Shelbinger419

Ok so i have a 96 cherokee with the 4.0 in it, everything was working and running fine until i broke the track bar drop mount. so i have been waiting for my ne adj track bar to come in. It finally came in july 6th so i put it on the jeep and take off down the road, stop at a gas station to fill up and as i am leaving the engine stalls, yay me so i get a jump and everything is running fine for about 2 miles then i can tell the head lights are dimming, the "gen" light is on by now and i notice i am loosing power WTF i think so i pull over and get my friend to jump me a couple times to get it to his house. Since the "gen" light was on i figured it was the alt so the next day i took it out and take it to NAPA and have them test it.... test comes back fine the alt is good so i come back and reinstall it but this time i checked online and found out that grounds can be a main cause of charging system problems so i take off and clean the gounds at the following locations: the quarter panel right next to the batt, the ground going from the firewall to the head (which i took off and moved to another bolt cause the on in the back is a pain to get to), both ground that are hooked to the engine block right behind the alternator and also i ran a new ground from the top mounting bolt to the neg on the batt just for good measure. I hook everything back up and i am praying at this point that it works, i go and start the jeep and everything seems fine but after about 30-60sec the damn "gen" light comes back on and the volt gauge is hovering around 10-11volts, so i turn the headlights on and and sit and wait, and i watch the volt gauge start dropping. Now i have ran out of options and dont know what to do PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!!! i refuse to take it to a shop and pay for **** that doesnt need to be fixed. thanks in advance

Potatowalker

I dunno man, that really sounds like an alternator to me, but did you also have your battery tested? Maybe it just won't hold a charge? Also, mebbe check the wires from Alt to Batt for continuity/corrosion?

The grounds on my 96 were crap when I looked at them last fall so it probably was a good thing you did those anyway!

Shelbinger419

Yeah that's what im thinking.... I am getting a new alt in the morning and I am also investing in a voltimeter... I defied to do the pos. Batt test where u start the jeep and disconnect the pos batt terminal and from what im told if the vehicle stays running then the alt is fine well mine shut down immediately so I figure I will try a $100 alt why not right lol... im also thinking about picking up a batt. Charging relay im thinking maybe that might be bad as well


Don't really know what else to do so im trying to go through the whole charging system... also picking up some 8ga cable so I can rerun the wired need be I will def let everyone know how it turns out

Slick761

So check it out. I just fixed a Toyota where he alternator was charging and the test would say it was good but the internal were grounding to the case. Just for fun you could take a multimeter and check for continuity between one of the bolts holding the.alternator together or he mounting point and the power post and see if there's a circuit. Just cause he alternator is charging and the little test by do checks out doesn't mean its good. I've gone through two alternator (likes rivers, thank goodness for oreilly lifetime warranty) and the second one was still charging.... somewhat intermittently. Bets on he alternator

excess650

Definitely, buy a multi meter. Digital MMs are really inexpensive these days and make troubleshooting soooooo much easier.

Shelbinger419

Ok so I replaced the alt... not the problem so I took the charging harness apart to lack sure no wires were broke... everything was fine, but I replaced the power wire going to the circut box under the hood and reattached everything, didn't fix the problem either.... so I found two ground up by my ecm and cleaned those.. but also the middle plug in my ecm the wires were cut and reattached so I took them apart and twisted them together ( don't have any connecters at the moment so I used electrical tape and twisted the wires together and then started and I got a good 14v charge now...so I left and started drivng down the road and now there's a prob with the engine it idles ok untill it warms up and then kinda floats from 600-1100rpms over and over untill I step on it now it bucks, backfires and botha down bad and I can't get it to run even close to stright unless I step on it and make it run at 2500-3000rpms and then it shifts and goes back to backfiring and bogging down.. its got new plugs and wires but im thinking its either the plug going to the ecm or the throttle position sensor.... so far 4 days about 8hrs each day and around 300$ in parts and sensors and still running rough

Shelbinger419

I did buy one and I feel like a total noon right now buy I read the directions and still can figure out what setting it goes on for what your testing lol

Slick761

Voltage you put it on 20dc and male sure the wires are plugged in usually to the bottom hole and next one up. Continuity looks something like this +>l.... amps is special and you prob don't need it.

Gee oh Dee

OEM charging system, OEM tech.

Moved.

Nick Moses

so on jeeps unlike most vehicles if the battery is **** the alternator won't carry the engine on its own the truck will start then die everything has to be in working order to complete the circuit if one dies it all dies

BlueRidgeMark

Welcome to the forum, Nick, but this is a 9 year old thread. I think it's pretty dead.



Here is where to find the date of a post.

BruceB

↑ old post forum cop

BlueRidgeMark

Do you see any value in dragging up ancient threads?


Or are you just such a spoiled brat that it hurts your tiny brain any time anyone gets corrected?

BruceB

Actually, you sound like the hurt one.

I think the reason all the posts are archived is so that people can search for answers. We have all seen posts where it is stated that "this subject" has been posted several times and that the poster should of searched.

I would like to also point out that the "old" post isn't old to the new member searching for answers. Maybe the original poster has solved their problem, or has left the forum, but their experience and knowledge gained is very beneficial to other members.

Instead of mocking someone for replying to an old post, maybe we should understand that they are seeking advice and help to something similarly posted in that old post.

And the "spoiled brat" comment is way below the spirit of this forum, and who are you to say you are correcting other people or asked you to? Sounds more to me that you are a self indulged horn blower trying to make yourself feel good.

Have a nice day...

boxburn

It would be a nice feature if the reply box alerted you to a threads age when it is over x amount of time as it's very easy to miss the original date stamp.

Sometimes a new poster can add to an existsing thread with a resolution, so can old members. Sometimes with the best intentions, a zombie thread is revived with a suggestion for the original issue. Half the time I'd blame the related thread feature for jumping from a recent thread to an old one.

Either way this wasn't the best welcome for Nick who shouldn't be scared off, it is a great forum.