Hello all. Recently I changed out the battery cables on my 2000 jeep cherokee sport and after doing so the battery wont hold a charge. The battery is 5 years old but was working until I installed the new cables. I've retraced my steps and retightened everything down more than once. I've checked all the fuses for shorts and things like that but have found nothing. Could it be a parasitic drain or is my battery just old and I need a new one? Thanks in advanced for the help

 

You would need to charge the battery and then load test it to know for sure. 5 years is very old for a battery, here in south Texas you would be extremely lucky to make it to 4 years on a battery.

My guess is that it is just a coincidence. But when you say you changed the cables, did you install new OEM cables or make your own?

 

I had some custom built from 4 gauge wire

 

Got any pics? How did you terminate the wires? and what type of 4AWG wire did you use? Did you mess with the battery temp sensor (I don't know if it would affect charging or not)? Do you have a CEL?

 

I'll go take some and I got them made from the automotive battery store down the street. So they did all the work.

 

There you go sir

 

Oh well, if someone else did the work then who knows if it was done right. Take some pics though, we might be able to identify a problem.

 

Ah okay, see the pics now.

 

I just went to stay it and it was completely dead

 

I can't really tell from the pics how they dealt with the alternator wiring and such. How they spliced into that is important. Overall it looks okay. I would have cleaned things up a bit but you can't expect too much from shops today.

 

But really man, you need to remove the battery and take it somewhere to be charged and load tested.

 

I installed the cables myself. And I left the alternator alone

 

I can't really tell from the pics, but on my 2001 the harness is combined and the wires for th AC, alt, etc feed to the positive terminal on the fuse box, so they would have had to connect at some point. Unless it is different thru the years. What year is yours?

That said, testing the battery should be your first priority.

 

I just looked at mine, it looks like the green wire from the fuse box feeds the Alt. But it all combines in a main group of wires so I am not sure what is going on in that bundle when you pull off the wire sheathing, etc. But on yours to run the wire to the starter you would have had to pull that bundle apart unless it has been modified before, mine is pretty much bone stock.

 

^^^ this.

Before anything you need a charged battery. If you have a charger and a multimeter, slow charge the battery, disconnect and check again in about a half hour to see if the voltage changed. Or you could take it to a parts store to charge and test it.

Personally, I would do these steps in this order if battery checks out okay:

1.Check the wires. Use a multimeter to check resistance (ohms) or continuity if meter has it.
2. Positive and negative side grounds.
3. Parasitic drains. Last because the first two are quick and easy.