I have a 2001 GC with the 4.0 and last night I went out to run to the store and it wouldn't start, no issues with it not starting previously. When I turned the key it would do a couple cranks then would stop and the horn would honk twice. I would hear a click at the end too. I removed both terminals and cleaned them really well but then it did the same thing. I finally put the jumper cables to it and it popped right off. I drove it around for about 10 minutes then turned it off and it fired back up when I tried to start it again. Now this morning when I went to go to work it did the same thing so I jumped it right away and it again popped right off............. Is it just a worn out battery? It is a 2001 and I bought it a few years ago and haven't replaced the battery so not sure how old it is. Never had any starting issues until last night. I don't have a voltage meter and am at work right now so I can't check. Could it be the alternator not charging it? I don't want to buy a new battery if it's the alternator although I'm sure a new battery wouldn't be a waste of money either way.

I'm just curious if any of you have experienced the same horn honking deal when trying to start yours and know exactly what it is and it might save me some time trouble shooting mine. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

RIZ

 

No idea what the horn deal is all about, but if you check the SIDES and/or ENDS of the battery case, you should find a small label with a letter and a number on it. The letter corresponds to a month (alpha order, not initial,) and the number is the last digit of the year. This is the "date code" that will tell you when the battery was made (inside of a month.)

They don't last like they used to.

It sounds like you have a "dead cell" in the batter, which will drain the other five if it's allowed to sit. If you start within a few minutes of shutting down, the battery will still have a "surface charge" that is often enough to crank the engine. But, let it sit for an hour or so? Flat battery (or nearly so.)

I have posted a detailed writeup on how to test your primary electrical system - you need a DMM and a helper. Find it, run through it (takes 15 minutes or so,) and interpret your results. Replace components PRN (but, you'll know what you need to replace, instead of "shotgunning" parts...)

 

Simple battery swap. $125 later and it starts no problem. I've just never heard the hork honk before when a battery goes dead.

RIZ