Hi everyone, first time poster on the forum
I just got a 96 xj wich seems to be possessed by the electric demon.

at first I thought it was either the battery or alternator that was the problem, so I checked them out, not a problem on either, but when I disconnected the neg cable and checked the voltage betewn cable and post, still 12v. but not really any amps flowing.

I then unplugged the pos side, so no leads coming out from the bat. the only connection to the battery is the charger.
Here is when it gets interesting.
betewn a ground screw and the pos side of the battery I have 0.21v, how is this possible?
I'm not a magician but can any of you try and figure out this electrical puzzle?
thanks in advance.
FRED

 

you have a positive touching positive so it needs to ground itself to create any kind of readable voltage which it did on the ground wire.

 

+1

Yup yup, that's it...

 

thanks guys I've figured that part, I was suspecting the alarm system, but after unplugging it, still no joy.
I pulled all fuses and still no joy.
anyone have a trick to find the positive ground?
other than a complete re-wire
thanks in advance
FRED

 

hi there. re-connect your batt ground cable. then with your multimeter on dca scale (10 amp) check current flow between bat positive post and disconnected batt cable. you want to have a reading of .04a or less anymore will kill your batt in a short time. things like radio and pcm memory will have a constant draw. anything higher will indicate a light bulb, relay etc....

 

Wait a minute... The meter should be reading 12+ volts in the first picture? Not .21v.
If he has the red against the positive terminal on the battery (hard to tell if it's contacting that) and the black grounded as he does it should read 12+ volts if all is well... The battery charger is off I'm assuming???
Mike

 

If the negative cable was hooked up to the post, then he would read 12V unless there was a bad ground. When the negative cable is disconnected, then there is no circuit and should be no voltage.

If he has current bleeding off there is an easy way to find it. Gonna cost him $30 though. He needs an amp clamp that will read DC amps. Then all he has to do is start at the battery and follow it. I had a .5 amp bleed at my alternator. Found it in less time that it took to find the meter.

 

the positive connector is on the battery, wich is being charged.
the negative is on a good ground on the chassis.
both post are not connected.

I did manage to find the leak.
I checked the resistance betewn both post connectors (battery off) and I had 4.8ohms, so again, one by obe I removed the fuses and after a few minutes I removed #9 and the resistance jumped to infinity, so no leak.
plugged everything back and after trying what I thought were all the different elec. systems I tried to turn the ceiling light on but without a fuse it would'nt work, so I replaced the fuse to confirm and it was a go.
then I remembered that when I first got the jeep, I replaced the switch for the light in the back, unplugged the switch and no leaks.
so thanks for all your help.
FRED

 

Yea... I w3as just out in my shop thinking about my post and said OOPS! Brain fart! Too many pops in the sun this afternoon... Maybe I should stay away from power tools tonight!
Glad you got her fixed...
Mike

 

hahem...
I thought I resolved the problem. I was wrong
after a full charge last night, the batt was still low this morning
I re-checked the resistance betewn both unplugged posts and I get 1,7 ohms
when I turn the h-lamps on I get 0,7 ohms
what does your XJ measure out-to ?
I'm wondering if I should do a thorough check of that system or are my readings normal
I'll try other fuses to see if I get a infinite reading
FRED