Bouncing gauges and wont start

[Jeffery]

Hi All, This is my first Jeep and this forum has been a life saver when it come to the nuances of Jeep ownership. I have a issue crop up yesterday that has got me wondering:

2001 Wrangler (manual trans): Turn the key in the ignition to start and all the gauges, in unison, bounce up and down a small distance and there is no electrical power (e,g, radio wont come on). The jeep won't start, turn over, no clicking noise of any kind. The first time it happened I turned of the ignition and removed the key. To my surprise, the gauges continued their in unison dance. I disconnected the battery, waited a few minutes, reconnected and (you guessed it) it fired right up. It started several times after that and started so strongly that I have not bothered to check the battery for voltage with a meter. I can turn on the auxillary lights with no issue (they are wired independent of the ignition switch). The issue has happened again yesterday, so it is an intermittent issue. I am leaning toward the a bad ignition switch but I am leery of just replacing parts without understanding the failure......

Anyone out there have a recommendation on how to diagnose? Anyone have this specific problem before?

 

[tworley]

I'd start by giving your terminals and posts a real good clean. Use a wire brush and get them real nice and shiny again.

 

[Daryl]

Do what @tworley posted first. If that doesn’t fix your issue take a look at your ignition switch actuator.

 

[Babygools99]

My buddy had this issue and i laughed and laughed because i saw how absolutely terrible his terminals wires were, and i mean rigged all to hell and crustyas could be. he was overthinking his situation so bad, so i made this suggestion based off the looks of it and he said they were fine, so i went and got some cable cutters, and cut them both, told him he will thank me later, and drove away, he drove to the house 20 mins later giving me the finger.

I'd start by giving your terminals and posts a real good clean. Use a wire brush and get them real nice and shiny again.

 

[CharlesHS]

X2 on cleaning the battery terminals and battery clamps; couldn't hurt to look at the starter terminals too....
Verify the ignition switch harness connector pins are clean and connected properly.
IF the problem continues... the it's probably time to replace the ignition switch.

 

[Jeffery]

I'd start by giving your terminals and posts a real good clean. Use a wire brush and get them real nice and shiny again.

Thanks for the tip I cleaned them last night..there was some corrosion but nothing egregious. I think the magic clue here is that the gauges continued to bounce AFTER I shut off the ignition and removed the key indicating there is something wrong with the ignition itself.

Appreciate the reply Thank you

 

[Jeffery]

Do what @tworley posted first. If that doesn’t fix your issue take a look at your ignition switch actuator.

Thanks Daryl, I think this is the issue as the gauges kept bouncing after I removed the key from the ignition in the off position. In the video he references that in the previous video he detailed how to diagnose so I will check that out but I think we have a winner. Thank you for taking the time to post the reply, you have saved me both time and $$. Appreciate you.

 

[Daryl]

Thanks Daryl, I think this is the issue as the gauges kept bouncing after I removed the key from the ignition in the off position. In the video he references that in the previous video he detailed how to diagnose so I will check that out but I think we have a winner. Thank you for taking the time to post the reply, you have saved me both time and $$. Appreciate you.

Please come back and post the solution. It’ll help someone who comes across this thread in the future.

 

[Cedar128]

I think the magic clue here is that the gauges continued to bounce AFTER I shut off the ignition and removed the key

I had that exact issue a few months back, it was a bad battery. Don’t ask me to explain it, because I can’t begin to tell you why, but a new battery fixed my problem. Start with testing your battery.

 

[Jeffery]

Up

Hi All, This is my first Jeep and this forum has been a life saver when it come to the nuances of Jeep ownership. I have a issue crop up yesterday that has got me wondering:

2001 Wrangler (manual trans): Turn the key in the ignition to start and all the gauges, in unison, bounce up and down a small distance and there is no electrical power (e,g, radio wont come on). The jeep won't start, turn over, no clicking noise of any kind. The first time it happened I turned of the ignition and removed the key. To my surprise, the gauges continued their in unison dance. I disconnected the battery, waited a few minutes, reconnected and (you guessed it) it fired right up. It started several times after that and started so strongly that I have not bothered to check the battery for voltage with a meter. I can turn on the auxillary lights with no issue (they are wired independent of the ignition switch). The issue has happened again yesterday, so it is an intermittent issue. I am leaning toward the a bad ignition switch but I am leery of just replacing parts without understanding the failure......

Anyone out there have a recommendation on how to diagnose? Anyone have this specific problem before?

Update: And a first prize goes to all those who said "battery". Very strange presentation of a faulty battery but that was the solution to the problem.

 

[Jeffery]

I had that exact issue a few months back, it was a bad battery. Don’t ask me to explain it, because I can’t begin to tell you why, but a new battery fixed my problem. Start with testing your battery.

You are 100% correct. that was the issue. A spot voltage reading at 13 volts was a little misleading but after I replaced it the issue went away. querky! thanks for being spot on!

 

[Chris]

Thanks for the update

 

[Jerry Bransford]

You are 100% correct. that was the issue. A spot voltage reading at 13 volts was a little misleading but after I replaced it the issue went away. querky! thanks for being spot on!

Even a nearly dead battery can show 12 volts with a meter which is useless unless you know how to measure the battery. Without a load, the battery can as said, indicate 12 volts. It needs to be tested with a load on it, like having a helper hold the ignition switch to start to see what it measures then... with a load on it. That's why load tests are so commonly recommended when there's a potential battery issue. A common meter will give misleading results when the battery isn't measured with a load, I.E. the starter motor, on it.

 

[Cheetokps]

I’m having the same problem, finally got it to start after jumping it so I’m thinking battery. The battery isn’t that old and it’s a nice AGM battery which is why I never questioned the battery when it wasn’t starting recently, but I guess anything can happen. I do have my winch, amp, and subwoofer connected to it, could that wear out the battery faster?

I also have a spotlight connected to it with a switch that always glows even without the key in, maybe that constant battery drain could have damaged the battery by getting it too low? It’s only a small amount but I have questioned that

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Is the amp/subwoofer properly wired to shut off automatically when the key is turned off? A winch doesn't draw any current when it's not being used.

Now that you've jump started the engine don't believe the alternator will be able to recharge it during normal short trip driving. I'd recharge the battery overnight using a benchtop battery charger. A trickle charger will take way too long.

Are the battery connections tight, clean, and shiny? A bad battery connection can cause that problem too. And even if they look good there can still be a bad/intermittent connection between the battery post and its connector. I'd use a wire brush or battery brush to wire brush both the battery posts and the inside of both connectors.

 

[Artsifrtsi]

Now that you've jump started the engine don't believe the alternator will be able to recharge it during normal short trip driving. I'd recharge the battery overnight using a benchtop battery charger. A trickle charger will take way too long.

And, because he said it's an AGM, be sure that the benchtop charger is rated to charge AGM batteries.

 

[Cheetokps]

Is the amp/subwoofer properly wired to shut off automatically when the key is turned off? A winch doesn't draw any current when it's not being used.

Now that you've jump started the engine don't believe the alternator will be able to recharge it during normal short trip driving. I'd recharge the battery overnight using a benchtop battery charger. A trickle charger will take way too long.

Are the battery connections tight, clean, and shiny? A bad battery connection can cause that problem too. And even if they look good there can still be a bad/intermittent connection between the battery post and its connector. I'd use a wire brush or battery brush to wire brush both the battery posts and the inside of both connectors.

I believe they are, but I have had some weird electrical stuff with them that could be bad wiring. My subwoofer has been making a thump noise whenever I pause music, and I’m also having alternator whine in my speakers which I wondered if it was a bad ground

At O’Reillys they said the same that it needed a charge, I didn’t have the time for them to do it now but I will bring it back sometime.

The connections appear good, I did clean them up with a paper towel because that’s all I had but I will try with a wire brush when I get home. I tried adjusting and tightening the terminal clamps but it didn’t help.

I replaced my starter, ignition switch and ignition switch actuator trying to fix this because it’s had problems recently. It seemed like a fuel problem because it took a while to crank sometimes, until this time it wouldn’t even turn on. Might be 2 unrelated problems

The battery was tested and seemed fine at O’Reillys. Somehow I didn’t notice that when I bought my battery they gave me one that was already 2 years old however

 

[pipesndrums]

Confirmed, so glad I have this forum to come to! This morning the TJ exhibited same symptoms, acted like it had no power, and when I removed the key the dials started blipping up and down all bu themselves like it was possessed. On inspection the negative battery terminal had got all corroded, blue corrosion all over it. Cleaned it up, poured some baking soda and water on it, got it as clean as possible. That gave it enough juice to be more normal but had to use jumper cables to get it started, then ran it around for 30 minutes and local place tested the battery and it is all good. For sure the corrosion was the issue. Thanks so much for these comments! Check out the video for the Jivin dials, totally wild!

 

[Camdenst]

Are the battery connections tight, clean, and shiny? A bad battery connection can cause that problem too. And even if they look good there can still be a bad/intermittent connection between the battery post and its connector. I'd use a wire brush or battery brush to wire brush both the battery posts and the inside of both connectors.

What’s everyone’s take on a dielectric grease or fluid on the terminals after they are cleaned?

 

[TJ Jim]

Just to be clear. Clean the battery terminals means pull the clamp off. Both negative and positive. Wire brush the inside of the clamp, the outside of the post till you have shiny lead showing. Then put the clamps back on positive first then negative.
From the descriptions above you folks are cleaning the posts/terminals and not the contacting surfaces.