Calgary Jeep Association

4x4 Related Groups => Tech Talk => Topic started by: Knox on August 23, 2011, 06:44:19 AM

Title: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: Knox on August 23, 2011, 06:44:19 AM
Was running errands last night, went to pick up my boy at the day home and the jeep wouldn't start. Thankfully it was in the driveway...

So when I put the key in everything seems normal, if the door is open, the chime is going, the dash lights up. turn it a bit more, can get the radio and the fan going, but once it gets to the start position everything goes black. try to start it and occasionally you can hear a faint clicking from the fuse box area, otherwise nothing. With the brake pedal depressed (and the clutch pedal of course) the guage needles go up in chunks until they are pointing straight down and just having a seizure down there. the guage stops doing that when I let off the brake.

Haven't had any time to look at the jeep itself yet, but from some brief searching I read battery could be going flat. which in turn could mean a bad alternator, or just an old battery. Or since it's not cranking at all could it be the crank position sensor? the clutch was just replaced, maybe it wriggled loose? I've put almost 300km on since the new clutch went in.  Anyways, I'll take a multimeter to the battery tonight and see what it's dropping to, but besides replacing everything I'm not sure where else to start? Any ideas?

Cheers
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: JackstandJohnny on August 23, 2011, 07:20:24 AM
charge the battery and go from there.  you can borrow my charger tonight if you want steve.
or jump it.
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: Knox on August 23, 2011, 07:24:26 AM
good call Johnny, I'll see if I can just borrow the one from work, if not I'll swing by and try that out tonight. Hopefully its a quick fix, but it's also a jeep so...
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: Knox on August 24, 2011, 07:41:51 AM
The battery charged to 12.6V last night but still no start. or crank for that matter. If I was planning on getting a winch in the spring what kind of battery will I need? Any recommendations on what to get for a battery and where to get it (keeping the winch and hids in mind)?
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: Knox on August 24, 2011, 08:04:34 AM
I should clarify that previous post, anyone have any experience with the interstate batteries?
something like this: http://www.interstatebatteries.com/cs_eStore/Content.aspx?dsNav=Arpp~12,A~Part+Number,N~21-4294493426-4294492779-2147384741-4294493428-2147384906
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: w squared on August 24, 2011, 08:19:42 AM
HID's actually pull less current that an conventional halogen bulb. Most HID's are 30-50 watts, while halogen bulbs are 50 to 100 watts.

But yes....the winch does suck back the juice. I bought a North Star AGM battery (same as a an Odyssey for all intents and purposes). It's the most expensive type of battery out of what's commonly available ($300 or so), but its offer much better deep cycle performance and more cold cranking amps than any other type. I've seen a big difference in winch performance using the new battery versus the stock battery.
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: Evil-Jeep on August 24, 2011, 09:56:47 AM
easy way to check clutch positionb sensor is to put a fuse in the Auto trans spot, this bypasses the sensor.
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: rangerdanger on August 25, 2011, 10:10:13 AM
The battery might charge to 12.6V but it could still have a cell thats dead, my TJ did the funny guage thing/no start last winter, swapped in my other optima and off it went.
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: Knox on August 25, 2011, 03:44:06 PM
Picked up a battery today, hopefully will resolve the issues, last night when we checked it with a multimeter on the posts it dropped way down so yeah theres no guts left to it... Just snuck up on me all the sudden, didn't see this coming :P
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: Knox on August 25, 2011, 10:26:01 PM
yep jeep starts now...

so what do I win for making a thread about a dead battery? :P
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: Rubi03 jef on August 25, 2011, 10:28:51 PM
u get to show people how to boost there jeeps at the 101
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: BlackYJ on August 26, 2011, 07:24:49 AM
so what do I win for making a thread about a dead battery? :P

A kick in the arse for not doing your homework or searching before posting  ;D
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: Knox on August 26, 2011, 08:04:09 AM
Ha ha the funny thing was I assumed it was just the battery then when I started searching "jeep won't start" and variations of that the most common result I found was people talking about wacking the starter... :P

Oh well at least now between the new bumper and new battery I'm ready for a winch :)
Title: Re: Jeep won't start, no crank
Post by: after6queers on August 26, 2011, 11:40:30 AM
I also bought a Northstar battery...so far very impressed! Was definitely expensive but came highly recommended!