What letter is inside the circle?

 

A

 

I believe that's the malfunction indicator lamp for the auto start/stop. If you page through your instrument panel menu it probably says auto start-stop is not ready or disabled.

 

I got new batteries and this issue was no longer a problem.

 

A is in the circle

 

Page 206 of the owner's manual says your start stop system is malfunctioning and you should see a dealer.

 

Thanks, everybody!

 

Mine symbol has been on for few weeks. Anything ever come from it?

 

As "peterweb" indicated your aux battery does not have sufficient capacity to power your auxiliary electrical components (radio, HVAC fan, lights, etc.) if your van would shut off if the ESS activated so the ESS has been disabled.

Because your main battery and the auxiliary battery are electrically connected when the van is shut off the weaker battery will draw down the capacity of the stronger battery, which in your case is the main battery. Eventually your van will not start because the main battery has been compromised by the auxiliary battery.

Both the main and aux batteries in our Pacifica's are AGM types which do not like to have their energy level drawn down very low, doing so too many times reduces their capacity to store energy and they will need to be replaced.

Its unfortunate that the design of the ESS on the Pacifica seems to be very taxing on the main and aux batteries as there are many case of these batteries needing to be replaced on vans which are only 2-3 years old or less.

If you want to save your main battery you can disconnect the negative terminal of the aux battery. Doing so will deactivate the ESS and you get the message that it is not available and you will have the warning light on the dash like you now have but you will prevent the main battery from being further drained by the aux.

 

If you are speaking of the A with a circle around it, it would indicate that your Stop/Start system needs service. Probably it is a the Auxiliary battery that has gone bad. You should get your Aux battery and the main battery checked ASAP. If the Aux battery is bad, it will bring down your main battery.

 

Thank you very much for your help. 😊

 

Thank you so much. I'm on it this week. 😊

 

If your van is still under its 3ys - 36K mile warranty your batteries may be covered. Seems like I have read that some dealers have and some have not?

 

I have this exact thing, which I am glad I have it, b/c I abhor that ESS crap... I have a dealer appt tomorrow to have it checked and replaced under warranty, and then I ordered the smartstartstop stuff, which I will be installing once it arrives.

 

Let us know what your dealer finds. Your Pacifica being a 2020 is one of the newest that I have heard of with this problem.

The Smartstartstop will eliminate the warning message and the light on the dash.

 

Hi guys, sorry, I was at the dealer taking care of this matter. All fixed now, and the dreaded ESS works... for now. Problem was an almost dead AUX14 battery... as expected. Thanks Waldo for posting the link.

Its not too bad to install, and the instructions seem to be fairly comprehensive...

G.

 

We have had this happen twice now-do these replacements have a warranty?! So frustrating!

 

Glad to hear you got it fixed, did they cover it under warranty?

 

Yes they did, tested both packs, only one dead, and it was a 200 dollar battery... hard to grasp such lawnmower battery is 200 bucks. Heck, I've seen equal sized Lithium Iron LiFePo AUX14 batteries for less than that, which would probably work a lot better too. But in the end its all moot point, since the StartStop thingy will allow me to keep this thing turned off forever, I just had it fixed so the van is 100% functional.

G.

 

AUX 14 batteries are readily available. O'Reilly has them for $108.

 

Did you have them check the main 12 V battery? When the Aux battery goes it often pulls down the main battery.

 

Yes, they tested it without me telling them and the main 12V pack passed the tests. My Pacifica only has 609 miles...

@thetruthkc - Yes, I feel your pain. I've been in this kind of situations before, and waited 3 years before taking action... not this time. What people don't realize is that the ESS is not just an annoyance, its also a major safety hazard if you're caught with the engine OFF in a "SHTF" situation... 130 bucks removes that hazard... and I just purchased a vehicle with a window sticker MSRP price of 52k... I think I can spare 130 bucks...

Can't wait for that thing to arrive.

G.

 

Just disconnect the negative terminal from the aux battery. Then every time you get the "ESS not available" message tell yourself......Thank you I'm now going to have such a good day!....and when your driving and you see the warning light on the dash, its just another reminder how much better your day is going to be not to have deal with ESS.😁

 

LOL... might have to do that until the smartstartstop gets here... I can certainly tell is annoying as heck...

G.

 

Good news, the SmartStartStop device went in today, so it looks like no more worries about a weak auxiliary battery ever again. Highly recommended device, seeing the blue light under the A button come on, and without warning light on the dash, every time I start the van is priceless...

G.

 

Do you still need the auxiliary battery to be functional even though you've fooled the system into believing you pressed the A button every time you start? Or can you unhook it?

 

Good question, and the short answers is I don't know. My educated guess, after seeing how the device works, is that it still needs to be present. Since the ESS disable blue button light takes less than a second to come on after you start the engine, so that would suggest the initial startup battery tests are still being performed under the hood.

I guess only time will tell how the AUX14 battery fares...

In the meantime, perhaps someone who has had the SmartStartStop device installed for a while can chime and share their experience...

EDIT: Also keep in mind this is not a disable device, all it does is make whatever setting you had remain permanent. The ESS can still be enabled and work normally...

G.

 

My 2017 wouldn't start this morning. Jumped it tonight and runs, but with "A" indicator warning on. Might have to jump again in the morning, but at least I know what "could" be the issue when I try to get into the dealer tomorrow. Is this Aux Batt. something that my local battery/alternator guy could replace. He's great with electrical and his main business is rebuilding alternators, etc.

 

Replacing the Aux battery is just like replacing a single battery in a normal car.

Yours being a 2017 it would not surprise me that your main battery is failing as well as it is what is supplying the power when you are starting your Pacifica.

If you are outside of the 3 yr / 36K warranty it is much cheaper to replace them both yourself. You can search on this forum for the step by step instructions.

 

Batteries Plus has both batteries. They install free, and take the old battery in lieu of a core charge. I've always had excellent service from our local branch.

 

Main battery was gone. All is fine for now........ My guy said the AUX Battery tested fine. This forum helped me tremendously by not taking it to a dealer that might "find" all kinds of issues.

 

Peter would it be better to buy a smartstop device or just disconnect the aux battery?

 

Just disconnecting the aux battery will leave you with warnings in your dash about the stop/start system not available and the A warning light will always be on. If you get the smartstop device, all that will do is allow you to manually turn off the stop/start function with the switch on the centre console, and the setting will be remembered next time you start the vehicle. Currently, if you turn off the feature, when you turn off the vehicle and the next time you start it, the stop/start feature is turned back on.

A couple of people have installed the device, so hopefully one of them can comment on how it is working.

 

Peter, if one disconnects the battery cable to the aux battery that battery will eventually be drained completely.
If one installs the smartstop unit the aux battery will continue to be charged, and working and wont have a need to drain the large battery.
I think I will install the smartstop.

 

The aux battery is eventually going to go bad because it'll never be used if you install the smart stop start device. The van only uses the aux battery to run accessories while the engine is off during an ESS event. When it goes bad, it becomes a parasitic drain to the main battery whenever the engine isn't running. This eventually causes the main battery to prematurely fail - especially if the van isn't driven daily. IMO disconnecting the aux battery is the better choice because it prevents that from happening.

A dealership would rather see this than a 3rd party device connected to your van when you get it serviced. The only thing the dealership will see that you probably haven't seen is another DTC which is P00FD (Battery B State Of Charge Performance). This is the only DTC stored when the aux battery is disconnected.

Our van still has the original batteries. The dealership determined the aux battery went bad last October, and told me a replacement wouldn't be covered under the CPO extended warranty. After doing some research to learn how the electrical system works on this van, I decided that disconnecting the aux battery myself was the best option. It's been running fine since then. The only noticeable difference is the Stop/Start Unavailable message shown at startups and the warning light.

The two batteries are effectively wired together in a parallel circuit most of the time. The only time they are electrically separated is during an ESS event.

 

I recently installed the SmartStartStop device, which you can revert back to stock easily, and IMO it was worth every penny. Only time will tell when the AUX battery dies. If that happens I will consider relocating it to a different location, so at least it won't get cooked by the engine compartment temps.

G.

 

I had this problem recently. I went to Autozone, purchased the replacement AUX14 battery for $100, and after installing it (and making sure the batteries were both disconnected during the process) the warning indicator no longer appears. Installing it was straightforward. I watched a youtube video on the process. I don't usually do much to my car myself.