My jeep is dead

[jeeper4life]

My jeep has been kind of slow to start after it sits for a day or two. Today I went out there and it acts like it has a dead battery. The battery isn't that old. Do you think it could be the alternator on the way out? It also keeps blowing power door lock fuses every now and then. Jeep is a 04 kj with a 3.7l

 

[badkittystt]

Maybe something is draining the battery making it die even though it's not that old?

 

[brokendad]

No Juice

It sounds like you have a electrical short that's draining the battery. If you can get it started go to the local Auto parts store they should be able to test the battery. It is possible for a new battery to have a dead cell, if it does it will never hold a charge. A good parts store can usually test your alternator to see if it is charging. :shocked:

 

[jeeper4life]

This is the second battery we have put in this for the year. If its a electrical short where and how do I start to track something like that down? I guess I will start with having the battery and alternator tested.

 

[Marlon_JB2]

This kept happening to my sister's '05 KJ.

Dead battery was the problem.

But do check alternator too.

 

[Cherrie]

This is the second battery we have put in this for the year. If its a electrical short where and how do I start to track something like that down? I guess I will start with having the battery and alternator tested.

If you continue to have a problem after testing. Look for Mice chipmunk turds. They like to chew on wires. Neighbor lost AC because of chewing.
When I had my piece of crap mini van ( loving name but honest) something damaged the wheel well liner. Possibly a stick, liner moved, against wires running along frame( unibody). This really wasn't noticeable to the eye. But it did wear into the wire harness. Then one night I hit a bump and van died, after interesting dash display. The bare spot touched the frame. This was back when I was sick so I had my mechanic work on it. Took him 1.5 hours to find and about .5 to fix, had to do some disassembly to be able to wrap wires

 

[jeeper4life]

Well when you first get in the Jeep and try to start it, the motor will turn for a second and then the starter runs out of juice and will do the clicky noise. I'm banking on the alternator, because I was reminded that if you watch the lights on the Jeep at night they will do a lightly dimming kinda deal and then go to normal. I'm gonna have my buddy at the auto parts store check it on monday.

 

[Cherrie]

Or just start it and pull the positive battery cable.

 

[jeeper4life]

Or just start it and pull the positive battery cable.

What will that do?

 

[Billwill]

What will that do?

In theory the Jeep can run on the alternator alone ie. with battery disconnected the alternator should supply enough power to run the vehicle provided the alternator is charging OK.

I think you should check your battery cable connections are clean and tight, your strap that grounds the engine to the chassis is clean and tight and the negative battery cable going to ground is clean and tight.

get yourself a Digital Multimeter if you do not already have one...a basic cheap one will do.
You can use it to measure the voltage over the battery while the engine is running...should be about 13.5 to 14.5 volts running and about 12.5 volts with engine off.

You can also use it to measure current drain to see if something is draining your battery.

 

[NJallDAY]

Parasitic shorts/drains are the worst. My old ram had a switch hidden way up under the dash, i suspect it was a fuel shut off at some point... any way it wasnt connected and i guess my foot flipped it on and would drain my batt over night. Took me days to find it. Shorts and things of that sort are frustratingly difficult to pin point. Good luck with it

 

[tjkj2002]

Well when you first get in the Jeep and try to start it, the motor will turn for a second and then the starter runs out of juice and will do the clicky noise. I'm banking on the alternator, because I was reminded that if you watch the lights on the Jeep at night they will do a lightly dimming kinda deal and then go to normal. I'm gonna have my buddy at the auto parts store check it on monday.

99% of the time if it's the alternator in a KJ the battery light will be on since the alternator does not have a internal regulator which is now housed in the PCM.Alternators now rarely go out in a external regulated system since the regulator is the most common failure point or a alternator.

It's most likely a parasitic drain and/or the battery is shot.Just because the battery is new does not mean it's any good.

 

[trent.brown]

Id put my money on the power door lock circuit. Blown fuses indicate short, and dead battery indicate short.

 

[jeeper4life]

Id put my money on the power door lock circuit. Blown fuses indicate short, and dead battery indicate short.

So how would one fix something like that?

 

[tjkj2002]

So how would one fix something like that?

Find the short and fix it.A wire,switch,connector,or something is shorting to ground.Pretty easy task but can take several hours unless you buy the fancy tools to make it quick and easy(and very expensive).

 

[jeeper4life]

Ok but where at on the vehicle do I start? As far as to check those switchs, wires and connectors. I have never had electrical issues on a vehicle.

 

[NJallDAY]

Ok but where at on the vehicle do I start? As far as to check those switchs, wires and connectors. I have never had electrical issues on a vehicle.

just pick a harness and follow it through its going to take some time to pin point. i would start with your known problematic circuits. i can post some diagrams for you i will also check to see if and where any fusible links are...

 

[NJallDAY]

ok so alldata has a TON of diagrams fro reference. these three seem to be a good start for you. if you need anymore just let me know what system you need a diagram for.

circuit breaker

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power/ground distribution

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power door locks

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[jeeper4life]

Thanks for the charts!

Just one more what if question. Back when I first bought this in 2010, the tailgate suddenly wouldn't open, you would pull the handle and the glass would pop open and the tail gate would make that "click" noise like when you pull on the handle to open it but yet it wouldn't open. Plus if I remember right the rest of the power door locks would still work because we would have to keep pushing the unlock button a number of times and it would finally open. I think it only did that like twice and then it started its new problem where the power door lock fuse would blow and then we wouldn't have any kind of power locks.

So my next question is, do you think this all has something do an electrical issue with the tailgate, that has spread to all the door locks? Would anything back there just cause a really slow drain on the battery?

Here was my first thread about the tail gate back in 2010..
http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/dang-my-back-door-yo-46417/

 

[NJallDAY]

Thanks for the charts!

Just one more what if question. Back when I first bought this in 2010, the tailgate suddenly wouldn't open, you would pull the handle and the glass would pop open and the tail gate would make that "click" noise like when you pull on the handle to open it but yet it wouldn't open. Plus if I remember right the rest of the power door locks would still work because we would have to keep pushing the unlock button a number of times and it would finally open. I think it only did that like twice and then it started its new problem where the power door lock fuse would blow and then we wouldn't have any kind of power locks.

So my next question is, do you think this all has something do an electrical issue with the tailgate, that has spread to all the door locks? Would anything back there just cause a really slow drain on the battery?

Here was my first thread about the tail gate back in 2010..
http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/dang-my-back-door-yo-46417/

it very well could be. all the power locks run on the same circuit so its a possibility. any short to ground will drain off your battery. since the door locks seem to be the start of your electrical issues thats where i would start. if you have some electrical background you should be able to figure it out fairly easy. that being said it could turn into a real nightmare. companies make several useful meters and testing equipment to aid in these sort of problems but they are very expensive. some run into the thousands. you could make use of a basic digital multi-meter with a continuity setting to check small lengths of a particular harness, obviously you can only test as far as your leads can reach. just take your time and make a game plan. tape off the sections you have checked so you dont run around in circles. best of luck