Battery Light (new battery & alt) charging 13.8 -12.9 off

[carcollector]

First of all I have searched the forums and read for hours and couldn't find the answers I needed so...


My sister's 2009 4wd Liberty "jet" died today. When I got there it had NO battery power, the alternator was very hot, and she said she smelled something burning before it lost power.

I took the battery to Sears at the mall where she was and battery tested BAD, so since it was under warranty from a replacement at Advanced Auto 2 years ago but and it had a 3yr the replacement warranty I got a free new Battery from Advanced after having to hem confirm it was BAD.

After putting in battery and starting it I noticed the alternator had a whining sound and was still very hot, and dialectic grease was oozing from the crimp connector at the back of the alternator so we drove it down the street to AutoZone and found the alternator was only putting out 10(ten) volts so we bought a new one.

I installed the new altenator and the battery light was still on. I had them check it and they said the voltage regulator failed, so thinking the voltage regulator was in the back of the alternator I took it off, went to another AutoZone since I bought the last one in stock, had them test it and it FAILED the test (brand new) so I got a new one .

I installed the newer Alternator, and the battery light was still on. I had them check the charging system and they showed 12.8 off, and 13.8 running with a pulse of 10 something which is all good but voltage regulator FAILED.

I had him check the battery charge percentage and their equipment said 54%. So I let it run for five minutes and had him check it again and it was up to 95% so I got it home where I rechecked everything after driving it in rain with lights and AC and phone charging with Radio on.

When I checked it the battery showed 100% charge, 12.8 off and 13.9 on and it would jump to 14.0 momentarily if I turned on lights or accessories.

Afrer messing with the ground under battery tray I started it and NO light so I cleaned the ground real good, put it back together and the light came back ON after a few seconds... I had to remove the battery tray be to get to it and the fuse box ox under the hood so I inspected and wiggled every wire and connector and checked all fuses related to power and found no problems

Still at same readings - 12.8 off. 13.9 on 100% charged

When the old Alternator got hot the wires coming from it were HOT and sticky. So I have checked those wires and none seem shorted out or damaged.


After putting in battery initially the starter was acting screwy and was kicking in and out several times trying to turn engine but once it started up it never did it again so I was suspicious of the big red power wire to starter but it all looks good I just figured since the wires had got hot maybe I be of the crimp connectors melted loose but no problem found.


When I removed the old Alternator it was scorching hot after sitting an hour and I have burned up hands to prove it.


Obviously something is wrong, but I do not suspect the PCM/ECM because it is regulating the power properly and it is charging the battery etc


*I am looking for a burnt wire or bad ground and do not know where to start. I suspect the two snall wires off the back of alternator (green and white w/stripe. I read somewhere that one of those wires goes to the ignition switch and my sister did say she smelled burning in the car and it died as she was trying to get it off the road and out of traffic.


So without assuming that a capacitor in the PCM is fried where should I be looking for an issue????

(It does NOT have a battery temperature sensor OR any codes in PCM whatsoever)

Please help she is visiting from Washington DC with 3 kids and no money...

 

[renegade 04]

It does have a stored code if the battery light is on, you just need a high end scanner to read it. Do it currently have the battery light on? Also what if any problems are still occuring?

 

[carcollector]

The only symptom now seems to be the battery light.... is there any way to clear the code without a high end scanner that you know about?

 

[carcollector]

This morning I had 13.0 volts n off and. 14.2 - 14.3 at back of Alternator and at the battery terminals...

 

[carcollector]

just had the charging starting system tested at AutoZone, As advanced Auto, , and O'Reillys...

Everytime it got tested the Battery is good, charging good, voltage regulator passes, and Diodes are good... BUT still the Battery light is ON

The pulse ripple was between 8 and 11 (10 mostly)

 

[carcollector]

I also load tested the system by putting on lights, ac on hi, turn signals, radio, and a phone charger.

The voltage dropped to 12.8 but as soon as you gave it some rpms it went up to 14.0 and settled at 13.8 until letting of gas, then it slowly went back down. As I turned off one thing at a time the voltage increased until it was at 13.8 again with everything off but engine at idle. I cleaned the throttle body and it never dropped below 13.0 but it was also cooler outside and hadn't been driven in hours

Is it possible to retrieve a battery " code" without a high end scanner to see what the light is ON for?

 

[profdlp]

Try turning the key to AUX then OFF quickly three times. For some years this will give you the code in the odometer area.

 

[carcollector]

Ok I will try that in the morning thank you


I just drove it 50 miles with no issues. Stopped several times it restarted every time voltage is perfect battery is great great butt the light on the dash

In all my reading about this Jeep I read somewhere that the car might need to go through 40 Cycles to clear the battery code because it's not like an old-school battery lights that comes on when it's not charging it could be a error code for a fault from the PCM is that possible?

 

[profdlp]

There are also a couple fuses you can pull to reset the computer. Sorry, but I can't remember which ones. Might just try disconnecting the batter for twenty minutes. That worked on my old Tracker.

 

[renegade 04]

I would try disconnecting the battery. Based on the fact that the voltage drops to 12.8 under load tells me it can either be a bad alternator or a bad voltage regulator. It may also be a loose connection.

 

[carcollector]

I suspect the TPIM MODULE which is at the root of many Chrysler Jeep products class action lawsuits for 2007 and up models. They lost a few suits and have recalled the TPIM on a few models but have escaped having to recall it on all models because nobody has died yet from loss of charging system power The same TPIM is in many many vehicles and are just starting to fail more frequently due to age and higher miles.

 

[carcollector]

Regardless, the vehicle is OK and driveable but has a battery light ON all the time

 

[carcollector]

Thank You for your interest guys

Well I tried the key on off thing disconnected the battery several times for hours on end. I checked all the wiring that I could coming from the alternator and the fuse box to the PCM using a volt ohm meter and had it load tested one more time and all was good

SO I took it to the Jeep dealership Monday afternoon and all that happened for me was that they confirmed that the battery light is actually a malfunction indicator lamp for the battery charging system and the system had over 60 codes in it for low-voltage that the average mechanics OBDII scan tool can not see or read.

After I told them all I've been through with things all the tests I've run they offered to clear the codes for free but two codes kept coming back. One was for GPS and navigation but the Jeep isn't even equipped with that,

The other code was P0622 which is for a short in the field coil wiring. So I authorize an hour checkout time at a rate of $124.99 an hour plus hazmat shop supplies fee etc ($140)

There was a window in the waiting room to the service department garage and I watched them perform all kinds of tests, by the end of the hour there were 3 technicians trying to figure it out. When they were true they had no clue what was wrong, They even called Tech support which told them to "try" a PCM and a Mopar Alternator and if Not replace the entire wiring harness too and possibly the dash cluster and ignition switch too. They didn't have a Clue either... they even suggested that since it had a Satellite GPS code we should consider swapping the stereo (I pulled the stereo fuse afterwards and nothing changed)

I talked to the shops master technician who said they could "possibly" need a PCM which he could not guarantee it would fix the Battery Light, OR maybe the alternator I put in with the diodes in the back might have been putting off a frequency that was confusing the PCM so he recommended me returning the alternator that was on it and getting another one and seeing if that would fix the problem, and quoted me 672.00 OTD for a PCM.

so basically it cost me $150 to verify that all my testing was done correctly and that there was no problem with the charging system the wiring or the operation of the PCM,

I asked if the problem could be related to the tpim module and he was pretty adamant if that was not the issue even though Chrysler Jeep has many pending class action lawsuits for that module causing charging system failure,

So I took off the alternator and returned it after having it bench tested and we bench tested a new one off the shelf and I installed that one but the battery light came right back on.

So assuming if there was no problem after many test drives we drove the Jeep over a hundred miles from the Westside of Florida to Daytona where I live and there was never a problem. As of now the Jeep is on its way back to the Washington DC area a 10-hour trip with the battery light on

The next step is to sell the Jeep and buy something not made by Chrysler because the Jeep will NOT pass the Northern Virginia strict inspection rules that state that all warning lights be working and OFF. Or maybe throw a couple of grand at it in parts and labor to get a malfunctioning malfunction indicator light off (not happening)

 

[carcollector]

So far the vehicle has been on the road for 12 hours today with AC blasting and the only issue is that the Battery Light is ON... it still has two hours to left to go but I am 100% confident that it will make it all the way.

If it catches on fire or or the TCIP or PCM shorts out before it gets sold I will be pissed. I have a guy here in Florida willing to pay 10 grand cash for it and there is NO state inspection here...

I am urging her to get a used Hummer H3 after 3 Chryslers in a row that drove me crazy.

 

[renegade 04]

If you want to get the battery light to go off you need to read the code using a high end scanner or a DRBIII.

 

[carcollector]

Yea a StarScan would work. But they are $6000 and I still get P0622 even when cleared by dealership, they could not erase it or explain it

I guess the MORAL to this story is that a vehicle can operate and charge the system properly even though the BATTERY LIGHT is ON....


And that it could cost over $2000 just to get the light to go away just for peace of mind