Hey All,

First post here, but have used the forums a few times and they always seem helpful.

I'm having electrical issues with my WJ. It seems like a common problem that no one can diagnose. At first, my gauges and lights would go crazy when I tried to crank it. After hitting the brake or pressing the Unlock button on my Keyless Entry it would crank up just fine. The other day I was driving home and noticed everything got dim all of a sudden. I turned the car off when I got home and tried to restart it and it was completely dead. I got it jumped off and drove to AutoZone to check the alternator. The readings were all over the place so he said the alternator was bad. I ordered a used one on ebay and was going to try to install it, but my neighbor came over and said it sounded like the voltage regulator. I bought a battery charger and charged the battery back up and it still wouldn't crank. So I guess it's not the alternator (I have an extra now if someone needs one.) I've read online that people have had this problem and I've never seen a solution to it. I've also read too many stories of taking it to the dealership or shop and still having no luck.

I'm just wondering if anyone here has had the same problem or can help me diagnose this. Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

OK, first let me apologize because this is going to sound like a smart-*** response, but it really is not. My WJ was doing some of the same things your WJ is doing. Mine is an 01 GC with the 4.0l. My fix was a simple battery terminal cleaning. Not discounting the fact that you may have some serious issues, but have you tried a simple cleaning first? Checked all grounds?

 

Lol. Mine too. Just get some new terminals which are like 6 bucks and clean off your wires. Get some baking soda and water, make a paste out of it and get all the corrosive nasty **** off of your battery and wires.

 

Tried that last time it did this and it didn't work. That's when I tried the Unlock botton on the Keyless remote and that fixed it. What's weird is I charged the battery completely (I think) and it wouldn't start. I hooked it up to another car for a jump and it started right up. Surely that's the battery, right? I mean, wouldn't it not be the computer or something else if the other battery jumped it off just fine?

As far as grounding goes...I followed a green wire from the terminal to a bolt. I'm not very good with cars as you might can tell, but I'm trying to learn a little.

Thanks

 

Fixed it. I replaced the battery terminal clamps a few months ago, but now one of them had a lot of corrosion where it clamps on to the exposed wire, so I couldn't see it until I took the clamps off. Cleaned it off and it started right up