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what'd i break?

jayuu

NAXJA Forum User
saturday night did a 2.5 foot water crossing went home 10 minutes away and parked the jeep. sunday i started it ran it for a half hour listening to music and usung a small dc compressor. this morning went to start it and nothing. jumped it, drove to work, the voltmeter read 17 volts, so i turned on my headlights, fogs, and aux fan that brought it down to about 15 volts. at lunch time i tried to start it and nothing. jumped again drove it home this time the voltmeter read 14v like it usually does and when i got home 20 min later i turned it off and immediatly turned ot back on but there was no elctric whatsoever. so is my battery just fried? possibly my voltage regulator too? any help appreciated.

93 4.0
 
Do you have a volt meter you can take a reading straight off the battery? If not can you get that battery to Autozone or the like there of? They will test it for free. Also check your terminals for corrosion. Do you get any noise clicks or anything when turning the key?. Try to validate that battery, & we'll go from there.

Rob $.02
 
x2 on the corrosion... that was my problem, which was similar to what's going on with yours. Take it somewhere, or do the work yourself, and replace the cable from the alternator to the battery and use a brush and some cola to clean off the corrosion from the terminals.
 
You need to find out, if it was your battery that was flat, or did something drain it. Keep an eye on the battery volts w/ a multi meter daily, until you can be sure your not getting voltage drain. Otherwise you will end up killing another battery.

Rob $.02
 
Last edited:
I had a very similar problem about 2 weeks ago. It ended up just being that the battery was dead. My voltmeter read 17, it would never fire up on its own unless I got a boost, even when I was driving down the street, I put it in neutral and turned off my ignition because that particular time no accessories came on, and then I put the ignition back on, put it in gear (5 speed) and it wouldnt fire up. New battery and like I said, 2 weeks later, I am right as rain.
 
yeah im thinking it has to be the batt, because after 20 min of driving with the voltmeter showing 14 id suspect it would at least click when i turned it on and off instanly but it didnt

im just wondering why my alt was putting out 17v this morning, and if it happens again what it will do to the new batt
 
2 cents for those worried about corrosion on batt terminals. Buy a can of spray on "grease" used for the back of disc brake pads (normally used to prevent the pads from squeaking) and spray it on battery terminals.
 
xj_joel said:
2 cents for those worried about corrosion on batt terminals. Buy a can of spray on "grease" used for the back of disc brake pads (normally used to prevent the pads from squeaking) and spray it on battery terminals.

sure, but that product would likely inhibit the electrical connection as well.
A better solution is a product like Ox Gard.
inhibts corrosion, and it's electrically conductive.
 
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