Gauges bounce around when turning the ignition to accessory position and TJ won't start

SoCalGlide

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Wife and I just got to the drive-in. Shut down, and when I turned ignition to accessory, the gauges started bouncing around and it won't start. I have disconnected the battery for now, but don't know how to proceed. What say the gurus?
 
Corrosion on the battery terminals? Were both positive and negative clamped on good with no movement if you wiggled them?

If they're corroded clean them as best you can, even just wiping down with a paper towel is better than nothing. And make sure the connections are good and snug.

It sounds like either a flaky electrical connection, or a dying battery.
 
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Does the strater turn the engine turn over at a normal rate now? Besides making sure the terminals are clean, start with the basics.

  1. If it cranks slowly, jump it
  2. Do the lights dim dramatically when you try to start?
  3. Because the issue began with turning the key, the ignition switch itself must be consider a potential culprit.
  4. A weak battery can wreak havoc. If it starts off of a solid jump, test the charging system and load test the battery after it has been fully charged.
  5. Note: A battery with a bad cell can be stubborn when trying to jump it.
  6. A drive in must have a competent wrecker service in their Rolodex.
 
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Okay, I think the battery is shorted out. I connected my jumper pack without the main battery, and everything looks fine. Even started on that little lithium battery.
 
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Good news. Any battery can go bad, regardless of age. High likelihood of using a battery warranty if you save the reciept. I have had them last 10 years and I have had them die in just a few months. The only proper way to check a battery is charge it fully and perform a proper load test with a load tester. Most batteries are sealed so it is no longer practical to test them cell by cell, but that was often how we did it in the past. In truth, I don't care which cell is bad, if the battery won't pull a load, it is garbage.
 
I just went through this. Or at least a similar situation. I left on an extended trip with each of my vehicles on a trickle charger. One of the chargers failed while I was gone. The little green light said the charger was working but in reality the only thing working was the green light. The battery had fallen to just under 10v and was dead as a door nail. I didn't even get clicking from the starter solenoid when I turned the key and the needles on the gauges would swing wildly in all direction.s

If your battery was as low as mine it may be totally dead, but there is a chance you might be able to save it.

Put it on a bench charger and try to charge it fully. Use the highest amperage setting.

If the battery takes a charge it should show about 13.6v immediately after you are done charging and settle to about 12.7v. If you don't get it to charge right away just be sure the battery has sufficient distilled water in each cell and keep at it. ( I once had a battery that was so dead it took 4-5 days before it would start taking a charge but it eventually came back. Rare, but it happens.) You're not going to wreck the battery by doing this because it is essentially wrecked already so you have nothing to lose.

If you are able to get your battery to take a charge then you need to load test it. Don't load test it immediately after charging because you won't get accurate results. You should wait at least 4 hours and preferably overnight. It also helps to turn the headlights on and off a time or two to bleed off any "surface charge." I like wait 24 hours before load testing whenever possible and I record voltage readings at regular intervals during the waiting period before the load test to ensure that the voltage is holding steady at no less than 12.6v. If a battery can't hold voltage it isn't going to pass a load test, or put more accurately, if a battery won't hold voltage it doesn't matter if it can pass a load test.

You can use a traditional load tester or an ordinary multimeter to do a load test. To test with a multimeter you disable the ignition so the plugs don't fire and have someone turn the key to crank the starter while you check the voltage of your battery with probes on the positive and negative terminals. Anything under 9.6 volts at 70* is an automatic fail. (9.7v @ 80*). Take voltage readings immediately before and after the load test and watch to see if the voltage recovers within a minute or two.

To use the "cheese grater style" 100A load tester you simply hook up the positive and negative leads and flip the toggle switch controlling the heating element for 7-10 seconds. If the needle falls out of the green for the CCA rating of your battery its a fail; if the needle stays in the green for your CCA rating its a pass. Where people go wrong with these is not paying attention to the needle scale, not knowing the CCA of the battery being tested, by trying to do a load test with the battery at less than 75% charge, and most especially by not waiting for the battery voltage to settle after removing the battery from the charger and before performing the load test. (Which is why driving to the auto parts store for them to do the test while you wait will never produce accurate results.) Otherwise its easy peasy.

Best of luck.

61747_W3.jpg
 
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Our son brought us a new battery. Was a bear getting it installed, due to a shortage of proper tools, but we managed. Made it home without further issue. I haven't had any charging and or starting system issues up to now. It's not like I knew the battery was on its last legs and I was trying to get the last bit of life out of it. The old battery just decided to take a shit then and there. 4 year old Optima yellow top, came with the Jeep when I bought it 2 years ago.
I appreciated the feedback you all gave me, got me on track to figuring out the issue.
 
I don't think you mentioned that you had an Optima.

Forget trying to bring it back to life. It will be an exercise in futility. I've done it with a 40 amp jolt and then a few charge/discharge cycles in an effort at desulfation, but in the end an old Optima that has failed in the manner yours has will never be the same and should be replaced so that you don't chance relying upon it offroad.

You won't get many (if any) positive comments about Optimas on this forum. If you want a conventional lead acid battery as a replacement, try the Costco Interstate Group 34 for about $90. If you want another AGM, you may want to consider the Duracell AGM, Duralast Platinum AGM from Autozone, Super Start Platinum/Super Start Marine AGM from OReilly's or the Napa Legend AGM from NAPA - all are private labeled made in USA batteries from East Penn/Deka and all identical to the highly regarded Deka Intimidator AGM and in the $160-170 range rather than the $300 rarified air of Northstar/Odyssey AGM batteries.

You might find this article useful:

https://www.roundforge.com/articles/how-tell-if-your-optima-battery-bad/
 
I don't think you mentioned that you had an Optima.

Forget trying to bring it back to life. It will be an exercise in futility. I've done it with a 40 amp jolt and then a few charge/discharge cycles in an effort at desulfation, but in the end an old Optima that has failed in the manner yours has will never be the same and should be replaced so that you don't chance relying upon it offroad.

You won't get many (if any) positive comments about Optimas on this forum. If you want a conventional lead acid battery as a replacement, try the Costco Interstate Group 34 for about $90. If you want another AGM, you may want to consider the Duracell AGM, Duralast Platinum AGM from Autozone, Super Start Platinum/Super Start Marine AGM from OReilly's or the Napa Legend AGM from NAPA - all are private labeled made in USA batteries from East Penn/Deka and all identical to the highly regarded Deka Intimidator AGM and in the $160-170 range rather than the $300 rarified air of Northstar/Odyssey AGM batteries.

You might find this article useful:

https://www.roundforge.com/articles/how-tell-if-your-optima-battery-bad/
I've read all of the scuttlebutt about the Optimas, but I wasn't going to fix it until it broke. And, after 4 years, mine for two of them, it broke. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
We were kind of up against it with the time, 8:30PM, and we were at a drive-in theater 50 miles from home. Our son got to the closest parts store to him, Autozone, and picked up a Duralast Gold before they closed. Not my first choice, I would have gone AGM, but I didn't specify this to my son. I was more concerned with not being stuck 50 miles from home. It'll do for now.
 
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Glad you got it sorted.

I chased a similar gremlin years ago. Turned out to be a short behind the gauge cluster. I had upgraded to an RB1 and put the ipod conversion box under the dash which had shorted some of the terminals on the cluster. No permanent damage fortunately.

I'm usually my own worst enemy.