not having a good week with jeeps.

philip_g

NAXJA Forum User
Location
back in CO
so last friday the trackbar let go in my XJ, so I've been driving a coworkers ski car, it's a 97 grand cherokee V8, lives in our parking lot unless he's in town to ski, he lives in FL.
Anyway it sits and sits and sits and he comes to drive it and the battery is of course always dead, he put a new battery in and it was OK for awhile until I needed it and had to jump it last week, I trickled charged it and life has been good. He thinks the alternator is letting go but I think it's Ok because it sits for literally 4-6 months and doesn't run.... I even ordered him a batt disconnect for it because I was so sure.

tonight I start the damn thing, back out of the spot, and it dies, restart it and it won't idle, restart it and keep it revved up enough and it runs, I get it in the spot and it dies, then the batt doesn't have enough juice to start it again.

Guess he was right and I was wrong :mad:
 
Id still get the battery disconnect it might help that and no one can steel it that way.
 
Weird, alternator tests fine. I know a few of you guys have grand cherokees, is that black box on the back an external regulator or something?

Wonder if there's a bad ground somewheres.
 
Last edited:
:doh: :twak:


1) If there is anything with a memory, it draws current. The AM/FM-cassett with a 5 station pre-set and clock in my '74 has pulled the truck battery down...over six months granted, but nearly the same result. I caught the problem before #2 ruined the battery.

2) A battery needs to be charged for storage. The un-scientific explanation is that the the lead plates have a coating when the battery is charged. No charge=battery acid eating the lead plates. I have seen solar trickle-chargers for long term storage. Seems they cost less than a new battery???

3) A little P-M is always good, especially with seemingly OK cables and clamps.

Class dismissed! :lecture:
 
You realize that I trickle charged the battery last saturday to a full charge, drove the jeep for 7 days straight and the battery was dead when I tried to drive it home Friday, right?
This is not a problem with storage, there's something wrong with the charging system.
 
Last edited:
Load test the battery?
 
Experience has taught me to verify the simple, inexpensive things before diving in to a more complex system. Don't ask how I learned this. :banghead:

As a side note, I helped a bud rescue someone else's XJ from a parking lot, battery was flat dead. We jumped it, got it started, voltage was still low so I drove like a bat outta hell, parked it in his drive. I turned on the headlights to see what happened, the engine died, we're thinking alternator. He took the alternator down for testing, it checked OK. He reinstalled, put everything back together, not a problem since.
 
Hypoid said:
Experience has taught me to verify the simple, inexpensive things before diving in to a more complex system. Don't ask how I learned this. :banghead:

As a side note, I helped a bud rescue someone else's XJ from a parking lot, battery was flat dead. We jumped it, got it started, voltage was still low so I drove like a bat outta hell, parked it in his drive. I turned on the headlights to see what happened, the engine died, we're thinking alternator. He took the alternator down for testing, it checked OK. He reinstalled, put everything back together, not a problem since.

that thought had crossed my mind, there's a small bit of corrosion on the terminals of the alt, a simple remove and reinstall could solve the problem. Probably check the grounds and connections and have the battery tested and if that doesn't solve it have it towed to a shop.

The battery is new but had died, I jumped it this week so it's possible I fried it by running it instead of charging it.

there is a small crack on the + terminal, guess I can put a new one in.
 
Back
Top