I have a 1998 Jeep Cherokee that I recently purchased. The guy I bought it from said it had a new battery; I had to replace the battery within a week because it wouldn’t start on several occasions when I tried to start it. I took it on a 1000+ mile trip within the past couple weeks and while driving the ‘check gages’ light came on and the battery gage on the dash dropped all the way down and then would come back up, it did this several times. The radio works off and on, I was driving yesterday with the radio on and it suddenly turned off and the clock went black and wouldn’t turn back on.Last night I ran out of gas (gas gage is broken, also) and after putting gas in the car it wouldn’t start without a jump after sitting for about 20 minutes, the new battery is less than 10 days old.Anyone have any issues like this? Any help or recommendations would be appreciated!

 

sounds like it could be an alternator issue. Got a multi meter handy? You can start by checking the charging voltage at the battery terminals with the Jeep running, should be around 14.4VDC.

 

Most large auto parts stores can test your charging system for free. Find a nearby one and ask if they can.

 

I've been thinking it could be the alternator. I don't have a multi meter in hand, unfortunately. I'll make some calls to parts stores and see if someone can help me out. Thanks guys!

 

Do yourself a favor and pick up a multi meter. Everyone that owns an XJ should have one. I got mine from Harbor Freight for really cheap. Good luck!

 

good clean batt connectors and ground, and starter cable

 

Get one. Less than the price of a tank of gas.

Meanwhile, like the man said, clean all your connections, check your cables.