Alittle odd?

[hyde]

I see, when I heard the noise coming from somewhere near the alternator, I thought it was that..
Thanks for the info, I gotta call him and ask him what brand battery he wants to put and what's the warranty. Depending on that, I will get the reasonable one. I would pay $20-$25 more to a local shop who I can always bother, than pay less and get no service at all.

Thanks. Let me go out and try to start it.

 

[desertkj]

Another thing is do you have an aftermarket alarm on there? I have one that Lo-Jack provided me with that has a weird cut-off. If I close the door (thus arming the system) and sit there for more than 30 seconds, it will disable the ignition regardless. It freaked me out when I first learned about it. I was just getting ready to call AAA when I locked and unlocked it and it started right up.

 

[hyde]

OK, it started fine, let's see how it is in the morning, did not buy the new battery yet.

Nope, no aftermarket alarm. This is first time I am facing this problem since I got my jeep. I am thinking of getting a booster from Costco or walmart my next visit.

 

[2003KJ]

Invest in a good booster. I have one that was given to me as a xmas gift....actually jumped a couple of trucks with it so far...pretty good considering it's mainly a car/suv booster.

I'm curious to see how much your mechanic is going to charge you for that battery....

 

[JeepJeepster]

I would really like to get one of those boosters also.. Handy little things for sure.. \/

Keep us updated hyedipin. I hope youre not having the same problem I am. Im thinking about setting up a cam-corder and taping my Jeep this weekend.. Just to see what it does. O

 

[2003KJ]

For the record, since we're talking about batteries now....I just replace the one in my KJ about a month ago. Started getting real ssssslllllooooowwwww starts and you could just hear the battery struggling. Never left me stranded, but I think thats cause I never gave it a chance too.

Thanks to my buddy at Napa, I got one of their top of the lines (that retail for $80) for $47 and some change out the door. Gotta love connections (biggrin)

 

[hyde]

Well, no problems this morning. I did not get the new battery, and it seems to run fine.
If it was a really bad battery it should have been dead by now, or not start in the morning, all lights are bright, and everything seems to be running fine.

PS: I recently started noticing that the lights dim more when I open windows or force them close when they are closed, and even dimming lights when there is high bass from the radio.. I knew about the windows etc dimming but never thought the bass would dim the lights.. Since this happens when the jeep is actually running, I don't think it is battery related.

I will buy a booster today so I don't get stranded tomorrow if it acts up again.

 

[JeepJeepster]

hmm, thats no good at all hyedipin... If it isnt a bad battery, its either a bad BCM, or a bad stalk.. Hopefully its the stalk. ](*,)

If I ever catch a libby in a junk yard.. Im going to take both.. O

 

[hyde]

hmm, thats no good at all hyedipin... If it isnt a bad battery, its either a bad BCM, or a bad stalk.. Hopefully its the stalk. ](*,)

If I ever catch a libby in a junk yard.. Im going to take both.. O

Really? That's messed up then.. someone at lost said same happened to them, after a boost problem didn't come back.

 

[MadDog]

Interesting that I saw this thread...about a month ago after not driving my KJ all that far for about a month before that, I found it with a dead battery. I had accessory and dash power, just not enough to crank the motor. I drove it for 40 miles on the highway and it started just fine for the rest of the weekend. It sat for two more weeks (I travel for work) and when I came back, the battery was dead as a doornail. No power to anything, not even the door locks. The first time I thought it was just because I didn't drive it enough. The second time I knew I had a drain from somewhere. I wired my XM Sattelite Radio and Yaesu Ham Radio via the cigarette lighter accessory port at the bottom of the dash and had left it plugged in. Well it turns out that neither device was pulling from the battery, but the Radioshack two-way 12V splitter I have was providing the draw with an LED on it to let you know it was powered. A simple unplug of the wire from the accessory port made everything better.

So a $50 battery charger (which also is not a bad investment, as I used it on my brother's car after his door got stuck open from ice and the light stayed on overnight) and a few hours of time later, mystery solved and it's been fine ever since. You can't help a bad battery if yours is a few years old and endured some cold winters, but at least for mine which is 3 months old, I knew that shouldn't have happened. Check where you might be drawing from and good luck!

 

[hyde]

I really cannot be drawing from anywhere, I checked.. will check more.

 

[hyde]

Question about the battery to those who got a new battery.

1) Does Optima Red Top require additional bracket or tray to secure?
2) What is the next brand you would use? ACDelco, Die Hard? Energizer?
3) Is the Mopar battery that bad, if I had to replace it with a new one?

 

[ride4lamar]

I had something like that happen...only it only sat for about a day and a half (it took a jump right away). and it sounded real wierd, like the battery was dead but it was fine....a week later the engine light came one and the throttle position sensor had been causing problems. I asked a mechanic and he said that there is a good chance that the throttle postioning sensor caused it to not start as well....I also have a 2004.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Wow, this thread came from no where! I had to read the first post to see what I said.

-No extra brackets needed.
-Im not sure. Ive never used another battery. Ive not really researched it.
-Mine is still going strong in another Jeep. Its 4 yrs old.

 

[hyde]

You mean your Mopar one, right? 4yrs.
I will go to dealer tomorrow, so I was thinking if I should just have them replace mine or just wait more and get Optima. Mine is also 4 years old, didn't think I would have to replace the battery in 4 years.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Yea, the stock battery is still going.

4-5yrs is about the normal life of a battery. I would check some prices before I go to the dealer. Call a sears and see how much they want for a Die-Hard battery for the Jeep liberty, then call the dealer and see what they want. Ive heard nothing but good things about Die-Hards. Just make sure the battery has not been sitting around on the shelf for years.

We paid $150 for the Optima. Thats alot for a battery and I personally do not think a DD with no extra lights or a big stereo needs anything other than a regular battery.

 

[Dave]

Just make sure the battery has not been sitting around on the shelf for years.

We paid $150 for the Optima. Thats alot for a battery and I personally do not think a DD with no extra lights or a big stereo needs anything other than a regular battery.

Agree......but batteries have a date of manufacture on them. Usually a month and year. It could be anywhere on the battery, Go where you can pick it out yourself and look for the date. That way you get the freshest one. I have had good luck with Die-Hards and used the biggest one - 900 or so cca is more than adequite.

You don't really have to be in a rush to replace it if it is working so look around. Batteries can even last longer than 4-5 years. They do degrade but it depends on the use/abuse.

Dave

 

[Ry' N Jen]

Yeah, like the crooks at the local stealership. To my wife that the battery was tested and that it only had 30% capacity left and that it would fail within the month! (complete with fancy adding machine type printout, on the same paper as well!)
I took it to a friend of mine who is the parts manager for a local auto shop...
He tested it and found the battery to be at 85%!
Big difference eh?
I went back to said dealer and enquired why the difference?
"Oh, we got the test results mixed up with another KJ owner!"
Ohhh Shure!

 

[JeepJeepster]

^^haha, thats awesome. I love catching people like that in a lie.

 

[Ry' N Jen]

Beware!
There are Bull shiters everywhere!