joe3681

So my 01 Cherokee for some reason is draining the battery. I'm tired of fixing this heap so I'd rather just rig up a kill switch than nitpick through what causes could be. I was thinking of wiring a switch to the dash that would go to right before the battery. Im not wiring this to deter thieves or anything like that like others have asked.

I've heard there can be some adverse affects from wiring it in there. (More than just radio presets and stuff).


Anyone have any other ideas about a good spot to rig it up to? Maybe something closer to the dash that I wont need 12ft. of huge wire?

Any ideas let me know, thanks!

89Laredo

Not a good idea, your ECU will have to constantly be in "Relearn" condition.

I would stop being lazy and track down your issues. lol

If you really want to do it, though I dont recommend it you could buy a universal battery disconnect and put it behind your grille. Theyre not very expensive.

ol"blue

Check your manual to see if you have an "Ignition Off Draw" fuse. Removing that will eliminate your problem. It should be a 50 amp fuse and powers the Junction box if your vehicle is so equipped. Both my ZJ and WJ have this.
Dan

TrekkerJmm

You could also put a test lite in between the negative terminal and battery and start pulling fuses until the lite goes out to see approx what is doing it...Tj

posjeepxj

test lights are not the best tool to use. a multimeter is. then if it is more than one fuse you could tell by watching the amp draw actually go down

98 JeepJeep

check the glove box light.

joe3681

It has nothing to do with being lazy, and everything to do with being tired of this thing running like **** no matter what I do and of course the magical Multiple Cylinder Misfire that nobody can seem to figure out.

89Laredo

Many options:
A: Figure it out
B: Sell the jeep, buy a different one.
C: Quit Whining About it

/Sarcasm

Rant/
Anyway, I still think you should track it down and do not find this to be a good idea. Other people have posted some very good information and options for you to look into. Pulling Fuses, etc would take a maximum of maybe 20 mins. Probably less.

Your battery has NOTHING to do with it running like crap.
Have you gotten your Alternator tested? Probably not.
Have you Gotten your battery load tested and Certified good? Probably not.
Instead, youre on here thinking we are the magical all knowing jeep gods that can just look at it and it will be fixed. You have to do some thinking for yourself and figure things out.

Either take it to a shop, or figure it out yourself. Theres no reason to have to rig in a battery disconnect. This will cause more problems than it will solve.

/End rant.
No offense to you. This is just my opinion

As for the Cyl Misfire:
What are your symptoms? Is it always "random misfire" or is there a cyl 3 in there sometimes too? Cyl 3 misfire is a common problem in 00-01 models and is fixed with a heat shield around the NO 3 injector, I have a link to a TSB if you want it.
Also, these models are known for cracked heads. What does your oil look like? Are you losing coolant?

joe3681

Brand new alternator
Brand new battery
Brand new plugs
Brand new coil pack


Pardon me for asking a question. I thought that's what people did on forums. Or is this forum reserved for asking questions about why my Jeep drives like **** after I jacked up 6ft??

Tural

no. it's all good. opinions, opinions. they're like................ shoes. everybody has one.... or two.... a pair. keep the mood light. ask for opinions. figure out what uses most electricity. start disconnecting major items for a few hours and see what it does.
starter ground wire...
It's not a good idea to put a kill switch on the battery. can you imagine how many times your computer has to reset and learn your system over and over and over and over. it's like having amnesia. have you ever seen "50 first dates"?
how long does it take for your battery to drain?

Mattpar

until you get the problem fixed, you could put a small battery tender on it. this will keep it charged without over charging it when you park it.

I worked on my jeep all tuesday. Had the dome light on the whole time. Went to go to work this morning and it was dead. Jumped it, didnt like to stay running intil it relearned its idle,...

Tural

same thing happened to me last sunday. changed the battery. kept it off for a few hours. took it 1-2 minutes to understand that when u turn the key, it's supposed to start and run.

joe3681

If I go out and start it soon after driving it (while it's still warm) it's fine. If it's been sitting over night, or the first start of the morning it takes a few seconds to start. Sometimes it doesn't then when I try again right away it fires up. The battery gauge is a little lower now than when it was new. One thing I wonder about (prolly unrelated, but electrical so maybe a connection) is that the dome light doesn't come on when you open the drivers door. Bad switch?

It doesn't seem like it's the starter going out at all, but I've heard a few times around here about a starter pulling too much. I put a battery with higher cca's in when I bought this new one. I dont recall off hand but I'm pretty sure it's 800something. I left my electrical testers at home, so in the morning I'll go out and see what's still drawing power even though it's off. I'm going to get some schematics of the wiring tonight so I can see what SHOULD be constant, and what is. That'll be a good place to start I reckon.

Tural

i've had to put a half a dozen new starters into Army trucks because a bad starter solenoid drained the battery.

joe3681

Hmmmmm. The starter looks pretty nasty so who knows how old it is. I may just give that a shot...