jennyg

My 97 Grand Cherokee limited has been having battery problems for a few years. Last July we replaced the battery and the problems went away until a few months back when it started raining.

Now if you don't run the car every couple of days then the battery will die.

The car had some substantial leaks coming into the driver and passenger side floors due to improper seals and clogged drains. I addressed those issues and the leaks are resolved but I think all that water coming in created some electrical issues. While I was trying to find the leak (with the keys out of the ignition) I heard a clicking noise coming from the passenger foot area. Somewhere in the area of the blower motor but I couldn't quite determine if it was the blower motor. When I fiddled with the fuses I could recreate a similar clicking by unplugging either the HVAC fuse or the ABS fuse. Eventually the clicking stopped and I haven't heard it again.

I tried using multimeter to test for a parsitic drain but I couldn't find one. I'm wondering if possibly I have a sporadic parasitic drain that isn't draining all the time.

The engine has also been cutting off recently when I idle or make hard turns at slow speeds. Maybe related to the battery being drained? After the car runs for 20 minutes or so the risk of cutoff seems greatly reduced. I cleaned the IAC which made it idle smoother, but still cuts off at times. What else can I do? Any chance that things could just dry out and start working normally again?

johnbanghart

check your hatch switch maby its getting wet and making a connection also ive noticed on mine my lock some times flicks a few times when its damp not all the time though

jennyg

So I figured out how to use the multimeter correctly and determined that were two unwanted draws on the battery, a 180 ma draw from the Circuit Breaker in the J cavity and an 80 ma draw from the fuse in slot 11 on the power distribution center. The J cavity controls power seats which I don't really care about so I unplugged the circuit breaker and the draw went away. The fuse in slot 11 is linked to "Memory functions, Power Windows, Power Locks, Power Mirrors, Remote Keyless Entry, and trailer towing". I unplugged it to stop the draw but not having power windows is a PITA and what are memory functions, are they important? What else can I do now that I've discovered the culprit.

johnbanghart

i think memory functions would be on the radio and prolly the memory for the seat position and mirror positions

whiteshark1970

This post is about the electrical problems I am having with my jeep.

I have a 89 cherokee laredo straight six. To start, my turn signal was not working, so my boyfriend changed the light in the wrong way. He went from behind to change and and stabbed the wiring harness with a screwdriver to get it out of the way. Since then my gauge which indicates the voltage of the battery goes from around 14 to 9 back to 14 volts. Actually when i give it gas it goes up and when I let off the gas it goes down. I changed out the alternator. Now when I turn the heater on the voltage goes down, turn it off and it goes back up. Some times the turn signal on the right don't work and then it will switch to the drivers side. The passenger side back light is not as bright as the other side. I do not know where all the grounds are located, so i can check them. If anyone could offer a diagram or tell me where to look for each ground it would be much appreciated. Also, the fuse for the turn signal keep melting and it causes my dash lights to go out along with the back lights. Any help is greatly needed. I am no mechanic, but I do not mind trying to do stuff myself. I took out my alternator and replaced it by myself, so as long as I have the tools necessary to do the job, I can and will do it. Thank you, The Whiteshark