no charge. but runs fine with no pos. cable
 

So my jeep is an 86. For some reason the battery does not charge. I put a brand new battery in it. Then every time i restart the jeep there is less and less juice. eventually the battery becomes dead. I have had many many alt. problems replace ten in my last jeep. done volt reg. also. HERE'S THE TWIST. it runs fine when i jump it with a dead battery and i can even take off the pos. terminal and it will still run. Why is the battery not charging?:surrender:

What do the primary cables look like? Alternator output, battery positive, grounds, etc?

the ground is the original ground from when the jeep was first born. its beat to ****. The pos. terminal is a little corroded but should be good enough. And all the other connections are eh id say fair. If the alt was bad it would die on me when i took off the pos. terminal right? and i just got a new battery. I cant drive around with low volatage turn on the heat all the way and turn up the music but it wont die. its very odd its a manual.

Well, there's probably a bad connection somewhere leading to the battery. You'll probably have to disassemble the cabling starting at the battery, cleaning/tightening/replacing as needed until you get to the alternator feed. Fix up those grounds too, they are just as important as the positive connections, if not more so.

The Alt is working if the engine runs with the battery unhooked, but that doesn't mean it can generate enough current to recharge the battery. Still, I'd bet on a bad connection somewhere.

good call ill d that in the morn. classic jeep problem completely redid my entire electtrical system in my old jeep. this is why i miss this forum. my 91 was so sick. Then i traded my 91 lifted blacked out limoo tinted roof racked with all leather and sub system and deck and dash mat and 4.0 on 31's that was h.o for a stupid 98 mustang. i hate ford. I'll let u know what happens! wish me luck!:sweatdrop:

Haha. I turned wrenches at the ford dealership many years ago. The only thing I'll buy from Ford is trucks. :D

Good luck!