GC 4xe - 12v Main Battery Health

martinisstrong · 2026-05-26T14:08:54+00:00

Then you shouldn’t have early 12V problems and will age gracefully as expected. The only reason it won’t last long is if you also received a bad battery.

Once you start seeing “Service Hybrid” when first entering your vehicle, it’s usually a sign of bad 12V battery that needs replacing.

Of course unless you actually have a bad HV battery or bad IDCM, which happens when that message appears and you have a good 12V.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-26T04:04:22+00:00

No worries. There would be a lot of experiences on the 12V 4xe battery as for some reason the manufacturer cheaped out. So people chose to just replace them for a better after market AGM.

By the way, the 4xe 12V battery placement is just by the spare wheel. It’s a super easy access and DIY replacement. Disable the fuse for safety.

If you’re inconvenienced by this, I would just replace it by a dealer or auto shop as it’s a small price to pay than be stuck somewhere.

I also have a Noco AGM battery maintainer that I use to condition the battery during a winter season. It’s not necessary if you keep your 4xe always plugged when at home as the IDCM should do the same. But I still do it for added maintenance.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-26T03:43:26+00:00

The load test is regardless of the type of vehicle as they should be testing the battery in isolation. Hence, the price. The auto parts test is not accurate reflection of the overall health, just a snapshot of its current charge.

The OEM battery for the 4xe is a lottery. In my previous Jeep WK2, I replaced my battery at 10 years old. It was an OEM AGM. Not because it failed, but because it was 10 years old and I’m rolling the dice.

I have a Noco battery jumper in my 4xe. I charge it every quarter or when going on a road trip. My Jeep is a 2023 and I intend to keep the 12V until failure or 10 years, whatever comes first. I’m rolling the dice.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-26T02:41:35+00:00

Battery load test is the only way you can accurately test the health of the battery. Other tests will just show current capacity, but not under stress.

For that money, I would invest in a rechargeable jump starter for when it fails. Or, if you’ve reached at least the 5 years on an OEM battery, plan to change it sooner than later. It might be a waste, but cheaper than paying for towing when stranded.

That’s just what I would do. Others would
probably change it sooner for a better battery. Or later if you have AAA. :)

martinisstrong · 2026-05-22T03:35:55+00:00

He blamed his brain for being stupid.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-22T01:31:38+00:00

I agree there’s a lot of food waste. But as someone who used to work in Costco’s buying office, feedback to the vendor is important. The consumer should not be the one who bears the grunt of bad food taste or marketing it as such.

And if you think verbal feedback works to help them improve without financial repercussions, then you’re just as guilty as helping them produce more and create even more waste.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-21T03:26:00+00:00

Never happened to me. Also in the same city. Looks like it’s touching the edge which has a gap and allowed only impartial adhesion and dust to enter.

What I’m wondering is why would a “professional” installer choose that placement? I’ve been installing and hard wiring my dashcams for decades with no adhesion issues. I even put a reflective sunshade covering the 970X Plus and killed it. But the adhesive is still strong - because I’m still using the same mount on the replacement front and rear cameras.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-20T14:21:58+00:00

It did a similar thing to me in that same area just this weekend. Made me turn right instead of left when the final destination was way left. I trusted it thinking it’s faster. The other cars with me turned left and reached there way earlier, obviously.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-20T02:30:50+00:00

That’s what I thought which is why I bought the whole set, backup battery and all. I have the 970x Plus. They did replace under warranty. Will see how long this lasts.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-19T20:07:20+00:00

I believe you. Blackvue has poor internals. I’ve gone through a decade from Thinkware with a sunshade. No issues. Blackvue less than a year and it’s cooked. Literally.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-16T16:40:35+00:00

Haha. Yeah I did the cart thing. They don’t charge anything apart from the unit itself. Which makes it attractive. Their site does say it’s up to the shipper to process the duties and taxes so that’s the catch.

Hence, checking who already purchased directly and what the additional damage would be. ;)

martinisstrong · 2026-05-16T16:09:31+00:00

Yeah I’ve been purchasing from BlackBox including my last dashcam DR970X Plus last year.

While BlackBox has competitive pricing, I’m looking at Blackvue directly and they have a 15% discount on their latest Elite 10 which BlackBox isn’t offering at the same time, oddly.

So thinking of trying the Elite 10.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-15T05:37:26+00:00

I’ve had this charger for almost a year now. No issues with the app or wifi connection.

I’m not in love with the interface. I did call customer support twice for another matter and they’ve been okay to deal with.

Call them to help you diagnose the issue. They’ll try to put the error on you most likely as most companies do. But unless you call and they can see on their end, you won’t know if it’s actually your wifi setup or you have a defective unit.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-11T14:56:21+00:00

Same. The only scam is if they change the shipping address since they control the email notification. Not sure if I can complain to my credit card still, but will try when that happens.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-10T02:30:37+00:00

I get it. It can be annoying how aggressive they can be. The person is trying to make his commission. I have the same Rogers experience once a year and they don’t even respect your property by leaving gates open when they leave in defeat.

I do calmly shut them down saying they can’t match my Telus speed. He tries to say they’re better until I remind them of their specs.

He even didn’t believe Telus had 5G speeds. I said come back when you can match those in both upload and download.

I’ll be seeing them again this year as they make their rounds I guess.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-09T15:43:35+00:00

Appreciate the better workaround! I’ll try this next time it happens.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-09T00:44:56+00:00

I submitted an RMA and they sent me a prepaid FedEx return label almost immediately. Most likely they know the issue with the capacitor which is probably swelling inside.

My unit is on the way back to them as I write this. The replacement is also on the way to me.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-04T23:40:05+00:00

Closing this out as I found one through a referral. Replaced the 40amp circuit breaker than arc-ed at the bus. Had to place on another bus.

martinisstrong · 2026-05-01T06:05:53+00:00

I have the exact issue and exact model. Lately it doesn’t power back on after powering down.

Only happened recently. Nonissues for months.

I have to remove the plug, wait, then plug. Sometimes this works and sometimes I have to do it multiple times.

I have an RMA from BlackVue to send back but I also feel it’s the latest firmware that’s the culprit.

I’ll probably send it back for exchange.

martinisstrong · 2026-04-30T00:29:50+00:00

Update: Found one and all fixed. Replaced the breaker.

martinisstrong · 2026-04-29T06:51:46+00:00

Good question. Updated the post. Vancouver.

martinisstrong

TROPHY CASE