Edge Hawk

So on the very low rated 3D trail, I got on it a little bit in this one section where it was a sandy dried up creek area. Some washboard, but not bad. I got on it a little bit going threw the canyon turns, but nothing crazy.

After the little canyon run, we stopped for lunch. I left my key in, but not sure if ign or acc was on. I had iPad and CB plugged in, but that shouldn't have killed my battery for such a short time. Anyway, when lunch was over, I get in and try to turn it on. No go. I saw "NoFUSE" on the odometer display. I was able to get jump started by another jeep, and continued on the trail as there was no easy way to get back to civilization.

As I was driving, the odometer was flickering and got random lights like the startup sequence. Radio would boot and re-boot. Heard some clicking behind the dash too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejt_jvOvgz0 Went quite a ways and the jeep died on me while driving. Jumped again, and got different lights lighting up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq04bKwFLKk 3rd time it died on me, got jumped again and it went into Limp mode and I made it to the end of the trail like that.
No video of that...

Once on the road, turned jeep off, got it jumped again and no limp mode. Went to parts store and they checked the battery, it was totally dead. I replaced it with an interstate, and it would start on its own again.

However, now the door locks wouldn't lock and unlock. Key fob would still arm the system and I could do remote start. I pulled the M38 fuse and it was blown. As soon as I put a new one in, it arc'd and blew. Pulled Neg terminal and out fuse in. As soon as I touched the Neg cable to battery the fuse blew.
I pulled the connections on all 4 doors and tailgate and it still blew, so the short isn't in one of the doors.

Also, the windshield wiper fluid motor isn't working now. I pulled all the fuses in the TIPM and none were blown. From looking at another TIPM post and his breakdown of the layers, it looks like the wiper fluid motor relay is next to the area for the door lock fuse.

Questions are,
1) What caused my battery to die to the point it couldn't hold a charge?
I get the TIPM can have shorts in it, but it should be able to handle a little off road driving.

2) Any ways I can troubleshoot further? I could take the TIPM out and check for shorts in the wiring, but I'm thinking dealer can confirm quicker than me?

3) I see these take forever to order one and get it. Is there a different way than ordering through a dealer to get a TIPM?

P.S. - I should have taken it in when it was under warranty, but I would get in the jeep after work or in the morning, and the radio would be on the lowest AM station. I don't listen to AM, so the radio would reset itself intermittently. I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

PG-JKU

Alternator maybe? Check your voltage while running, should be over 13 V. If not, your charging system isn't working.

eclipse3319

When your charging system is having issues test it with these steps to isolate the problem.

Check the battery. Ensure that the connections are very sound and that the clamps and terminals are clean to insure a good connection.
With the engine running and headlights and accessories off, measure the voltage across the battery terminals. If the charging system is performing properly, the voltage should be between 13.3 volts (DC) and 14.7 volts. If you measure this voltage within this range the charging system is should be working properly.
A shorted diode in the alternator can still allow a charging voltage of up to 13.3 volts, and can be detected by the battery going dead within several hours. If this happens, charge the battery out of the car to confirm it is still good. If you are still experiencing charging system issues, then the battery is suspect.
If the voltage measured in step one is outside the range, check the voltage across the alternator output terminals. On the alternator, the top large terminal is the positive and the lower large terminal is negative. The voltage across these terminals should be between 0 and 0.4 volts higher than the voltage across the battery.

Mark Doiron

Had JK in the Arkansas Ozarks a few months back that did pretty much exactly the same thing--flashing lights on dash, electrical things acting weird, etc. Turned out to be the battery. It is a 2012 JK. You can see our working our way through this on my YouTube video starting at about 0:52 ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naohutKP-d8

Edge Hawk

Thanks guys, I'll check the voltage on the new battery and monitor. I think the alternator is ok, because after the first jump, I was able to get back to town (30 mile trip).

The guy at car quest had said my battery there was completely dead and the scan tool said to replace battery.

I had like 30+ codes when I stopped by a shop to check codes. None were currently active with the new battery.

Jeepstin12

often if the battery is completely dead nod not allowing any current to pass through, this will throw codes as the system does not see a read on anything. Happened in my land rover as well.

Mark Doiron

Just FYI, if you have an Android device, you can get a very accurate voltage reading off the CAN bus with the Torque Pro app and an OBD/Blu-tooth adapter. There are even options for recording readings versus GPS location and such, though I've never used that aspect of a very neat app.

Edge Hawk

Hey all. Dealership checked battery draw, no loss.

Question can I put in a used TIPM from a jeep that has same options as me except manual transmission?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Grimmjpr

Are you out of warranty?

When my battery died 2012 JK also it was a total sudden faliure, and jumping it did nothing. Was like a plate came loose inside the battery and shorted a cell or 2. At rest the battery was running like 7 volts and under load with the headlights on....it dipped to like 3 volts. When i would turn the key it would rapidly click and the dash lights would kinda go nuts. Im not sure how a low battery would fry your TIPM unless repeatedly jumping it fried something?

Edge Hawk

Yeah I'm out of warranty. My battery had 9 volts.

I had to jump it 4 times to make it to parts store.

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