I think there is something shorting out my battery. I think it might be my radio but im not sure. it was dead this morning and it wouldnt even try to turn over. i jumped it and kept it running for a while. then i tuned it off and came back about 45 mins later and it was dead again and wouldnt turn over at all. any suggestions?

 

i literally had the same problem for the last two weeks but i started by replacing the alternator and still nothing. so i replaced the battery cables and the the battery and now it runs better than normal cause of the new alternator haha. my advice you might as well replace all three but for cheaper just do cables and battery

 

i thought of doing that but its been running fine until yesterday. and thats when i stripped all the wires out from a sub and amp that were in the back. i just bought it last week and some guy put a ghetto system in it. so i took a ton of wires out and he had a battery in the back as well. the head unit is horribly installed.

 

I had the same problem and it was simply mud on the terminals

 

yeah i forgot to mention that ^^^^ the reason my alternator crapped out was that it was full of mud and it wouldnt generate any electricity

 

Yea and if ur alternator is under warenty and it breaks due to mud, they won't take it back. So clean the mud off before taking it in

 

ill check that out. i also took my radio out and pulled the fuse and it still drained the battery. ill check the alternator next.

 

Easy way to check your alternator is to un hook the positive cable from the battery while the jeep is running, if the jeep turns off then the alternator is bad if not then it's not the alternator. (some ppl say this is bad for the car but I don't see why)

 

I dont think you unhook the positivevi was told and have always unhooked the negative. You run the chance of some serious electrical problems by undoing positive first. Thats why when taking out your batter you go negative first then positive and positive first then negative wheb putting it back in

 

Clean the mud:-)

 

im about to try that now

 

If you have a multimeter, it's easy to check the status of your charging system and is more reliable than just removing cables. First, charge the battery completely. Then start the car, put the jumpers from the meter on the appropriate terminals. You should read over 13.5 volts to around 14.5. Then, start turning on accessories (lights, heater, etc.) and see what the reading is then. It shouldn't drop significantly. If it isn't high enough, it likely is the alternator.

With everything shut off including the ignition, you should have a reading with a charged battery of about 12.5 volts. If it's less, the battery is bad. You can have a good static reading but a bad battery though. They should be load checked for shorts. Most chain auto parts stores can do this for you for free. You can buy load testers for around $20 or so. If you don't have a multimeter, buy one. They are invaluable and can be gotten for as cheap as $5 or so at places like Harbor Freight or if you want better quality, Radio Shack, Sears.

If everything in the charging system checks out, you do have something draining the battery. It could be a short in a system or a stuck closed relay. The easiest way to tell where the problem may be is to start out with a charged battery, place your meter on the battery, and start pulling fuses one at a time replacing them as you go fuse by fuse. Do the relays in the power distribution center also. When you get a significant rise in voltage, you found the offending circuit. This is very time consuming and is much easier with a helper pulling while the other watches the meter. Once you find the bad circuit, you have to see what is connected on that circuit and look for the problem area.

 

well i pulled the positive off and it stayed running. so i changed the battery and its runninng like a champ. thanks everyone for the help

 

Just for info for you bud.... if youre.diagnosing the problem you want to test draw by settingyour your mm to amps (highest) setting your wires appropriately,take off negative cable and hook one connector to the cable ad one to the negative bat. Terminal... works Much Much better them trying to gauge voltage spikes. Try it :-)

 

yea ur right, my bad i get confused on what color goes with what.