Battery keeps dying/electric lock short??
12-04-2017, 01:34 PM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Battery keeps dying/electric lock short??
Hello, I want to start by saying I know very little about wiring/electrical systems in Cherokees, and I've only had my Cherokee for a couple months so far, so bear with me. I have a 2000 Cherokee Sport, and since I've owned it I've noticed what appears to be a strange electrical problem. Note that the power locks don't work at all on either side to lock or unlock the jeep. I've noticed that sometimes my power locks will go off by themselves. They have clicked on and off a few times when the key wasn't even in the ignition. When I was changing my ball joints, I had the jeep sitting on stands for 2 or 3 days, and when I was working on it, I noticed an odd humming sound coming from the passenger side power lock. I disconnected the battery and kept working. When it came time to drop it back on the ground and test the new ball joints, the battery was completely dead. I've been paying further attention to this problem and I've come to a conclusion: the battery will slowly drain and die if the jeep sets without being started/driven for longer than 24 hours. The random power lock clicking, and the fact that the power locks don't normally work leads me to believe I have some kind of electrical short within the power locks that slowly drains my battery. Has anyone else had this issue? I can't tell you how many times someone has looked at my Jeep and said "ya know those things have electrical problems right?" If someone could give me some advice on what I could do to fix this problem, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
12-04-2017, 04:15 PM
#2
CF Veteran
You are generally reading the situation correctly. Probably due to shorting in the wiring or at the switch itself.
Most people will advise starting with and inspection of the wiring at the door-to-body boot where the wiring passes from the door to the body. They have a habit of getting chafed and exposed in that area. Next up is to inspect the switches themselves to ensure that they are not shorting out in the switch.
The humming sound and dead battery is the result of a solenoid (the electromagnetic switch) responsible for moving the door lock being in a constant state of "on" (power being applied to it). Either because a ground side wire is finding a path back to the battery before it hits the switch, or because the switch itself is allowing the electricity to flow when it should not.
Most people will advise starting with and inspection of the wiring at the door-to-body boot where the wiring passes from the door to the body. They have a habit of getting chafed and exposed in that area. Next up is to inspect the switches themselves to ensure that they are not shorting out in the switch.
The humming sound and dead battery is the result of a solenoid (the electromagnetic switch) responsible for moving the door lock being in a constant state of "on" (power being applied to it). Either because a ground side wire is finding a path back to the battery before it hits the switch, or because the switch itself is allowing the electricity to flow when it should not.