Calgary Jeep Association

4x4 Related Groups => Tech Talk => Topic started by: Rubicon Josh on March 30, 2010, 09:46:40 PM

Title: Battery charger fry my Jeep?
Post by: Rubicon Josh on March 30, 2010, 09:46:40 PM

Okay... So I left my electric fan on today and went out to a job. When I came back 5 hours later my newish Exide orbital battery was stone cold dead. I threw on the battery charger for a few minutes on 12V fast charge/boost and then tried to turn it over. The ignition clicked and then nothing. I waited a minute longer and tried again and the motor turned over but didn't fire up. I tried this about 5 times and on the fifth the jeep started (I was in a hurry to get home for supper).
When my friend went to take the booster cables off they were very hot. The battery did not feel veryhot though. We both had double checked to make sure red was on positive and black on negative. Also there was a very distinct whine coming from the engine, maybe alternator.
Now the jeep will not idle. It will idle briefly at 200 RPM before stalling out and the battery won't completely charge even after running for an hour. I can't see any melted wiring or signs of arcing.

Please someone give me some positive feedback. I have never heard of this issue before or anything similar so I am  completely lost.

Thanksin advance.

Title: Re: Battery charger fry my Jeep?
Post by: Vinman on March 30, 2010, 10:06:46 PM

Put it on a slow (2-6 amp) for at least 4-5 hours and give it a try. I have been running exide orbitals for about 5 years now and have abused them on occasion with only 1 failure. They are great batteries but do not like completely draining like you did.
The whining is almost certainly the alternator being pushed to the limits. 
My last Jeep acted the same way after completely running down the battery, trouble starting with a charger/booster, sputtering, stalling when the charger was disconnected. After charging thet battery, all was well.
Good luck.

Vince

Title: Re: Battery charger fry my Jeep?
Post by: Rubicon Josh on March 31, 2010, 08:12:16 AM

Thanks Vince! I will try charging it this morning.

Title: Re: Battery charger fry my Jeep?
Post by: Rubicon Josh on April 02, 2010, 08:13:14 PM

Acklands ended up replacing the battery for free. Everything runs as usual now but I am sure that the trickle charger would have probably done the trick. Time to start shopping for a fan relay. Thanks for your help vince.