Over the past few days I have noticed a very slow crank when trying to start my engine. Today, I was running some errands and I stopped at Target to get something. When I got out to my jeep are tried to start it, it was completely dead. I figured that I lost a cell and lost all power. I was able to start my jeep by jumping it. As I was driving home, the volt meter read just under 14 VDC all the way home until I was about 2 to 3 minutes from the house. At that point, the volt meter pegged at 19 VDC. I am wondering if this is consistent with a bad battery or possibly a bat alternator/ voltage regulator. What do you guys think?

 

Ignore the dash voltmeter temporarily and check with a DVM at the battery terminals. See what you have there.
What year? Engine?

 

Get the battery tested 1st , because sometimes a bad battery can make it look like The alternator is bad . most auto part stores will test battery's for free .

 

I would also go around and check all the grounds. I had the same thing happen with the volt meter on the dash and it turned out to be a grounding problem. Also check that the battery terminals are not corroded along with the wires too.

 

Likely needs a battery and replace the terminals while they are disconnected. Factory terminals are notorious for failing.

 

How old is the battery?

Also, what brand/type is it?

 

Well, I was able to get the battery tested at Auto Zone. the battery checked out fine. I took the cables off and put them back on, and everything seems to be working fine now. I am thinking that some corrosion got between the posts and the cable connectors. I went ahead and bought some new connectors so I will change those out later tonight when it cools down.