Dead KJ for now

CaKJFreedom · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:00 am

Hi all, I have a wtf question.....

So I drive the half hour home from work, park the KJ in the street, hit lock on the key fob and walk away. It sounds like it's locking. Over and over and over with the interior lights flashing really dimly. So I walk back and hit unlock and it does the same. I use the key for the first time ever and unlock it. No interior lights. Turn the key in the ignition and nothing. Absolutely no sounds or lights of any kind. Tried the spare key and got the same results. So........wtf? Is it likely the battery died now with zero warning? Or is it something nasty I don't want to have to accept?

2003, 90,500 miles on the original battery.

For now I disconnected the battery in case it decided to unlock later tonight and have the XJ ready to take to work in the morning. (couldn't get my tools out of the back either since I have the security option, no exterior locks except on the driver's door. Man that'd suck on a trail)

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

jsc7002 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:06 am

be my guess that you batterys had it, it happened to me when I was on vacation it just went w/ no warning and when I tried to start it it didnt do anything but the lights would flash and it would keep unlocking the doors

corwyyn · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:55 am

x2, definitely take your battery down to someplace like Autozone and get it tested, you'll probably wind up taking a new one home

AZScout · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:57 am

It might be a bad alternator not charging the battery meaning you were driving on just battery power alone. Once it stopped, it died. This happened to me in my mustang. I was carrying a spare battery and swapping it out when one would go bad. Did this until I figured out it was the alternator. Had to learn basic electronics on my own. Nothing like reinventing the wheel... :roll:

Hope it's just the battery though.

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:46 am

if the battery is original then its surely near the end of its life. or may have just reached it

Uffe · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:41 am

A battery can collapse within minutes. I had that experience in my Patrol. Just after stopping the car and getting in a few hours later for a drive it could not start.
Replaced battery and everything was fine. The Patrol had two batteries and one of them had died. It would not power the lights on the car on its own.

Just get a new battery. Those non-servicable batteries probably won't last as long as normal batteries with plugs for pouring in demineralized water. You could test your battery but the no lights and such are plenty indication that there is no power on the battery.

If you want to test your alternator you can have some guy jumpstart your car and see if it will keep running on its own. If it does alternator is fine.

My guess is your battery is dead. On my 03 the battery has been changed within 1 year. It is just so clean I can't believe it has not been recently replaced.

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:40 am

Dead battery... especially now that the northern hemisphere is experiencing the cold winter months.

dirtykj · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:04 am

When the battery in my wife's KJ finally cooked in the heat last summer, it did the same thing too. Doors would lock and unlock constantly (but only weakly) and the reargate lock kept clicking. This happened without warning as well.

Maximum Carnage · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:09 am

I would have to agree it's the batetry the same happen to me.

Majority wins

get the battery tested and you'll see you need a new one.

WoodysKJ · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:18 am

Not the alternator. DEAD BATTERY!!!

don't even waste your time getting it tested. 2003 with 90+K. It's MORE than shot.

All hell goes wild when the batteries die cuz the computer is starved for juice.

Jeep4me99 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:34 pm

woody is probably right, but i kept having probs with the battery because the negative terminal thingy could not clamp on the negative terminal enough due to corrosion of the bolt. This caused the KJ's system to have a poor ground. So I finally discovered, after having to be jumped several mornings, that after locking the KJ, the rear gate would continue to lock/unlock itself, killing the battery. Replaced the bolt, got a better clamp, VIOLA!

but orig battery for you = probably dead.

Edvalencia · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:50 pm

It's exactly what happened to me in Death Valley (Just ask JJ :oops:

). I turned the ignition off, then the locks started acting funny, the lights got very dim & the Jeep wouldn't turn on. If Alex didn't have that spare battery, it really would have sucked.

Get a new battery & have the alternator checked, just in case. Then test it out by driving down to SoCal on the 26th and run Nightmare Gulch with us :wink:

hatu · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 1:07 pm

Yep....Same exact thing for me....43000 on it. New battery and she was all good.

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:32 pm

Time to get a new Exorcist. Sounds like a typical possession issue.

:lol:

jeepkj02 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:39 pm

Wow..90,000 miles on a factory battery. I hope mine lasts that long! I'm at 76-77K miles....I bet I just jinx'd it...!! D'oh :roll:

jsc7002 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:47 pm

jeepkj02 wrote:

Wow..90,000 miles on a factory battery. I hope mine lasts that long! I'm at 76-77K miles....I bet I just jinx'd it...!! D'oh :roll:

it just about lasted twice as long as mine did I replaced mine at 50k

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:52 pm

Good gosh, 90k and 5 years on the stock battery?! Its more than past its time to die.

Either that or you have some mean corrosion going on with the battery terminals. I would just go ahead and get a new battery no matter what, its going to die soon.

Burchie · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:42 pm

Edvalencia wrote:

It's exactly what happened to me in Death Valley (Just ask JJ :oops:

).

JJ wasn't there. But I was. :twisted:

Edvalencia · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:50 pm

Oh yeah

My wife still reminds me of that incident :cry:

dirtykj · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:59 pm

Edvalencia wrote:

Oh yeah

My wife still reminds me of that incident :cry:

Bummer eh?

Dead KJ for now

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