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Bought my '01 Cherokee back in March & have had nothing but problems since; I've been slowly fixing them when I have the time/cash. However, this particular issue has me stumped (and it's happened twice now).

Today, I was driving along when my check gauges light came on and my battery gauge plummeted to 0. My windows, windshield wipers, blinkers, etc; all electronics were incredibly sluggish. I was able to limp-it back home and start some troubleshooting. Tried to start it up & it kept acting as though it needed a jump. This actually happened before, but I was able to tighten the cables on the terminals and wiggle the wires a bit to get everything to work properly again. Having had this problem before and thinking it didn't just "need a jump": first, I replaced my battery cables as the old ones were corroded, I had to splice some stuff because I couldn't afford the factory replacements; I don't believe that is the issue, though.

Still nothing.

Next, I lugged my battery up to Advanced Auto, did a check and ended up having to replace it, too. BAM! Started up like nobody's business. This victory was short lived, though. After a single minute of driving: "Check Gauges" lights up & battery shows as 0.

Now that this has happened a second time and having replaced the cables AND replaced the battery, I am at a loss of what to do next.

I'm thinking of taking it in somewhere, but I'd really like to see if I can find & fix this problem myself first.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

//UPDATE

After testing the battery (per Larry's suggestion), I have a few more details.

  • The battery is putting out plenty of volts on it's own with engine off.
  • Before the light comes on and the gauge falls to 0, my battery gauge hovers at 12; meaning, the needle will move to just before or just after the 12V hash line intermittently
  • The Check Gauges light will only come on after it's hit third gear and has been running in it for a least 10 seconds. I tested this for about 5 minutes riding around my neighborhood in 1st and 2nd trying to keep it under 3rd. Once I hit the main streets, the light came on within 10-15 seconds. I tried this twice.
  • After checking with a DVOM while the light is on, the voltage is right around 12V.
  • After that, I restarted and checked it while idling (no driving first, light off): same voltage.

What should be my next step? Thanks!

joshmax
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2 Answers2

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If you have a DVOM (digital volt ohm meter) check the voltage of the battery when this is happening. I suspect that the alternator is not charging. The voltage with the engine running should be (roughly) between 13 - 14 volts, anything less than 12.6 means the alternator is not charging.

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My jeep has problems with the altinator as well and seen this thread notice that my jeep has the same simptoms and though id jump in here.my battery guage drops when I rev the motor to about 2200 rpm then it dies .its doesn't always do it but I've spent well over 400 getting it toed back to the house.I only paid like 300 bucks for it so I'm not doin to bad I got like a grand in it and its only got 50,000miles on it.but my altinator doesn't whine?

james
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