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I dont know what to do...
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17301		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Jeepjeepster [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:50 am ]
Post subject:  I dont know what to do...
My battery was dead for the second time in two months this morning. It would be ok if I was leaving something on, but it goes dead for no reason what so ever. It only has 24k on it, but its over the 3yr warranty. I took it to two dealerships before the time was up and they both said they had no clue. If there isnt any TSB's or the problem isnt looking them in the face, they will NOT go out of their way to find the problem.. :evil:

I dont know what to do. My dad says that the inside lights are on when he goes to work sometimes, and Ive been sitting in the jeep and they come on for no reason. I can turn basically anything on in the jeep and they will go right off.

At first I thought it was my XM adaptor draining it b/c I had it wired directly to the battery. I unhooked that, and its been fine for awhile. Then this morning its dead.. Its the optima Red top and its only a year old. I started it again after I jumped it and it starts just fine.

After I got back to school this morning, I went ahead and took the fuse out for the BCM, which also does the inside lights. It sits in the parking lot all week while Im at school, so I didnt want to take a chance. The bad thing about the BCM not having power, the alarm doesn't work, and its parked in one of the most remote parking lots. :(

I need help. :?

Would their be any reason that my AMP or capacitor for my sub would draw current? If it didnt die at random times, I would have a better idea what to check. Ive not added anything since it went dead last.. And it sits for days without start at school. Before this morning, I had started it on Saturday when i washed it.. Today is monday.. only one day..
Author:  moose [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:02 pm ]
Post subject: 
is it all the interior lights, or just one of them?
Author:  Neal [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:10 pm ]
Post subject: 
multifunction switch ?
Author:  Scottie [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:21 pm ]
Post subject: 
Your problem is right there in your thread. The fact that your motor sits for days at a time without being given a decent run is your problem.
Author:  Jeger [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:24 pm ]
Post subject: 
I posted this in another thread, but our van would kick the lights on at night when it got cold, ended up being a bad door switch. Of course this would also trigger the alarm on our van. Do you set the alarm when you are at home?

I also read in another thread somewhere that indicated that a wet BCM wiring connection could be causing all sorts of problems. I think they said it was under the rear seat? You have probably read that alread too though.
Author:  FastTRX [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:35 pm ]
Post subject: 
I know practically nothing when it comes to electrical parts...

But...we went to Florida over christmas break and ended up having to buy a battery for an ATV while we were vacationing. A quick stop at Walmart...a great guy :roll: helped us find....well not really....but we found what we needed. But before we found what we needed he gave this Loooong explanation how the battery we buy down here wont work because there are two different types of batteries....southern and northern batteries. This sounds funny....but it makes sense...northern batteries have more cold cranking power since they are designed with cold temperatures in mind while southern batteries are used to warm weather all year round. Can anyone explain the difference or add anymore information about this? It makes sense....maybe it could help in this situation? It probably will end up being the wiring....but maybe a colder cranking battery would help in the long run since your KJ is sitting for a long time?
Author:  Jeepjeepster [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:36 pm ]
Post subject: 
moose wrote:
is it all the interior lights, or just one of them?


Yup, its all of them. Two on the front, two in the floor, and the one in the trunk..

I thought the same thing Scottie, but if you go back to my first post, I washed the jeep on saturday and drove it then. That was only 1 day ago and it was dead this morning. The doors wouldnt even unlock.
Author:  alljeep [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:45 pm ]
Post subject: 
You have a short in the system somewhere or a bad control module that is making things turn on without you calling for them to turn on. My CRD just sat 6 weeks with it's Red Top Optima without starting. I cranked it over today and it fired right up with NO problems.

You may need to go to a dealer and pay the basic diagnosis fee to have them scan for all codes and maybe they can find what control module may be bad.
Author:  Jeepjeepster [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:59 pm ]
Post subject: 
Not to sure about that FastTRX. Ive never heard of a southern and a northern battery. :shock:

I was thinking that it could be the stalk, but why would all the lights go off is I touch anything? If the stalk was shorted out, I could open a door or anything and they should stay on. With all the complaints I read about the dash light flashing, I wouldnt be surprised if Im out $400 for a new computer. I will only do that when its really needed.

I know its bad on my battery to go dead so often though.
Author:  FastTRX [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:04 pm ]
Post subject: 
Jeepjeepster wrote:
Not to sure about that FastTRX. Ive never heard of a southern and a northern battery. :shock:

Not sure...maybe the guy was just jerking our chain... :lol: We could tell he was one of those anti-northerner kind of southern folk who thinks all northern people are stupid! Any battery experts on here?
Author:  Skipperb [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:38 pm ]
Post subject: 
FastTRX wrote:
Jeepjeepster wrote:
Not to sure about that FastTRX. Ive never heard of a southern and a northern battery. :shock:

Not sure...maybe the guy was just jerking our chain... :lol: We could tell he was one of those anti-northerner kind of southern folk who thinks all northern people are stupid! Any battery experts on here?


Don't reckoned I hear that ,but
How many left hand monkey wrenches did yall by
Author:  Maximum Carnage [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:57 pm ]
Post subject: 
FastTRX wrote:
I know practically nothing when it comes to electrical parts...

But...we went to Florida over christmas break and ended up having to buy a battery for an ATV while we were vacationing. A quick stop at Walmart...a great guy :roll: helped us find....well not really....but we found what we needed. But before we found what we needed he gave this Loooong explanation how the battery we buy down here wont work because there are two different types of batteries....southern and northern batteries. This sounds funny....but it makes sense...northern batteries have more cold cranking power since they are designed with cold temperatures in mind while southern batteries are used to warm weather all year round. Can anyone explain the difference or add anymore information about this? It makes sense....maybe it could help in this situation? It probably will end up being the wiring....but maybe a colder cranking battery would help in the long run since your KJ is sitting for a long time?


I will have to agree on the battery story. It will make a difference what part of the country you are living in when you buy a new battery. Every place that sells automotive batteries should be knowledgeable with this information. A store that is located where it gets extremely hot in the summer will have a different battery than a place that will normally get extremely cold in the winter. If you simply go to the Sears website battery section they are grouped by brand, group size TEMPERATE ZONE and price. Other batteries site will ask/offer the same info.

But it sounds to be like it's a short.
Author:  moose [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:10 pm ]
Post subject: 
Maximum Carnage wrote:
FastTRX wrote:
I know practically nothing when it comes to electrical parts...

But...we went to Florida over christmas break and ended up having to buy a battery for an ATV while we were vacationing. A quick stop at Walmart...a great guy :roll: helped us find....well not really....but we found what we needed. But before we found what we needed he gave this Loooong explanation how the battery we buy down here wont work because there are two different types of batteries....southern and northern batteries. This sounds funny....but it makes sense...northern batteries have more cold cranking power since they are designed with cold temperatures in mind while southern batteries are used to warm weather all year round. Can anyone explain the difference or add anymore information about this? It makes sense....maybe it could help in this situation? It probably will end up being the wiring....but maybe a colder cranking battery would help in the long run since your KJ is sitting for a long time?


I will have to agree on the battery story. It will make a difference what part of the country you are living in when you buy a new battery. Every place that sells automotive batteries should be knowledgeable with this information. A store that is located where it gets extremely hot in the summer will have a different battery than a place that will normally get extremely cold in the winter. If you simply go to the Sears website battery section they are grouped by brand, group size TEMPERATE ZONE and price. Other batteries site will ask/offer the same info.

But it sounds to be like it's a short.


I agree that it sounds like a short. But I think the only difference in the North vs. South thing is the CCA (cold cranking amps). In the north, you need to get all the amps you can to turn the engine. In the south, you don't need that much. So the "northern" battery just looks like it is designed for a higher output discharge. Southern battery might be cheaper or designed for a longer discharge - not sure, this is just a SWAG based on data on the Sears site.
Author:  sleeve84028 [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:19 pm ]
Post subject: 
It can't be a short - the wires shorting out would blow a fuse, not cause the lights to come on randomly. You could pull the fuse for the lights over night to see if that truely is the circuit causing your problems but my guess is that a controller somehwere is faulty.

The difference between a southern battery and a northern battery has to do with the CCA ratings and reserve power. Up north where it gets mighty cold, a battery needs to have some serious Cold Cranking capability where as in the south a battery might just need a small CA rating

Edit: Moose beat me to the battery confirmation for the different regions...
Author:  Jeepjeepster [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:43 pm ]
Post subject: 
But since it doesnt it so randomly, I dont know when its going to do it. Thats the problem..

It did it last semester after sitting at school for a week. I thought maybe something small was pulling a current and didnt really worry about it. I got the campus police to boost it for me.

It sat not started almost all of Christmas break. I didnt drive it much at all and it was fine the entire time. Then, this morning it was dead as could be after one day. So its got to be something pulling a decent amount of amps to drain it in one day.

If it did this every night, I could start ruling things out and go from there.. But it does it so random, I dont want to be stuck out in the middle of now where b/c the stupid computer(or whatever it is) is playing games with me! My mom ask me this morning what I thought it was, and I said the computer must be mad at me today. :lol:

I guess I could try to find a stalk and see if that does anything. I keep the lights on the inside turned OFF all the time. I dont see any use in them coming on when I open the doors during the day anyway..

Anyone have a stalk for sale that has the foglights built into it?

Edit: Could it be the battery? I was just thinking, I got this Optima around 1.25yr ago and it never did it before that. BUT, this past October was the first time it had done it, and it was right at one year old then. I have a snap-on battery tester at home and I tested it when it did it back in October, it held 13volts with the load on it.. The thing has a 3yr warranty on it, but since I tested it and it was good, Advance auto wont take it back if their tester says its good too. :? Would a battery just die like that then hold charge for awhile? It was 8F this morning. :(
Author:  FastTRX [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:59 pm ]
Post subject: 
Skipperb wrote:
FastTRX wrote:
Jeepjeepster wrote:
Not to sure about that FastTRX. Ive never heard of a southern and a northern battery. :shock:

Not sure...maybe the guy was just jerking our chain... :lol: We could tell he was one of those anti-northerner kind of southern folk who thinks all northern people are stupid! Any battery experts on here?


Don't reckoned I hear that ,but
How many left hand monkey wrenches did yall by

NONE! :lol: :?

I think he may have tried selling us one though....
Author:  Skipperb [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:55 pm ]
Post subject: 
We were to go on a trip Friday, so I took the Jeep in and got tires Wednesday .I did not tell my wife and Thursday she took it to a SHELL station and got new tires, The Shell rep had to meet me at that station
I had my fathers Lawyer with us and I got my tires and got to keep the ones they put on.( That's why I made that comment about Monkey wrenches they will try anything).
Author:  FastTRX [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 5:08 pm ]
Post subject: 
Skipperb wrote:
We were to go on a trip Friday, so I took the Jeep in and got tires Wednesday .I did not tell my wife and Thursday she took it to a SHELL station and got new tires, The Shell rep had to meet me at that station
I had my fathers Lawyer with us and I got my tires and got to keep the ones they put on.( That's why I made that comment about Monkey wrenches they will try anything).

I'm guessing they were trying to keep the ones (new tires) that were previously on the jeep..... :roll:
Author:  Kniggit [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 5:33 pm ]
Post subject: 
Interior lights can be enough over just about 10 hrs or so if the battery is marginal, so overnight is not impossable. Just ask the salesman at a dealership, with the time delays they have to check about 5 minutes after someone was in there or they will be jumping cars forever.


K
Author:  rs4mtnitro [ Mon Feb 05, 2007 6:41 pm ]
Post subject: 
I thought there was a TSB for a flash for the BCM because the battery would randomly go dead. I don't what years it was for but I saw it some where and I think last time mine was in they did the flash. Check Jeep.com.
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