auto shutdown either, and I have no soft close or auto steps. Thanks

I think part of my problem with the disabled features was the fact that the dead aux battery was in place. After all, if it had a dead cell, it may be draining voltage in place of adding or maintaining current.

It looks like completely eliminating that circuit is what needs to be done in order to maintain proper vehicle function (minus start/stop)

 

[Ham Hands]

Hello Ham Hands. I am currently driving a 2014 Grand Cherokee Overland ( fortunately the last model year before start/stop) and have been a registered member of jeepgarage.org since 2014. I recall there being threads on jeepgarage about disabling start/stop with a device that plugs into the OBD port and basically remembers the last setting it had when shut off. Don't know whether there is also one for the Range Rovers but that might be a good solution. My wife drives a 2018 RRS V8 which is why I joined this forum, I may soon be driving a 2016 RRS TDI and totally agree that both forums are invaluable. I am curious as to which Jeep you had and how you would compare it to your Range Rover? Thanks

@ Mancerator... The wife and I both had/have manual transmission Jeeps. So it's not possible to have the dreaded AutoStart "feature". So the Rover is the first vehicle I've ever owned that was equipped with it. But there is a fantastic thread on here that can show you exactly how to disable it permanently and without any negative aspects to the disablement here on this very forum with the search button. As to you Jeep questions...

I had an 03' Jeep Wrangler that I put a 3" suspension lift on, adjustable Trac Bars, JKS disconnects, fixed yoke 31 spline output shaft I believe it was (super strong), 35" Dunlop Mud Terrains, and mod after mod... I had her from 05' until 15' of when I was rear ended by a commercial truck loaded down with ductile iron pipe at an estimated 50mph impact... while I was stopped... I got her back from the body shop but she rode like a shopping cart above 60mph...

Then we bought a 15' Rubicon (which we still have and love) with a 4" Rubicon Express/Foxx suspension springs/shocks lift riding on 35" Nitto Mud Terrains, 6 speed tranny with front and rear differential air lockers, etc... It's my wife's daily driver. It's a hell of any offroad vehicle. The current Rover I have will do about 85-90% of what the Wrangler will do since the Rover has a locking center differential and a rear differential locker. Where the Rubicon shines is with it's 35" mud terrains that can be aired down to 10psi and will become so grippy it's scary. It has an on board air compressor as well under the hood so I can air-up all 4 tires back up at the trail head to 32psi in about 10 minutes. And the Rubi has a 10K pound winch of course which makes it superior. I can only air down the Rovers tires to about 20psi due to her 22" rims size but it's amazing what it can do for a street bruiser on the trails, mud, and water crossings.

But for daily commutes, power line trails, back roads, and freeways... the Rover is superior to the Rubicon in every way in Power, cutting in/out of traffic, handling, freeway driving and for braking. The Rover is my favorite vehicle I've ever driven and owned and I've driven a lot of different vehicles both domestic and foreign! The AJ-V8 paired with the Eaton Twin Vortices Super Charger is my favorite engine combo of all-time for sure! Pic of our Babies Below, Enjoy!
14.5 Rover Sport V8 Supercharged

Pic of college graduation gift to myself... my 03' Wranger... sitting on 33" BFG All Terrains before I upgraded to the 35" Dunlops on her. All mods done myself in my parents garage.

Pic of her after 35" Dunlop Mud Terrains...

Pic of our current 15' Rubicon... wifey's daily driver. Nitto's are by far my favorite Mud Terrains... She was bought this way but still a superior Jeep to my beloved old 03 TJ. The V6 engine and air lockers being the most notable/superior attributes over the 03' Jeep...

 

[Mancerator]

Nice! Pretty hard to beat the JK when it comes to available modifications and capability off road. Even bone stock they are very capable!
I live in AZ just a few miles from some great trails so originally considered the JK but after weighing all the factors and applying a realistic assessment of how it would be used, ended up with the Grand Cherokee Overland. I did get the Off Road II which included skid plates, Quadra Lift and Quadra Drive II so it is "Trail Rated" and is very comparable to the Trail Hawk in equipment and capability. But also fits 5 people plus luggage when it comes time to pick up the family up at the airport or head to dinner so no regrets.

 

[Ham Hands]

Nice! Pretty hard to beat the JK when it comes to available modifications and capability off road. Even bone stock they are very capable!
I live in AZ just a few miles from some great trails so originally considered the JK but after weighing all the factors and applying a realistic assessment of how it would be used, ended up with the Grand Cherokee Overland. I did get the Off Road II which included skid plates, Quadra Lift and Quadra Drive II so it is "Trail Rated" and is very comparable to the Trail Hawk in equipment and capability. But also fits 5 people plus luggage when it comes time to pick up the family up at the airport or head to dinner so no regrets.

You did well... Actually, I was going to get a Grand Cherokee SRT-8 before I got the Rover... I love the Grand Cherokee's too and you made the right choice with the Overland version. The JK's are more comfortable on road than the TJ's are for sure in drivability and creature comforts... But they "ain't" a Grand Cherokee. Unless you want to crawl rocks, do rough trails, are in wildlife management... and/or use your JK as a recovery vehicle then the Grand Cherokee is the ultimate choice. I was thrilled the wifey wanted a Rubicon so I said yes. But if she wanted a Grand Cherokee I would have been equally enthused because they are very capable both on and off road.