I have an 89 jeep, and we have fixed a few things in it. But one of the things lately was about a month ago ( when the battery first started to go ) I could drive it, but if I left it alone for a little lore than a day, it wouldn’t start.
Now after we’ve replaced the battery (with what we think is an Ben older one), put water in the battery, and have been charging it on a battery charger for the past three days it still won’t start. We’re sure it’s just the battery because we’ve check the terminals, the alternator and a few connections. But this is the second battery to do this.
What might be wrong?
My uncle Steve thought it might be a diode, or when it running it let the charge back out, and it just doesn’t hold. Any help?
If it has a manual transmission and you’re sure it’s just the battery that won’t turn the starter, you could get it rolling, pop the clutch to get it started, and drive it around that way for awhile. Be sure not to stall it on flat ground, and always park on a hill so you can always start it again that way.
Without detail on how you tested what you said you tested, it’s hard to say. I would take the battery (batteries?) and alternator to an auto parts store that tests them for free (AutoZone O’Reilly, Pep Boys, etc). Their tests are more thorough than you can perform in your driveway with a multimeter.
Also, you claim to have checked the terminals and connections, but have you actually tested the cables themselves? There’s plenty of advice on the process out there (Here’s one).
I have no idea what this means: “with what we think is an Ben older one.”. Honestly, that is gibberish to me. Are you saying you’ve put a used battery in it? If so, do you know how old it is, where it has been and how it has been stored?
It’s necessary to have a battery that is KNOWN to be good. This can be achieved by properly testing the battery that is in it, or more simply and assuredly by installing a new battery. If it will always start with a good battery (or with jumper cables), then it sounds like the problem is either a faulty battery, something that keeps the battery from being charged (e.g. alternator), or something that discharges it (e.g. electrical drain).
If it won’t start with a good battery, then it’s a whole different type of problem.
The neutral safety switch on these was noted for getting full of gunk and getting finicky. If you can get it to start by fiddling with the shifter while cranking it that’s your problem. New ones are expensive but it only takes a couple of hours to remove, dissassemble, clean, and reinstall it. In my case it would sometimes only start when I was pushing the shifter beyond the “park” position, or if I was jiggling it.
Take a look in the cigarette lighter/power port to see if a penny or dime ended up in the hole. Such a conductor across the electrical contacts can drain a battery.
We’ve replaced the older non working battery with what we took out of a truck, it wasn’t brand spanking new, but it was gently used. Sorry for the “Ben” in that phrase, meant to type “bit”.
We have taken it to autozone and gotten that free alternator test, they tested my battery on the two settings they had and it was good. It might be the voltage regulator, we just don’t know…and it’s an automatic so we can’t push it or let it go down a hill, even though that would be useful.
If you are having electrical problem with your vehicle.
Get a battery charger. One of those 1 or 2 amp models from WalMart that includes a maintainer circuit is fine. Cost, about $10-$20. You cannot troubleshoot these problems with a half-dead battery. Neither can AutoZone.
Charge the battery until fully charged. With the chargers that have the maintainer circuit, there is an LED that turns green when the battery is charged. Overnight, at least, perhaps a day or two.
With a fully charged battery, will the car start? If the battery gives you problems after a full charge, check the battery age. There is usually a code on the battery, that starts with a letter and a number. Letter is the month, number is the year. E2 would be May 2012 (or May 2002, but if you should be able to tell the difference between a one year old battery and an eleven year old one). If the battery is more than three years old, and is giving you trouble, get a new one.
Check your local autoparts stores, sears, etc… Someone is having a sale on batteries. Get the cheapest one that is the correct size for your car. The main difference in batteries is the warranty, and they are all pro-rated so that after 3 years, the warranty is worth less than the difference between the 6-year battery and the On-Sale battery.
Fully charge your new battery with your battery charger.
If you still have problems, then go chasing down the other things mentioned in this thread. I have worked with cars for over 40 years and in more than 90% of the cases, a new battery fixed it. The only time that didn’t work was with a van that had an internally corroded cable; the corrosion was not visible, but it was bad
If the battery is good, the problem isn’t likely to be the voltage regulator. A bad regulator would damage the battery. You can eliminate all the problems and solutions having to do with the battery.
What do you mean when you say it won’t start? Does it crank at all? If so, does it crank quickly or slowly? If not, does anything else fail at the same time (like the lights or radio)?
