Nothing Wrong? What?

[BonneyKJ]

As I've posted before (as 04LaneKJ), my KJ wouldn't start Tuesday evening. The way it was acting, dead battery was my assumption. Now, I put a charger on the battery the next day to see if the battery would charge. It did.

So today, we took the battery out of the Jeep to Advanced Auto. The battery checked out fine. Holds a charge and everything. So we thought it must have been the alternator or something.

Then after going home and putting the battery back in, we went to GoodYear to get the whole system checked. They pulled it in the garage, and guess what?! Nothing was wrong! Everything checked out in great working order.

My question is simply this: Why in the world did my KJ not start Tuesday? The battery in it was put in on Aug. 09... Which would explain if it was to be a bad battery. But its not. I don't get it. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[hsb]

Are the battery posts and connection clean and tight?

 

[sevenhelmet]

Cell phone charger left plugged in? Sometimes those drain the battery over time- this happened to my wife's SUV a couple of years ago. It gave me an excuse to buy a trickle charger. Her battery was (and is) fine.

 

[BonneyKJ]

Cell phone charger left plugged in? Sometimes those drain the battery over time- this happened to my wife's SUV a couple of years ago. It gave me an excuse to buy a trickle charger. Her battery was (and is) fine.

I had my iPod hooked up to my headunit.... Thats all..

 

[sevenhelmet]

That shouldn't draw enough to matter. When you had it been a while since you drove it?

 

[BonneyKJ]

That shouldn't draw enough to matter. When you had it been a while since you drove it?

Probably a day and a half.

 

[sevenhelmet]

Gotcha. That doesn't sound like enough time for a battery drain from a phone charger or iPod. Maybe the inside lights were left on or some random one-off electrical gremlin. Aside from that I'm out of ideas. If you can leave it that long now without the battery draining, you're probably OK.

 

[BjBnet]

I'm gonna say connection at battery. I always check that first...the clamps shouldn't move AT ALL. If they are tight, sometimes just "re-seatting" them works.

 

[BonneyKJ]

I'm gonna say connection at battery. I always check that first...the clamps shouldn't move AT ALL. If they are tight, sometimes just "re-seatting" them works.

All I did to the battery was charge it and it started up fine! I didn't adjust any connections or anything. Just basically jumped it off.

 

[LibertyTC]

As the the outside temperature get colder, the available cold cranking amps is greatly reduced. BonneyKJ you did not mention how old your battery is and what is the CCA rating of your battery. Even though you took it to GoodYear and all is well...so they say...I like to find a shop that has an advanced load tester that gives a print out like the midtronics EXP800. http://www.midtronics.com/shop/products-1/battery-and-electrical-system-diagnostics/exp-series-expandable-electrical-diagnostics/midtronics-exp-800-battery-tester-with-integrated-printer
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The above test shows shows a stock Chrysler battery 630CCA and it's current measured rating 712 CCA.
I also test the electrolyte with a hydrometer to give the specific gravity reading of each cell. This test will indicate the state of charge and condition of each cell.
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The other tool that is handy to have is a VOM and obtain the voltage first thing in the morning.
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12.82 volts is a strong battery in the AM and if you have less than 12.5v in the am, it could be that you have a drain overnight or a weaker battery. Leaving anything plugged in overnight will reduce the battery's output especially if it cold outside.
When it comes time to replace your battery try to find as many CCA as possible like 800CCA which will also give a longer reserve time. I often plug my jeep in overnight to an "intelligent" trickle charger.
More Info: http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47021

 

[JLRockies]

Sounds like an Optima.

 

[Xodius]

Do you leave you iPod plugged in all the time? I was having same issue and that was my thing. Unplugged iPod and good since.


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[BonneyKJ]

Do you leave you iPod plugged in all the time? I was having same issue and that was my thing. Unplugged iPod and good since.


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Yeah Im thinking thats the problem. But the iPod disconnects when I turn the car off...

 

[Porkchop]

Hum disconnects thats not turned off is it?