Battery issues Again!

[DispatchMinion]

New battery, new cables and connectors, new alternator.
Idle for the last 2 of the my 3 days off. no lights when i opened the door. no turnover. totally dead battery
Batt pack jumped and all the dash warning lights lit up and a no buss message on odom
Gages dead too. speedometer/tach/ fuel. all dead. Headlights/horn worked.
Drove for a bit with no speed reading, pulled over and then unplugged the dash cam and phone charger. Also the odbII reader I always have connected. As soon as I unplugged the obd2 reader, the buss error went away, dash lights and gages when back to mainly normal. had a red dot lit up lower left, and the check engine. Drove the rest of the way to work 20 mins. parked shut off. waits 15 secs and started normal. plugged the odb2 reader back in and still good. pulled codes from when the gages freaked out

So, Why did the happen again?
And 1st time it really freaked out like this. Never had the gages die b4. so odd

 

[LibertyTC]

What were the problem codes?
A hard re-set by clamping both battery terminals together for 20 min may be needed.
The KJ is very sensitive about having correct & stable battery voltages at start up and while charging.
If you have a parasitic drain, that needs to be addressed ASAP. Unplug any unnecessary accessories.
A good battery should read about 12.6v before starting (check with vom) & you should now get your battery fully charged & then load tested.
It's not a good idea to start the Jeep with a dead or weak battery. Leave the jumper pack connected for a while before attempting to start it.
Best is to use jumper cables from another vehicle.

Turn off the heater, radio and all unnecessary electrical loads.
Connect one end of a jumper cable to the positive terminal of the discharged battery.
Connect the other end of the same cable to the positive terminal of the booster battery.
Connect the other cable, first to the negative terminal of the booster battery and then connect the other end to a non-paint metal surface on the engine of the vehicle
with the discharged battery.

Make sure you have a good contact on the engine.
Start the engine in the vehicle which has the booster battery, let the engine idle a few minutes, then start the engine in the vehicle with the discharged battery.

 

[sleazy rider]

As soon as I unplugged the obd2 reader, the buss error went away, dash lights and gages when back to mainly normal. had a red dot lit up lower left, and the check engine. Drove the rest of the way to work 20 mins. parked shut off. waits 15 secs and started normal. plugged the odb2 reader back in and still good. pulled codes from when the gages freaked out

So, Why did the happen again?
And 1st time it really freaked out like this. Never had the gages die b4. so odd

OBD2 reader’s fault? Do you really need it in the car constantly? Take it out for a week and see if the battery issue repeats.

 

[DispatchMinion]

What were the problem codes?
A hard re-set by clamping both battery terminals together for 20 min may be needed.
The KJ is very sensitive about having correct & stable battery voltages at start up and while charging.
If you have a parasitic drain, that needs to be addressed ASAP. Unplug any unnecessary accessories.
A good battery should read about 12.6v before starting (check with vom) & you should now get your battery fully charged & then load tested.
It's not a good idea to start the Jeep with a dead or weak battery. Leave the jumper pack connected for a while before attempting to start it.
Best is to use jumper cables from another vehicle.

Turn off the heater, radio and all unnecessary electrical loads.
Connect one end of a jumper cable to the positive terminal of the discharged battery.
Connect the other end of the same cable to the positive terminal of the booster battery.
Connect the other cable, first to the negative terminal of the booster battery and then connect the other end to a non-paint metal surface on the engine of the vehicle
with the discharged battery.

Make sure you have a good contact on the engine.
Start the engine in the vehicle which has the booster battery, let the engine idle a few minutes, then start the engine in the vehicle with the discharged battery.

The battery is 12.2V right now 6 hours parked
I know how to jump-start, I'm a 3rd shifter there is no one around when I leave for work so do not have another vehicle to connect to

This was me last month
https://www.jeepkj.com/threads/battery-died-again-resolved.76835/#post-775044
Thought for sure the parasitic drain was addressed with the new cables and ends, new alternator new battery. No issues till last nights wackyness

The odometer showed no bus
Codes scanned before leaving work this morning
U110C Lost Fuel level
U1403 Implausible fuel level signal received
U110ELost Ambient Temperature

All make sense as I drove it with non-responsive gages, but now the gages are ok.


****** rider
"OBD2 reader’s fault? Do you really need it in the car constantly? Take it out for a week and see if the battery issue repeats"
So true
Is more than a scan tool.https://www.nonda.co/products/smart-vehicle-health-monitor-mini
Its not even active while the vehicle is off
I will pull it to be safe tho

 

[sleazy rider]

All I'm gonna say is, after several years of being a motorcycle tech, if a bike rolled in with any sort of running issue AND a plug in device to either boost performance or monitor the engine? It got disconnected and solved the problem every.darn.time. It got to be silly. I'd never recommend anything over the stock setup and only plug in a diagnostic device when there were codes to be read.

 

[DispatchMinion]

All I'm gonna say is, after several years of being a motorcycle tech, if a bike rolled in with any sort of running issue AND a plug in device to either boost performance or monitor the engine? It got disconnected and solved the problem every.darn.time. It got to be silly. I'd never recommend anything over the stock setup and only plug in a diagnostic device when there were codes to be read.

No issues with starting the jeep last night. had 12.1v before the key turn. 14.5-.9v while running
I will be disconnecting the ODBreader on my 3 days off. Ive left it connected since yesterday and no issues.

I've had that reader in 2 vehicles for 5 years with no issues. It been a help in fact in uncovering the voltage fluctuations that lead to the issue resolved last month.
Do you find it odd that as soon as i disconnected it, the dash gages came back to life?

@LibertyTC
I will do the hard reset today, any harm in leaving it longer than 20 mins? say 8-10 hours? I tend to sleep when i get home and get a good 8-10 hours in.

 

[tommudd]

No issues with starting the jeep last night. had 12.1v before the key turn. 14.5-.9v while running
I will be disconnecting the ODBreader on my 3 days off. Ive left it connected since yesterday and no issues.

I've had that reader in 2 vehicles for 5 years with no issues. It been a help in fact in uncovering the voltage fluctuations that lead to the issue resolved last month.
Do you find it odd that as soon as i disconnected it, the dash gages came back to life?

@LibertyTC
I will do the hard reset today, any harm in leaving it longer than 20 mins? say 8-10 hours? I tend to sleep when i get home and get a good 8-10 hours in.

No issues, I've had them disconnected for 8-10 hours before

 

[sleazy rider]

No issues with starting the jeep last night. had 12.1v before the key turn. 14.5-.9v while running
I will be disconnecting the ODBreader on my 3 days off. Ive left it connected since yesterday and no issues.

I've had that reader in 2 vehicles for 5 years with no issues. It been a help in fact in uncovering the voltage fluctuations that lead to the issue resolved last month.
Do you find it odd that as soon as i disconnected it, the dash gages came back to life?

12.1 is not even close to good if verified by a multimeter. Should be up at 12.6v. I’d check the output of the alternator for sure. I’d also charge the battery fully for 24 hours and see if it holds there. Fully charged right off the charger it should show 13.1ish. Something isn’t right in the charging system and new parts fail, sometimes quickly or are even bad right out of the box.

 

[LibertyTC]

12.1 is weak, charging is necessary to restore the state of charge.
Many do not realize how outside temps also effect batteries.

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Overnight charge & then a load test= pass or fail.
AGM 700 CCA+ deep cycle batteries for the win. Lead acid not so much.

 

[DispatchMinion]

I do not have the funds to get a new off-the-shelf battery, so what I have is https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...motive-suv-2007-jeep-liberty?brand=true&pos=0
Battery: CCA: 690; CA: 850
it was warranty replaced in Feb , 2x last year too

 

[sleazy rider]

That warranty is a wonderful thing if you have to use it three times so far. $149 for that pile of junk? Brother, check around for deals. I got a Deka AGM when I replaced mine for that price at my local Discount Battery outlet.

 

[LibertyTC]

Try & keep you battery charged up and monitor the standing voltage in the AM. Use chart in post #9 to determine state of charge & if replacement again is necessary.
The problem with lead acid is they do not recover easily after any major discharge. AGM's recover very well.
Wouldn't hurt for $5 to install felt pads to protect from terminal corrosion with lead acid batteries.

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[DispatchMinion]

12.1 is weak, charging is necessary to restore the state of charge.
Many do not realize how outside temps also effect batteries.

You must be registered for see images attach

Overnight charge & then a load test= pass or fail.
AGM 700 CCA+ deep cycle batteries for the win. Lead acid not so much.

12.2v before starting tonight. 25 min drive 12.3/12.4v flux after shuftoff

 

[LibertyTC]

After a 25 min drive a strong battery should be reading 12.6 volts. Is the alt output 13.7 at idle?

 

[MarksmanAkula]

That warranty is a wonderful thing if you have to use it three times so far. $149 for that pile of junk? Brother, check around for deals. I got a Deka AGM when I replaced mine for that price at my local Discount Battery outlet.

I use DEKA AGM's. Never had an issue with em, well worth the $.

 

[DispatchMinion]

After a 25 min drive a strong battery should be reading 12.6 volts. Is the alt output 13.7 at idle?

at idle it is 14.5v to 14.9v

New reading right after arrival home this morning 12.6v
I will be looking at getting a Deka AGM, did not really know the Smart Start brand was LA Funds have been tight even after the stim hit
thanks all

 

[LibertyTC]

Deka AGM is made by East Penn.
You will have a strong battery for years, just ensure no parasitic drains are happening, by continuing to monitor AM voltage occasionally.
14.5 + volts is a very good charging output. AGM's like 14.9 a lot.
I also occasionally use a 120 volt C-tek charger in winter, fully automatic. Never worry about it being fully topped up then if it sits for a while.
The C-Tek Mus 4.3 charger is one of the best AGM & lead acid chargers.
Settings for motorcycle, car lead acid & AGM is snowflake mode & de-sulfation mode. Comes with a quick dis-connect & clamp type terminals.
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1565203/Ctek-Mus-4-3.html#manual

 

[sleazy rider]

at idle it is 14.5v to 14.9v

New reading right after arrival home this morning 12.6v
I will be looking at getting a Deka AGM, did not really know the Smart Start brand was LA Funds have been tight even after the stim hit
thanks all

I learned the hard, but cheap way myself about them. Bought a SS battery for my lawn tractor because $25 is just about what they’re worth. It lasted 2 weeks and failed internally.

 

[DispatchMinion]

12.6v again on parking at work.

Confirming, This is what I want to get
When I google for Deka AGM it lists Duralast

Wish I could do a charging system. I live in a single story apt/condo, no garage, no exterior power outlets


Update found a DEKA on rockauto getting it

 

[LibertyTC]

This AGM stuff can get a bit confusing. There are only about 5 AGM battery manufacturers /producers.
They are: Odyssey, East Penn, Johnson Controls, Exide & Northstar. (don't bother with Optima as they have spherical design /less plate coverage)
They have different name brands & then labels for Napa for instance. Duralast is made by Johnson Controls.
Deka AGM is an East Penn.

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Check the CCA specifications & R/C reserve capacity, larger the better.