why does the battery ocasionaly die? my girlfriend's jeep will be just fine one day, then out of the blue, the battery is dead. nothing left on. ignition shut off.. keys removed lights shut off... everything off. not even a radar detector to drain batt. it only hapens once in a while. no rhym or reason either. different temps, humidity,,, whatever. i can only guess it has a dead short somewhere. my question is, where do i start looking?????? for now i bought her a battery jump pack. we have had to use it once, and it worked fine. lets hope it will for the rest of the times we need it to, until i can figure this thing out.

any help from you guys would be much appreciated!!!

 

ok, it did it again today, accept i notticed it isnt a dead short in the electricle system. it might be a stsrter problem, the mechanic changed out some relays, and said it might posibly do the trick, but he didnt charge us, because he didnt know for sure if it was the problem or not. is it posible for a starter relay to intermitenly go bad, but work some times?

 

well what exactly was it doing? you say it dies but did the accessories work,did it turn over? what was happening?

 

from what my girlfriend describes, when she turns the key, there is nothing. not even a click in the starter. but the other times she would jump the battery either by another vehicle, or a battery jump pack, and iit worked.

 

When it's not starting, does everything else power up (lights, buzzers, dash, etc...)?
Next time it doesn't wanna start, you might wanna try putting it in N to see if it will start next time, if that works out, you might need a NNS rebuild/Adjustment...

 

yea,i still don't think your giving us quite enough info here but even so the fact that we're dealing with a 2005 is going to make this a bit difficult due to the amount of computer and sensor related problems this could be,is there a check engine light coming on? i would almost just reccomend have the dealer run a diagnosis on it might be worth your while

 

have the battery and alt checked. extream cold can do a battery in expecially on a battery not made for it.........thats why you look at the cold cranking output when buying.
check your hood, glove box for faulty lights

 

why has no one said take the terminals off and clean them? thats the first thing you should do. sounds like a bad connection.

the stock battery in my dad's 05 was ****ty, so it might be on its way out anyway.

 

cause we was waiting for captain obvious.....hahahahahaha

 

yea could be terminals but if he has any accessories working i doubt it

 

its a brand new battery, all connections from battery, to ground, starter, alternator, have been gone over, no corosion, or loose, or frayed wires. no check engine lights, so i am asuming no diagnostic codes to be read by dealer. all dash light, buzzers etc. are in working order, and headlights are bright as well. problem has happened in 90 degree weather, 25 degree weather, and 72 degree weather. however i am not sure of moon fase at the problem times. just kidding. is it possible for a starter relay to ocasionaly stay open when it is called to close?

the only other thing i can think is that the starter itself is going on me.

thanks for the questions so far, i guess trouble shooting is the way to the answer right?

 

Swap the relay with another relay in the block and test both things... That will let you know about the relay pretty quick...

If that pans out ok, then either mess with the NSS or drop the starter and get it tested...

 

what is the nss?

 

Neutral Safety Switch...

 

I really do not think you have a starter problem it could be but probably not! Let me tell you about a starter motor ( its nothing but a electro-magnet with a solenoid attached! when current from the battery and ignition system goes to the starter it causes the solenoid to move transferring current to the starter motor, the starter motor engages and spins the flywheel, then when the flywheel is turning faster then the starter motor it disengages and your engine starts) if the solenoid cannot transfer energy to your starter motor then it will cause a rapid clicking noise and you will know you have power but no start! You have nothing so there is no power even going to the starter which deffinently sounds like a ground! crawl underneath it and make sure the wires on the starter solenoid are good! if soo then you know if you hear nothing its not the starter motor although if nothing else is wrong on the solenoid to the starter motor you will see the letter 'S', it stands for switch! if inside the solenoid of the starter the switch stays engaged and doesnt disengage then it could be draining your battery the easiest thing to do is when its off take a voltometer and make sure the battery has power then check the switch cable on the starter! if it has power it could be draining your battery!