Chrislnow

Hey Guys, I have been reading this site for a while soaking up information and I have to say this is a great forum.

1998 Cherokee 4.0 4wd

I bought the jeep 2 weeks ago with 207XXX on the clock and needing some work. Most things I have been able to handle but am getting stumped on the electrical problem (or so I am thinking)

Ran fine until last saturday, had just gotten back from the beach and made a short stop, when I returned to the car, it would not start, and seemed like the dash lights were a little dimmer then they should have been. It cranked weakly a few times and then began to click. As I was acrosss the street from walmart, I put a new battery in it, started right up. Drove it for 3 days with the dash battery meter reading 14v give or take.

I went to take a drive this morning same thing, weak lights, not enough juice to start, so I got a jumpstart, which it started immediately.

Used a multimeter to test the battery in the car with the acc switch on and got 13v (analog meter) so I decided to test the old battery while I was at it, I understand that to get a true reading it needs to be under load; however it read 15v. With that said, if it were weak, wouold it not have read something much lower even without a load?

I have looked at the ground wire from the head to the firewall and aside from some oil and engine gunk it is intact and does not appear to be coroded. I did notice that there is a wire on top of my starter solenoid that has what looks like some bare wire exposed at the connection, could this be a problem?

I had the alternator checked at autozone (on vehicle) and it tested fine.

Any suggestions? I appreciate the help!

96Cherokee113

Could be the starter. The brushes may be worn out after 207,000 miles. Give it a light tap with a hammer and see if it starts. If that does the trick, the starter is going out and you need a new starter. Or you could be like my one buddy that just brought a hammer everywhere he went to get it started. Works great if you have someone else tap the starter while you turn the key. He changed the starter after he got zapped really good one time, though. You can probably get your starter rebuilt for about $75 though as opposed to buying a new one. Good luck with your Jeep and Merry Christmas.

Throttle Jockey

14vdc is alot. (unless you have a killer sound system and 900 lights) might double check all the connections. the battery cables and starter wires. the alternator is working itself to death.

Chrislnow

The second reading that I was refering to (15v on analog multimeter) was on the battery that I had replaced, when I put the meter on it, it was not hooked up to the truck, this was the old one that I stuck the meter on for giggles.

I have had problems with, and replaced alternators before, allthough not on a jeep, which is why I cant help but think this could be something else.

Today when I jumpstarted the Jeep (with the new battery in it that was acting dead) it started right up/ I ran it for 20 mins or less, drove it approximately 1 block and then shut it down. when I returned a few hours later with my newly purchased multimeter I took a reading from the battery (hooked up, with key in ignition and turned to ACC) it read 13v, if it were dead and requiring a jumpstart 4 hours ealier, and had only 20 mins runtime with a faulty alternator, would that have been enough time to bring it back up to required volts to start the truck? I restarted it several times in between to see if I had lost power to the point it would require a jump.

Also, there is a system in the truck, allthough not a High powered one, guy had it in there when I bought it, and its run through what looks like a stock infinite amp under the seat (if I am showing my ignorance here and there never was such a thing, someone let me know lol!). I have removed the Amplifier power wire from the battery (which did not have a fuse as recommended) to see if there is a power drain from the stereo. Guess Ill have to follow up in the morning and let yall know what I find.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I appreciate it!

Chrislnow

Whoops, needed to elaborate a tad. The power wire is running to an additional amp behind the seat, but I believe to be rather small, 300 or so only powering a 10" sub.

Sturmzinck

have you checked your alternator? sounds like it to me...

Chrislnow

I did have it checked the morning after I replaced my battery. I drove it to Autozone (not to say that my faith is concrete in these guys lol) but yes, I had it checked. The guy used something at the battery terminals while it was running. Is this not as accurate as a bench test?

trio

With the jeep not running, you could pull of the ground clamp from the battery. Then jump from battery negative back to the ground clamp with a test light or meter to see if there is a current draw. I should be minimal, as in the test light should barely glow.

My first impression is the alternator also. With the jeep off, check the volts at the battery. Start the Jeep, and recheck at the battery terminals. The second reading should be higher since the alternator should be charging the battery. If is not, then the alternator could be bad.

Even if the reading is higher, dirty contacts at the posts can reduce the amount of charge the battery actually receives. So clean clamps and posts if corroded!

You could have any one or all three conditions going on.