'97 grand cherokee electrical problem...

Strange electrical problem with my jeep... Today, after starting the
jeep to head to work, I had to reset the date/time on my console.
This usually only happens when the battery has been disconnected.
After getting home this evening, I noticed all the lights, including
those in the dash, were flickering bright/low. I fumbled some with
light switch and interior brightness control and this made no
difference. I turned the jeep off and tried to restart. Completely
dead, would not turn over, no power to accessories, no idiot lights on
the dash would light. I was if the battery had been removed. So I
thought maybe a really dead battery. But on the third try with the
key, the jeep started fine, and no 'flickering' lights. I have had
some problem for a while with the occasional refusal of the engine to
turn over. Several switch cycles and the jeep would start. Today,
maybe not related, but all these other electrical problems. I'm
thinking ignition switch, but i'm afraid there are other
possibilities, so I don't want to fork out the bunch of bucks if its
not the switch. I hope someone can help, because i am off tomorrow
and have some time to look at it. Has anyone had this problem before?

thanks
cal

cal wrote:
> Strange electrical problem with my jeep... Today, after starting the
> jeep to head to work, I had to reset the date/time on my console.
> This usually only happens when the battery has been disconnected.
> After getting home this evening, I noticed all the lights, including
> those in the dash, were flickering bright/low. I fumbled some with
> light switch and interior brightness control and this made no
> difference. I turned the jeep off and tried to restart. Completely
> dead, would not turn over, no power to accessories, no idiot lights on
> the dash would light. I was if the battery had been removed. So I
> thought maybe a really dead battery. But on the third try with the
> key, the jeep started fine, and no 'flickering' lights. I have had
> some problem for a while with the occasional refusal of the engine to
> turn over. Several switch cycles and the jeep would start. Today,
> maybe not related, but all these other electrical problems. I'm
> thinking ignition switch, but i'm afraid there are other
> possibilities, so I don't want to fork out the bunch of bucks if its
> not the switch. I hope someone can help, because i am off tomorrow
> and have some time to look at it. Has anyone had this problem before?


My first thought would be loose battery terminal. The inrush
surge can create a temporary spot-weld at the terminal.

I've also seen situations where the battery failed internally.

--
DougW

Resetting the clock for no apparent reason means the battery is low. After a
drive of about 30 minutes and the situation is worse indicates alternator
failure.

You could simply need a battery, but even a weak battery should respond to
an alternator that's working. If the battery was the only problem and the
alternator was good, then you should not have starting problems immediately
after turning the engine off after a drive of 30-ish minutes. The fact that
the battery was so dead after a trip indicates that the alternator might not
be working.




"cal" > wrote in message
...
> Strange electrical problem with my jeep... Today, after starting the
> jeep to head to work, I had to reset the date/time on my console.
> This usually only happens when the battery has been disconnected.
> After getting home this evening, I noticed all the lights, including
> those in the dash, were flickering bright/low. I fumbled some with
> light switch and interior brightness control and this made no
> difference. I turned the jeep off and tried to restart. Completely
> dead, would not turn over, no power to accessories, no idiot lights on
> the dash would light. I was if the battery had been removed. So I
> thought maybe a really dead battery. But on the third try with the
> key, the jeep started fine, and no 'flickering' lights. I have had
> some problem for a while with the occasional refusal of the engine to
> turn over. Several switch cycles and the jeep would start. Today,
> maybe not related, but all these other electrical problems. I'm
> thinking ignition switch, but i'm afraid there are other
> possibilities, so I don't want to fork out the bunch of bucks if its
> not the switch. I hope someone can help, because i am off tomorrow
> and have some time to look at it. Has anyone had this problem before?
>
> thanks
> cal

Jeff Strickland wrote:
> Resetting the clock for no apparent reason means the battery is low.
> After a drive of about 30 minutes and the situation is worse
> indicates alternator failure.
>
> You could simply need a battery, but even a weak battery should
> respond to an alternator that's working. If the battery was the only
> problem and the alternator was good, then you should not have
> starting problems immediately after turning the engine off after a
> drive of 30-ish minutes. The fact that the battery was so dead after
> a trip indicates that the alternator might not be working.

If the battery is sufficently fubar even a good alternator won't help.
Trust me. I got that fricking T-shirt twice. The problem is the
sense used for charging the battery will be fooled by a bad connection
and think the battery is charged when it isn't and cut the alternator
coil. Least wise that's how it seems to work on my ZJ.

> "cal" <> wrote ...
>> Strange electrical problem with my jeep... Today, after starting the
>> jeep to head to work, I had to reset the date/time on my console.
>> This usually only happens when the battery has been disconnected.
>> After getting home this evening, I noticed all the lights, including
>> those in the dash, were flickering bright/low. I fumbled some with
>> light switch and interior brightness control and this made no
>> difference. I turned the jeep off and tried to restart. Completely
>> dead, would not turn over, no power to accessories, no idiot lights
>> on the dash would light. I was if the battery had been removed. So
>> I thought maybe a really dead battery. But on the third try with the
>> key, the jeep started fine, and no 'flickering' lights. I have had
>> some problem for a while with the occasional refusal of the engine to
>> turn over. Several switch cycles and the jeep would start. Today,
>> maybe not related, but all these other electrical problems. I'm
>> thinking ignition switch, but i'm afraid there are other
>> possibilities, so I don't want to fork out the bunch of bucks if its
>> not the switch. I hope someone can help, because i am off tomorrow
>> and have some time to look at it. Has anyone had this problem
>> before? thanks
>> cal

cal wrote:
> Strange electrical problem with my jeep... Today, after starting the
> jeep to head to work, I had to reset the date/time on my console.
> This usually only happens when the battery has been disconnected.
> After getting home this evening, I noticed all the lights, including
> those in the dash, were flickering bright/low. I fumbled some with
> light switch and interior brightness control and this made no
> difference. I turned the jeep off and tried to restart. Completely
> dead, would not turn over, no power to accessories, no idiot lights on
> the dash would light. I was if the battery had been removed. So I
> thought maybe a really dead battery. But on the third try with the
> key, the jeep started fine, and no 'flickering' lights. I have had
> some problem for a while with the occasional refusal of the engine to
> turn over. Several switch cycles and the jeep would start. Today,
> maybe not related, but all these other electrical problems. I'm
> thinking ignition switch, but i'm afraid there are other
> possibilities, so I don't want to fork out the bunch of bucks if its
> not the switch. I hope someone can help, because i am off tomorrow
> and have some time to look at it. Has anyone had this problem before?

Sounds to me like one of the connections on the battery is loose. Pull the
positive and negative and clean the connector and the post then seat and
retighten them and see what happens. If that's not it you've done no harm
and you've ruled that out as being the problem.

On Oct 27, 9:05*pm, "DougW" >
wrote:
> Jeff Strickland wrote:
> > Resetting the clock for no apparent reason means the battery is low.
> > After a drive of about 30 minutes and the situation is worse
> > indicates alternator failure.
>
> > You could simply need a battery, but even a weak battery should
> > respond to an alternator that's working. If the battery was the only
> > problem and the alternator was good, then you should not have
> > starting problems immediately after turning the engine off after a
> > drive of 30-ish minutes. The fact that the battery was so dead after
> > a trip indicates that the alternator might not be working.
>
> If the battery is sufficently fubar even a good alternator won't help.
> Trust me. *I got that fricking T-shirt twice. *The problem is the
> sense used for charging the battery will be fooled by a bad connection
> and think the battery is charged when it isn't and cut the alternator
> coil. * Least wise that's how it seems to work on my ZJ.
>
>
>
> > "cal" <> wrote ...
> >> Strange electrical problem with my jeep... *Today, after starting the
> >> jeep to head to work, I had to reset the date/time on my console.
> >> This usually only happens when the battery has been disconnected.
> >> After getting home this evening, I noticed all the lights, including
> >> those in the dash, were flickering bright/low. I fumbled some with
> >> light switch and interior brightness control and this made no
> >> difference. *I turned the jeep off and tried to restart. *Completely
> >> dead, would not turn over, no power to accessories, no idiot lights
> >> on the dash would light. *I was if the battery had been removed. *So
> >> I thought maybe a really dead battery. *But on the third try with the
> >> key, the jeep started fine, and no 'flickering' lights. *I have had
> >> some problem for a while with the occasional refusal of the engine to
> >> turn over. *Several switch cycles and the jeep would start. *Today,
> >> maybe not related, but all these other electrical problems. *I'm
> >> thinking ignition switch, but i'm afraid there are other
> >> possibilities, so I don't want to fork out the bunch of bucks if its
> >> not the switch. *I hope someone can help, because i am off tomorrow
> >> and have some time to look at it. *Has anyone had this problem
> >> before? thanks
> >> cal- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Battery connections seem good, they are at least tight. I plan to
clean them tomorrow. Just went out, and the jeep started fine, and
everything electrically seemed ok. I will see if this is something
that is heat related by driving some tomorrow, may go somewhere and
have the battery/charging system checked. Thanks for your help so
far. i will report back.
thanks
cal

cal wrote:

> Battery connections seem good, they are at least tight. I plan to
> clean them tomorrow. Just went out, and the jeep started fine, and
> everything electrically seemed ok. I will see if this is something
> that is heat related by driving some tomorrow, may go somewhere and
> have the battery/charging system checked. Thanks for your help so
> far. i will report back.

Might check to see if the level is low in any cells. (if you have
one that opens) I'd take the battery to PepBoys or similar and
have them test it.

One other poster had problems with starting and traced it to a
broken connector under the dash where the wires connect to the
ignition switch. A dirty or messed up connection there could
cause all sorts of problems.

It was posted in alt.jeep-l by Tamiami. If you get that group
you can find the post.

Quote:
"Starting at the starter and working my way back through the NSS, power
block fuses and relays, the interior fuses and relays and landing at the
ignition switch - I discovered it. There is an eight pin connector
attaching to the bottom of the ignition switch with colored wires going
into it from left to right:

or/coral - purple - or - red - empty - purp/white - blue - yel

Well, due to it being too short and having to make the hard left turn to
connect under the steering column, over time and 85,000 miles the
or/coral wire at the extreme left of the connector had pulled out of the
block and was shorting the adjacent purple wire. Once disassembled and
reconnected the old girl took right off. And so far, the only
consequence I can see is the backup light bulbs burned out.

Now, all I have to do is look into the steering column and see if I can
loosen the wiring harness retainers to offer a little slack to the
stressed or/coral wire.
"

--
DougW

On Oct 27, 10:03*pm, "DougW" >
wrote:
> cal wrote:
> > Battery connections seem good, they are at least tight. *I plan to
> > clean them tomorrow. *Just went out, and the jeep started fine, and
> > everything electrically seemed ok. *I will see if this is something
> > that is heat related by driving some tomorrow, may go somewhere and
> > have the battery/charging system checked. *Thanks for your help so
> > far. *i will report back.
>
> Might check to see if the level is low in any cells. (if you have
> one that opens) *I'd take the battery to PepBoys or similar and
> have them test it.
>
> One other poster had problems with starting and traced it to a
> broken connector under the dash where the wires connect to the
> ignition switch. *A dirty or messed up connection there could
> cause all sorts of problems.
>
> It was posted in alt.jeep-l by Tamiami. *If you get that group
> you can find the post.
>
> Quote:
> "Starting at the starter and working my way back through the NSS, power
> block fuses and relays, the interior fuses and relays and landing at the
> ignition switch - I discovered it. *There is an eight pin connector
> attaching to the bottom of the ignition switch with colored wires going
> into it from left to right:
>
> * *or/coral - purple - or - red - empty - purp/white - blue - yel
>
> Well, due to it being too short and having to make the hard left turn to
> connect under the steering column, over time and 85,000 miles the
> or/coral wire at the extreme left of the connector had pulled out of the
> block and was shorting the adjacent purple wire. *Once disassembled and
> reconnected the old girl took right off. *And so far, the only
> consequence I can see is the backup light bulbs burned out.
>
> Now, all I have to do is look into the steering column and see if I can
> loosen the wiring harness retainers to offer a little slack to the
> stressed or/coral wire.
> "
>
> --
> DougW

Looks like you guys were right. Although there was no obvious problem
with the battery connections, I think that is the problem. I will
know for sure after driving a while. I replaced the negagtive battery
post clamp a couple years ago, and although it looked fine from the
outside, it was really corroded on the inside. Thats what i like
about this forum. You guys know your stuff. Thanks for all the help.
I plan to check the connection on the ignition switch sometime soon,
and see if that is responsible for my occasional starting problem.
thanks
cal