I'm working on a 1998 Jeep Cherokee, inline 6, auto, The car sat for a long time and the battery died completely. I hooked up a charger to the battery and the interior lights came on, all good. I turned the ignition switch, it clicked, then all power went out. I left the charger on for about 30 minutes, but still the car is completely dead. the fuses in the black box behind the battery all look good, as do the ones in the interior fuse panel. Is there a main fuse somewhere? I know I fried something, just not sure what to check.

 

Have you tried jump starting it in the "normal" fashion using a regular set of jumper cables. Sometimes if a battery is dead enough it can suck all the power out of those small lithium jump packs. If it sat "for a long time" the battery may be way beyond saving.

 

I have a pickup that sat in a field for 7 years. I used what is called a battery rejuvinator (fancy charger) and left it on all day and night. The next day the truck started up on the first try. The battery lasted for almost 2 years before I had to replace it.

 

Sounds to me like a battery cable connection is not making good contact or the fusible link in the fuse/relay box (PDC) has the same problem. You risked burning out your charger by trying to pull the starter amps from it rather than waiting until the battery had enough of a recharge to pick up the load. If I recall correctly, the starter can pull up to 600amps inrush current when it initially starts turning. Remove and clean both battery cable post clamps and charge the battery fully before your second attempt.

The fusible link is connected under the battery cable mounting bolt at the front of the PDC.

 

X2 on the bad connection. That’s exactly what happens. Does it have factory terminals still or are the clamped onto the cables? You may need to clean the connections either to the battery or the cable to the clamps. I had to cut my cables and reattach them. Also had to replace the clamps because they wouldn’t tighten enough and cracked.

 

Thanks. I think this is what I need, the fusible link at the front of the PDC. Just didn't know where it was located. Te charger I'm using is a commercial 6/12 volt 600 amp unit plugged into the wall. It's got a "start" setting that I was using.