Hi all,
I had a weird issue happen yesterday. I pulled into a store parking lot, all was running fine with the Jeep (although the radio seemed to be acting strange). 2001 XJ, 209k miles.

I came back 2 minutes later to start the jeep, and I had NO power, no lights, nothing. I turned the ignition key and there was nothing.

I heard a tiny clicking noise which I could tell was coming from the stereo (aftermarket JVC).

Since I wasn't going anywhere, I popped the front bezel off, removed the detachable face of the stereo and tried to wiggle the unit up and down to see if there was a short. About a minute later, I heard a winding/whirring noise which sounded like the stereo reset.

I turned the key and all the sudden, all the power came back.

I put the stereo in myself 2 years ago. Never had any issues with it.

Does this sound like a stereo short? Any other ideas? I don't want this to happen again. thanks.

 

No. A short in the stereo wouldn't cause major electrical failure since most of the devices you listed are on seperate circuits.

I'd start at the battery terminals and go from there.

I assume it started correctly after the power came back on?

 

Start with the basics, check battery terminals, ground points (both fenders, Engine, and firewall) and battery voltage while running... Could be as simple as a bad ground or a dirty terminal.

Late models do all sorts of funny stuff if they undervolt