Re: Accessories stay on; Battery drains
 

On 11 Apr 2004 09:17:00 -0700, mhammer8@yahoo.com (Matt) wrote:

>bob@rjoassoc.com (RJO) wrote in message news:<c5bdc97c.0404100946.2465a92e@posting.google. com>...
>> Hey everybody! I bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport last November, with
>> 106,000 miles on it. I've since added 10,000 miles. Two seperate but
>> possibly related problems that started right after I bought it have me
>> flummoxed.
>>
>> The first is that when I turn the ignition key off, all the
>> accessories stay on: the fan, radio, wipers, etc. I quickly learned to
>> turn everything off before parking the car.
>>
>> The second showed up a few weeks later. When the car is parked for
>> several hours, the battery (which is a new die-hard) drains enough so
>> that the motor will turn over but not start. If it's parked for a
>> longer time, it has no juice at all. Sometimes, after using the power
>> locks to open the car, I can hear a rapid clicking behind the dash to
>> the left of the main guage display. If I use a jump starter it will
>> start, and after I drive it for a while, it will start again just
>> fine. So it doesn't seem to be the charging system.
>>
>> I've talked to a mechanic who says it might be the coil or fuel pump,
>> but that doesn't sound right.
>>
>> Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, since I have to do this
>> myself. I don't have the cash to take it to the garage.
>>
>> Thanks!
>
>When you do get this fixed, another thing that helped me with
>long-term accessory drain is getting a deep-cycle battery (I got an
>Optima). It works great for things like leaving your GPS/radio on
>while parked and shut off (so as not to lose satellites, or to use
>your Jeep as the campout stereo system), etc. Gives you lots of
>freedom, and also protects you against cycle drain like alarm systems
>exact on your battery.
>
>Good luck,
>Matt
As for everything staying on. I'd have to suspect the ignition switch.
Maybe at one point it overloaded and some of the contacts are now
burnt on.

As for the unknown draw killing the battery

I would disconnect the positive cable from the battery and put an ohm
meter between the cable and vehicle ground.

The reading should be in K ohms (thousands). I'd bet yours will be in
the 100's if not 10's of ohms. Simple ohms law reveals the actual draw
on the battery. Volts divided by resistance = current in amps

Once you've checked the reading, start pulling fuses. A couple extra
clip leads helps get the meter under the dash so you can watch it as
you proceed.

When the reading jumps into the K ohm range, you've probably found the
culprit.

On mine it was a short in the power antenna which was fixed by simply
leaving the fuse out.

Hope that helps

-Kk-

Re: Accessories stay on; Battery drains
 

Thank you all. I did get a meter and was able to check the battery and
fuses yesterday. I even got down to the ignition switch but ran out of
time before I could test it. I think it's probably a ground somewhere
because, even with all the fuses pulled and all accessories off, the
battery was putting out a full 12.65 volts. tonight I'll check the
engine block and the two others you mentioned. If that doesn't do it,
I may go ahead and replace the igniion switch, as I am not sure how to
test it.




mic canic <dbrider@cac.net> wrote in message news:<407955CD.A95202C3@cac.net>...
> you have some sort of battery drain. you can check the ing. switch if
> it's bad
> it's under the colum covers .not at the base. the saginaw steering colums
> were dropped in 94
> i would be checking out all the grounds real good when grounds are loose
> or poor, elcectric relays make alot of noise and battery power looks for
> grounds backtracking thru wires looking for the ground points and things
> get dim
> the main ones are on the engine block by the dipstick
> the dash harness has some on the lt side under the kick panel and one is
> under the drivers seat
> you can check for a draw using a test lite and pulling fuses
> RJO wrote:
>
> > Hey everybody! I bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport last November, with
> > 106,000 miles on it. I've since added 10,000 miles. Two seperate but
> > possibly related problems that started right after I bought it have me
> > flummoxed.
> >
> > The first is that when I turn the ignition key off, all the
> > accessories stay on: the fan, radio, wipers, etc. I quickly learned to
> > turn everything off before parking the car.
> >
> > The second showed up a few weeks later. When the car is parked for
> > several hours, the battery (which is a new die-hard) drains enough so
> > that the motor will turn over but not start. If it's parked for a
> > longer time, it has no juice at all. Sometimes, after using the power
> > locks to open the car, I can hear a rapid clicking behind the dash to
> > the left of the main guage display. If I use a jump starter it will
> > start, and after I drive it for a while, it will start again just
> > fine. So it doesn't seem to be the charging system.
> >
> > I've talked to a mechanic who says it might be the coil or fuel pump,
> > but that doesn't sound right.
> >
> > Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, since I have to do this
> > myself. I don't have the cash to take it to the garage.
> >
> > Thanks!

Re: Accessories stay on; Battery drains
 

Thank you all. I did get a meter and was able to check the battery and
fuses yesterday. I even got down to the ignition switch but ran out of
time before I could test it. I think it's probably a ground somewhere
because, even with all the fuses pulled and all accessories off, the
battery was putting out a full 12.65 volts. tonight I'll check the
engine block and the two others you mentioned. If that doesn't do it,
I may go ahead and replace the igniion switch, as I am not sure how to
test it.




mic canic <dbrider@cac.net> wrote in message news:<407955CD.A95202C3@cac.net>...
> you have some sort of battery drain. you can check the ing. switch if
> it's bad
> it's under the colum covers .not at the base. the saginaw steering colums
> were dropped in 94
> i would be checking out all the grounds real good when grounds are loose
> or poor, elcectric relays make alot of noise and battery power looks for
> grounds backtracking thru wires looking for the ground points and things
> get dim
> the main ones are on the engine block by the dipstick
> the dash harness has some on the lt side under the kick panel and one is
> under the drivers seat
> you can check for a draw using a test lite and pulling fuses
> RJO wrote:
>
> > Hey everybody! I bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport last November, with
> > 106,000 miles on it. I've since added 10,000 miles. Two seperate but
> > possibly related problems that started right after I bought it have me
> > flummoxed.
> >
> > The first is that when I turn the ignition key off, all the
> > accessories stay on: the fan, radio, wipers, etc. I quickly learned to
> > turn everything off before parking the car.
> >
> > The second showed up a few weeks later. When the car is parked for
> > several hours, the battery (which is a new die-hard) drains enough so
> > that the motor will turn over but not start. If it's parked for a
> > longer time, it has no juice at all. Sometimes, after using the power
> > locks to open the car, I can hear a rapid clicking behind the dash to
> > the left of the main guage display. If I use a jump starter it will
> > start, and after I drive it for a while, it will start again just
> > fine. So it doesn't seem to be the charging system.
> >
> > I've talked to a mechanic who says it might be the coil or fuel pump,
> > but that doesn't sound right.
> >
> > Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, since I have to do this
> > myself. I don't have the cash to take it to the garage.
> >
> > Thanks!

Re: Accessories stay on; Battery drains
 

Thank you all. I did get a meter and was able to check the battery and
fuses yesterday. I even got down to the ignition switch but ran out of
time before I could test it. I think it's probably a ground somewhere
because, even with all the fuses pulled and all accessories off, the
battery was putting out a full 12.65 volts. tonight I'll check the
engine block and the two others you mentioned. If that doesn't do it,
I may go ahead and replace the igniion switch, as I am not sure how to
test it.




mic canic <dbrider@cac.net> wrote in message news:<407955CD.A95202C3@cac.net>...
> you have some sort of battery drain. you can check the ing. switch if
> it's bad
> it's under the colum covers .not at the base. the saginaw steering colums
> were dropped in 94
> i would be checking out all the grounds real good when grounds are loose
> or poor, elcectric relays make alot of noise and battery power looks for
> grounds backtracking thru wires looking for the ground points and things
> get dim
> the main ones are on the engine block by the dipstick
> the dash harness has some on the lt side under the kick panel and one is
> under the drivers seat
> you can check for a draw using a test lite and pulling fuses
> RJO wrote:
>
> > Hey everybody! I bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport last November, with
> > 106,000 miles on it. I've since added 10,000 miles. Two seperate but
> > possibly related problems that started right after I bought it have me
> > flummoxed.
> >
> > The first is that when I turn the ignition key off, all the
> > accessories stay on: the fan, radio, wipers, etc. I quickly learned to
> > turn everything off before parking the car.
> >
> > The second showed up a few weeks later. When the car is parked for
> > several hours, the battery (which is a new die-hard) drains enough so
> > that the motor will turn over but not start. If it's parked for a
> > longer time, it has no juice at all. Sometimes, after using the power
> > locks to open the car, I can hear a rapid clicking behind the dash to
> > the left of the main guage display. If I use a jump starter it will
> > start, and after I drive it for a while, it will start again just
> > fine. So it doesn't seem to be the charging system.
> >
> > I've talked to a mechanic who says it might be the coil or fuel pump,
> > but that doesn't sound right.
> >
> > Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, since I have to do this
> > myself. I don't have the cash to take it to the garage.
> >
> > Thanks!

Re: Accessories stay on; Battery drains
 

Thank you all. I did get a meter and was able to check the battery and
fuses yesterday. I even got down to the ignition switch but ran out of
time before I could test it. I think it's probably a ground somewhere
because, even with all the fuses pulled and all accessories off, the
battery was putting out a full 12.65 volts. tonight I'll check the
engine block and the two others you mentioned. If that doesn't do it,
I may go ahead and replace the igniion switch, as I am not sure how to
test it.




mic canic <dbrider@cac.net> wrote in message news:<407955CD.A95202C3@cac.net>...
> you have some sort of battery drain. you can check the ing. switch if
> it's bad
> it's under the colum covers .not at the base. the saginaw steering colums
> were dropped in 94
> i would be checking out all the grounds real good when grounds are loose
> or poor, elcectric relays make alot of noise and battery power looks for
> grounds backtracking thru wires looking for the ground points and things
> get dim
> the main ones are on the engine block by the dipstick
> the dash harness has some on the lt side under the kick panel and one is
> under the drivers seat
> you can check for a draw using a test lite and pulling fuses
> RJO wrote:
>
> > Hey everybody! I bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport last November, with
> > 106,000 miles on it. I've since added 10,000 miles. Two seperate but
> > possibly related problems that started right after I bought it have me
> > flummoxed.
> >
> > The first is that when I turn the ignition key off, all the
> > accessories stay on: the fan, radio, wipers, etc. I quickly learned to
> > turn everything off before parking the car.
> >
> > The second showed up a few weeks later. When the car is parked for
> > several hours, the battery (which is a new die-hard) drains enough so
> > that the motor will turn over but not start. If it's parked for a
> > longer time, it has no juice at all. Sometimes, after using the power
> > locks to open the car, I can hear a rapid clicking behind the dash to
> > the left of the main guage display. If I use a jump starter it will
> > start, and after I drive it for a while, it will start again just
> > fine. So it doesn't seem to be the charging system.
> >
> > I've talked to a mechanic who says it might be the coil or fuel pump,
> > but that doesn't sound right.
> >
> > Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, since I have to do this
> > myself. I don't have the cash to take it to the garage.
> >
> > Thanks!

Re: Accessories stay on; Battery drains
 

Isn't there a connector for the steering column just under the dash? Pull
it apart and see if your current load drops to zero. That in itself won't
tell you that the switch is bad or not, but it will tell you if whatever
the problem is is on the key-switched side of the system or not.

Oh, and I'm not clear on how you have that meter set up, but if it were me
I'd have it in series between one pole of the battery and its cable (so
the meter is actually part of the circuit), with the meter set for "amps".
With the meter set to "volts" and a 100+AH battery behind it you could be
seeing the miniscule current draw for memory modules or clocks but you'll
never see the whopping drop when you pulled the radio fuse and never know
that what you were chasing wasn't part of the problem.

Radio. Hmmm. It seems that when folks pop in here and ask about curious
electrical faults the radio is part of the symptoms (stuff like "my tail
lights won't work but when I step on the brake the radio comes on.") Just
for giggles see if you can pull the cable connector for the radio and see
if it makes any difference. I don't know where you'd go from there, but
still...


On Mon, 12 Apr 2004, RJO wrote:

> Thank you all. I did get a meter and was able to check the battery and
> fuses yesterday. I even got down to the ignition switch but ran out of
> time before I could test it. I think it's probably a ground somewhere
> because, even with all the fuses pulled and all accessories off, the
> battery was putting out a full 12.65 volts. tonight I'll check the
> engine block and the two others you mentioned. If that doesn't do it,
> I may go ahead and replace the igniion switch, as I am not sure how to
> test it.
>
>
>
>
> mic canic <dbrider@cac.net> wrote in message news:<407955CD.A95202C3@cac.net>...
> > you have some sort of battery drain. you can check the ing. switch if
> > it's bad
> > it's under the colum covers .not at the base. the saginaw steering colums
> > were dropped in 94
> > i would be checking out all the grounds real good when grounds are loose
> > or poor, elcectric relays make alot of noise and battery power looks for
> > grounds backtracking thru wires looking for the ground points and things
> > get dim
> > the main ones are on the engine block by the dipstick
> > the dash harness has some on the lt side under the kick panel and one is
> > under the drivers seat
> > you can check for a draw using a test lite and pulling fuses
> > RJO wrote:
> >
> > > Hey everybody! I bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport last November, with
> > > 106,000 miles on it. I've since added 10,000 miles. Two seperate but
> > > possibly related problems that started right after I bought it have me
> > > flummoxed.
> > >
> > > The first is that when I turn the ignition key off, all the
> > > accessories stay on: the fan, radio, wipers, etc. I quickly learned to
> > > turn everything off before parking the car.
> > >
> > > The second showed up a few weeks later. When the car is parked for
> > > several hours, the battery (which is a new die-hard) drains enough so
> > > that the motor will turn over but not start. If it's parked for a
> > > longer time, it has no juice at all. Sometimes, after using the power
> > > locks to open the car, I can hear a rapid clicking behind the dash to
> > > the left of the main guage display. If I use a jump starter it will
> > > start, and after I drive it for a while, it will start again just
> > > fine. So it doesn't seem to be the charging system.
> > >
> > > I've talked to a mechanic who says it might be the coil or fuel pump,
> > > but that doesn't sound right.
> > >
> > > Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, since I have to do this
> > > myself. I don't have the cash to take it to the garage.
> > >
> > > Thanks!
>

Re: Accessories stay on; Battery drains
 

Isn't there a connector for the steering column just under the dash? Pull
it apart and see if your current load drops to zero. That in itself won't
tell you that the switch is bad or not, but it will tell you if whatever
the problem is is on the key-switched side of the system or not.

Oh, and I'm not clear on how you have that meter set up, but if it were me
I'd have it in series between one pole of the battery and its cable (so
the meter is actually part of the circuit), with the meter set for "amps".
With the meter set to "volts" and a 100+AH battery behind it you could be
seeing the miniscule current draw for memory modules or clocks but you'll
never see the whopping drop when you pulled the radio fuse and never know
that what you were chasing wasn't part of the problem.

Radio. Hmmm. It seems that when folks pop in here and ask about curious
electrical faults the radio is part of the symptoms (stuff like "my tail
lights won't work but when I step on the brake the radio comes on.") Just
for giggles see if you can pull the cable connector for the radio and see
if it makes any difference. I don't know where you'd go from there, but
still...


On Mon, 12 Apr 2004, RJO wrote:

> Thank you all. I did get a meter and was able to check the battery and
> fuses yesterday. I even got down to the ignition switch but ran out of
> time before I could test it. I think it's probably a ground somewhere
> because, even with all the fuses pulled and all accessories off, the
> battery was putting out a full 12.65 volts. tonight I'll check the
> engine block and the two others you mentioned. If that doesn't do it,
> I may go ahead and replace the igniion switch, as I am not sure how to
> test it.
>
>
>
>
> mic canic <dbrider@cac.net> wrote in message news:<407955CD.A95202C3@cac.net>...
> > you have some sort of battery drain. you can check the ing. switch if
> > it's bad
> > it's under the colum covers .not at the base. the saginaw steering colums
> > were dropped in 94
> > i would be checking out all the grounds real good when grounds are loose
> > or poor, elcectric relays make alot of noise and battery power looks for
> > grounds backtracking thru wires looking for the ground points and things
> > get dim
> > the main ones are on the engine block by the dipstick
> > the dash harness has some on the lt side under the kick panel and one is
> > under the drivers seat
> > you can check for a draw using a test lite and pulling fuses
> > RJO wrote:
> >
> > > Hey everybody! I bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport last November, with
> > > 106,000 miles on it. I've since added 10,000 miles. Two seperate but
> > > possibly related problems that started right after I bought it have me
> > > flummoxed.
> > >
> > > The first is that when I turn the ignition key off, all the
> > > accessories stay on: the fan, radio, wipers, etc. I quickly learned to
> > > turn everything off before parking the car.
> > >
> > > The second showed up a few weeks later. When the car is parked for
> > > several hours, the battery (which is a new die-hard) drains enough so
> > > that the motor will turn over but not start. If it's parked for a
> > > longer time, it has no juice at all. Sometimes, after using the power
> > > locks to open the car, I can hear a rapid clicking behind the dash to
> > > the left of the main guage display. If I use a jump starter it will
> > > start, and after I drive it for a while, it will start again just
> > > fine. So it doesn't seem to be the charging system.
> > >
> > > I've talked to a mechanic who says it might be the coil or fuel pump,
> > > but that doesn't sound right.
> > >
> > > Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, since I have to do this
> > > myself. I don't have the cash to take it to the garage.
> > >
> > > Thanks!
>

Re: Accessories stay on; Battery drains
 

Isn't there a connector for the steering column just under the dash? Pull
it apart and see if your current load drops to zero. That in itself won't
tell you that the switch is bad or not, but it will tell you if whatever
the problem is is on the key-switched side of the system or not.

Oh, and I'm not clear on how you have that meter set up, but if it were me
I'd have it in series between one pole of the battery and its cable (so
the meter is actually part of the circuit), with the meter set for "amps".
With the meter set to "volts" and a 100+AH battery behind it you could be
seeing the miniscule current draw for memory modules or clocks but you'll
never see the whopping drop when you pulled the radio fuse and never know
that what you were chasing wasn't part of the problem.

Radio. Hmmm. It seems that when folks pop in here and ask about curious
electrical faults the radio is part of the symptoms (stuff like "my tail
lights won't work but when I step on the brake the radio comes on.") Just
for giggles see if you can pull the cable connector for the radio and see
if it makes any difference. I don't know where you'd go from there, but
still...


On Mon, 12 Apr 2004, RJO wrote:

> Thank you all. I did get a meter and was able to check the battery and
> fuses yesterday. I even got down to the ignition switch but ran out of
> time before I could test it. I think it's probably a ground somewhere
> because, even with all the fuses pulled and all accessories off, the
> battery was putting out a full 12.65 volts. tonight I'll check the
> engine block and the two others you mentioned. If that doesn't do it,
> I may go ahead and replace the igniion switch, as I am not sure how to
> test it.
>
>
>
>
> mic canic <dbrider@cac.net> wrote in message news:<407955CD.A95202C3@cac.net>...
> > you have some sort of battery drain. you can check the ing. switch if
> > it's bad
> > it's under the colum covers .not at the base. the saginaw steering colums
> > were dropped in 94
> > i would be checking out all the grounds real good when grounds are loose
> > or poor, elcectric relays make alot of noise and battery power looks for
> > grounds backtracking thru wires looking for the ground points and things
> > get dim
> > the main ones are on the engine block by the dipstick
> > the dash harness has some on the lt side under the kick panel and one is
> > under the drivers seat
> > you can check for a draw using a test lite and pulling fuses
> > RJO wrote:
> >
> > > Hey everybody! I bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport last November, with
> > > 106,000 miles on it. I've since added 10,000 miles. Two seperate but
> > > possibly related problems that started right after I bought it have me
> > > flummoxed.
> > >
> > > The first is that when I turn the ignition key off, all the
> > > accessories stay on: the fan, radio, wipers, etc. I quickly learned to
> > > turn everything off before parking the car.
> > >
> > > The second showed up a few weeks later. When the car is parked for
> > > several hours, the battery (which is a new die-hard) drains enough so
> > > that the motor will turn over but not start. If it's parked for a
> > > longer time, it has no juice at all. Sometimes, after using the power
> > > locks to open the car, I can hear a rapid clicking behind the dash to
> > > the left of the main guage display. If I use a jump starter it will
> > > start, and after I drive it for a while, it will start again just
> > > fine. So it doesn't seem to be the charging system.
> > >
> > > I've talked to a mechanic who says it might be the coil or fuel pump,
> > > but that doesn't sound right.
> > >
> > > Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, since I have to do this
> > > myself. I don't have the cash to take it to the garage.
> > >
> > > Thanks!
>

Re: Accessories stay on; Battery drains
 

Isn't there a connector for the steering column just under the dash? Pull
it apart and see if your current load drops to zero. That in itself won't
tell you that the switch is bad or not, but it will tell you if whatever
the problem is is on the key-switched side of the system or not.

Oh, and I'm not clear on how you have that meter set up, but if it were me
I'd have it in series between one pole of the battery and its cable (so
the meter is actually part of the circuit), with the meter set for "amps".
With the meter set to "volts" and a 100+AH battery behind it you could be
seeing the miniscule current draw for memory modules or clocks but you'll
never see the whopping drop when you pulled the radio fuse and never know
that what you were chasing wasn't part of the problem.

Radio. Hmmm. It seems that when folks pop in here and ask about curious
electrical faults the radio is part of the symptoms (stuff like "my tail
lights won't work but when I step on the brake the radio comes on.") Just
for giggles see if you can pull the cable connector for the radio and see
if it makes any difference. I don't know where you'd go from there, but
still...


On Mon, 12 Apr 2004, RJO wrote:

> Thank you all. I did get a meter and was able to check the battery and
> fuses yesterday. I even got down to the ignition switch but ran out of
> time before I could test it. I think it's probably a ground somewhere
> because, even with all the fuses pulled and all accessories off, the
> battery was putting out a full 12.65 volts. tonight I'll check the
> engine block and the two others you mentioned. If that doesn't do it,
> I may go ahead and replace the igniion switch, as I am not sure how to
> test it.
>
>
>
>
> mic canic <dbrider@cac.net> wrote in message news:<407955CD.A95202C3@cac.net>...
> > you have some sort of battery drain. you can check the ing. switch if
> > it's bad
> > it's under the colum covers .not at the base. the saginaw steering colums
> > were dropped in 94
> > i would be checking out all the grounds real good when grounds are loose
> > or poor, elcectric relays make alot of noise and battery power looks for
> > grounds backtracking thru wires looking for the ground points and things
> > get dim
> > the main ones are on the engine block by the dipstick
> > the dash harness has some on the lt side under the kick panel and one is
> > under the drivers seat
> > you can check for a draw using a test lite and pulling fuses
> > RJO wrote:
> >
> > > Hey everybody! I bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport last November, with
> > > 106,000 miles on it. I've since added 10,000 miles. Two seperate but
> > > possibly related problems that started right after I bought it have me
> > > flummoxed.
> > >
> > > The first is that when I turn the ignition key off, all the
> > > accessories stay on: the fan, radio, wipers, etc. I quickly learned to
> > > turn everything off before parking the car.
> > >
> > > The second showed up a few weeks later. When the car is parked for
> > > several hours, the battery (which is a new die-hard) drains enough so
> > > that the motor will turn over but not start. If it's parked for a
> > > longer time, it has no juice at all. Sometimes, after using the power
> > > locks to open the car, I can hear a rapid clicking behind the dash to
> > > the left of the main guage display. If I use a jump starter it will
> > > start, and after I drive it for a while, it will start again just
> > > fine. So it doesn't seem to be the charging system.
> > >
> > > I've talked to a mechanic who says it might be the coil or fuel pump,
> > > but that doesn't sound right.
> > >
> > > Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, since I have to do this
> > > myself. I don't have the cash to take it to the garage.
> > >
> > > Thanks!
>

Re: Accessories stay on; Battery drains
 

The accessories staying on says the ignition switch is dead or way out
of adjustment.

I sure would check that first, chasing symptoms is a waste of time.

12.65 volts only means your battery is fairly new.....

You need to use amps with the meter in series with the battery cable.
You should be drawing way less than one amp.

You can then pull fuses until you stop drawing, but...

To test if the ignition switch is bad, just unplug it and see if the amp
draw goes away.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

RJO wrote:
>
> Thank you all. I did get a meter and was able to check the battery and
> fuses yesterday. I even got down to the ignition switch but ran out of
> time before I could test it. I think it's probably a ground somewhere
> because, even with all the fuses pulled and all accessories off, the
> battery was putting out a full 12.65 volts. tonight I'll check the
> engine block and the two others you mentioned. If that doesn't do it,
> I may go ahead and replace the igniion switch, as I am not sure how to
> test it.
>
> mic canic <dbrider@cac.net> wrote in message news:<407955CD.A95202C3@cac.net>...
> > you have some sort of battery drain. you can check the ing. switch if
> > it's bad
> > it's under the colum covers .not at the base. the saginaw steering colums
> > were dropped in 94
> > i would be checking out all the grounds real good when grounds are loose
> > or poor, elcectric relays make alot of noise and battery power looks for
> > grounds backtracking thru wires looking for the ground points and things
> > get dim
> > the main ones are on the engine block by the dipstick
> > the dash harness has some on the lt side under the kick panel and one is
> > under the drivers seat
> > you can check for a draw using a test lite and pulling fuses
> > RJO wrote:
> >
> > > Hey everybody! I bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport last November, with
> > > 106,000 miles on it. I've since added 10,000 miles. Two seperate but
> > > possibly related problems that started right after I bought it have me
> > > flummoxed.
> > >
> > > The first is that when I turn the ignition key off, all the
> > > accessories stay on: the fan, radio, wipers, etc. I quickly learned to
> > > turn everything off before parking the car.
> > >
> > > The second showed up a few weeks later. When the car is parked for
> > > several hours, the battery (which is a new die-hard) drains enough so
> > > that the motor will turn over but not start. If it's parked for a
> > > longer time, it has no juice at all. Sometimes, after using the power
> > > locks to open the car, I can hear a rapid clicking behind the dash to
> > > the left of the main guage display. If I use a jump starter it will
> > > start, and after I drive it for a while, it will start again just
> > > fine. So it doesn't seem to be the charging system.
> > >
> > > I've talked to a mechanic who says it might be the coil or fuel pump,
> > > but that doesn't sound right.
> > >
> > > Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, since I have to do this
> > > myself. I don't have the cash to take it to the garage.
> > >
> > > Thanks!