[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!

 

[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.

 

[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...

 

[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.

 

[Ham Hands]

Fuddy... 8 years on a Stock Battery is almost unheard of! They must be made really well and I really need to check the manufactured date upon mine. I demanded mine be changed when purchasing as a CPO but I have a feeling they lied to me about that like almost everything else at that "S-Hole" dealership called Hennesse Range Rover of Gwinnett did.

Go onto Ebay & search EXIDE EK151. I bought one from UK & it was at my door in 3 days to the states. Then simply remove passenger side trunk lining & replace old battery with new. No programming required with the eco stop/start battery. It might take a few driving cycles for it to start working again.

@Madtown

Where exactly did you source your new Main Battery from? I believe our RRS battery is nearly 8 years old too and it's just a matter of time with it living on borrowed time. Plus, ALL Modern Vehicles rely so Heavily upon the Main-Battery and almost exact voltage output requirements it just makes sense to go ahead and replace it. I'll be performing some Air-Compressor Maintenance soon enough so while I'm in the Cargo Well and have the Full-Sized Spare out (making sure it has 42PSI of air, etc... out anyways so I might as well swap in A New OEM or Exact Equivalent Main Battery while I'm at it.

I figure if that goes "Tit-Up" while on the road you'd be hard pressed sourcing another JLR Spec'd main battery almost anywhere or in-stock in the first place. I'm really glad I came upon this thread today.

Thanks in advance MadTown.

 

[Ham Hands]

@Ham Hands my main or starter battery as some call it was also 8 years old. I replaced it with a Mercedes AGM battery. It was exaxct same size & rating. I did this because I get it at cost since I work at MB dealer & it will be easy to warranty if need be. I used my GAP tool to complete the confirmation of battery exchange. All good afterwards.

@Madtown
Solid post and I appreciate it. I'll try and source the same one today from the part number you referenced in earlier post...

On another note I have both front and rear pairs of OEM packaged/numbered Sway-Bar bushings I need to install along with blowing out the brass fitting exhaust coupling on the air compressor. I'd rather perform all at the same time rather than multiple times on my back getting all sore and greasy. Mads, I recall that to get to the front sway bar bushing driver's side I need an off-set box wrench... Can you tell me what offset and metric size to buy before I go about this?

ETA: Sorry for the slight derail OP... But this is info all of us can benefit from so I figure why start a new thread...

 

[Ham Hands]

Sent PM @Ham Hands .

Thanks Broseph!