I have a 97 Jeep Wrangler which is experencing an issue with its battery gauge. In december I drove up to see my folks; it was a 3 hour drive and I did not notice any issues with the Jeep at this time. The next day I drove it one block and the “Check Engine” light came on and the battery gauge bottomed out. I turned off the Jeep, waited a minute, and then restarted it… after a few minutes the light was back on and the gauge was back at the bottom. I took it into a shop on monday and they noticed that the battery (which I had replaced earlier in the year after experencing another issue with all the gauges)was at half strength. They charged the battery and everything was fine. They did test the electrical system and could not find anything wrong. They recharged the battery and I was able to drive home with no problems.
3 months go by and I never saw that issue again, until I drove back to my folks again this weekend. After visiting them for a bit I set out to see some friends and only made it one block before the “Check Engine” light came on and the battery gauge dropped to the bottom. I put it on the battery charger and the battery was at half charge. I charged it back up and took it back out only to make it one block before the light came back on and the gauge dropped to the bottom.
any idea what could be causing this? The only other thing that I see wrong with the Jeep is that one highbeam is out… and the windshield is cracked but I know that has nothing to do with it… i think
I think you have a loose or corroded connection.
Check the battery cables, alternator wires, harness to the engine computer etc.
well they cleaned the cables and checked the wire connections when I took it into the garage in december. I left it up at the folks for the week so that the garage can look over everything
You might wanna go to a shop that specializes in automotive electrical work. There seems to be one in every community. They can do voltage drop tests to find out where the bad connections are. A connection could look beautiful, but oxidation could be causing resistance.
Also they can do “wiggle tests” (wiggle and bend the conductor or wire in question to see if it has a break in it.) Discuss price first. It shouldn’t be an arm and a leg