No electrical power...

MattAlpha

MattAlpha

Caught the Bug
I opened my JK this morning using my key FOB (doors unlocked and headlights came on) and got in. The Dome lights were on and everything seemed normal. This is my daily driver. I pushed in the clutch, put the key in and turned it in the ignition and nothing happened. Dash didn’t light up. So I released the clutch, tries to start the JK again and still nothing. I got out check under the hood and everything was fine. It look like anyone had messed with it. Wiring seems to be in place and the battery was still connected. It’s a bit dusty in there and that hadn’t been disturbed. Then I remembered how I unlocked it and the dome lights and headlights were on as usual at that time. I tried the key FOB again and nothing happened. I got back into the Jeep and tried the ignition again...still no power.

I ended up taking my wife’s car to work and now I’m trying figure what the heck is wrong with the JK and what to do. I’ve never had this issue before and I really want to get the Jeep running again. It’s run well the last 10 years that I’ve owned it with a few minor issues along that time, but nothing on the electrical side. I’m sure that I’ve been lucky, but I hoping someone may have an idea about what may be going on. I searched the forum, but haven’t found a thread on this issue.

Any help is appreciated!


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Have you noticed the vehicle cranking slower recently or noticed any other electrical gremlins? What you need to do is verify you actually have voltage at your battery. Attach a voltmeter, your measured voltage should be at or just slightly above 12volts. If you cycle your headlights on and see a significant drop in voltage then I would venture to guess your battery is done. Do you know how old your battery is? There is usually a small round sticker that will tell you month and year. If it's older than 4-5 years then it's probably time to replace.
Another thing you want to try is jump starting.


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^^^ Check your battery first like this guy says. And make sure the connections haven't wiggled loose.

I'd probably start going through fuses next. If fuses and battery are good I'd probably start figuring out what was on the circuit that's dead and try looking for loose connections maybe... Good luck op!
 
My 2015 JK battery was 3 years old, never had any issues. One day out of the blue wouldn't even crank after coming out of grocery store. Replaced the battery, no more problems.
 
It looks like you have an older JK with the 3.8. while your up by the battery check the fusible links. I don't remember if the lead going to the fuse box has one in it but if something happened there it could kill everything.

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Thanks guys! I appreciate the suggestion. When I get home I’ll dig up my multimeter and start with the battery. I didn’t have time this morning (didn’t want to get to work any later than possible). The terminals and wiring looked fine, but I only did a quick visual. My battery is a diehard platinum. She is about 5 years old, maybe she gave up the ghost. I’ll let you know what I find.


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I got home a few minutes ago and I just checked my battery. It read 12.2V. That's one of the problems.

So I hooked up my trickle charger to see if I can recover the battery. When I placed the charger’s lead on my positive terminal lug it moved slightly. So the positive terminal is loose which most likely is the root cause of my issue.

If I can get the battery to charge fully, I’ll clean both terminals, put the dielectric grease on them, then reattach the cable lugs.

If I can’t get the battery to fully charge, I’ll replace it.

Thanks for the advice guys!


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It was 12.2V. Normally I’ve been around 12.5 or so.

Thanks guys!

I wish I would have just spent 5 minutes this morning to check the voltage reading and check the lugs. I could have tightened them and drove to work in my Jeep.


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Battery voltage shouldn't drop below 12.3 on a good battery with a properly functioning charging system. Lose wires will contribute to a lower charge but if everything is tight and right lower than 12.3 means your battery is on it's way out. If it doesn't seem right after you charge it check your alternator you should set 13 to 14 volts at the alternator


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G-mansjk said:
Battery voltage shouldn't drop below 12.3 on a good battery with a properly functioning charging system. Lose wires will contribute to a lower charge but if everything is tight and right lower than 12.3 means your battery is on it's way out. If it doesn't seem right after you charge it check your alternator you should set 13 to 14 volts at the alternator


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Click to expand...

The trickle charger finished a little while ago. Voltage is at 12.6V. We’ll see if it maintains that over the next couple of days.

Thank you everyone!


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