What the hell is my jeep doing?!

Went to get my jeep out of the lot today and found it to be completely dead. i couldn't unlock w/ the key fob, anything that was wired direct to my battery like my windshield lights would not turn on, everything was dead. tried jumping it with one of those portable jumpers, did nothing, then tried cable and finally got it to turn over but i had to start it in neutral. this had happened to me before last spring and thats how i remembered to shift my tranny into neutral. the engine light was on after this.

so i go and get dinner, walk back out get in and as soon as i try and start it again it clicks once (not the starter but something else) then completely dies again, call my buddy and hem comes to help me jump it, but this time was able to turn it over in park. engine light is gone now, and i didnt want/ couldn't do the key dance to pull up any codes b/c it would have just died again.


this is where it gets strange...

he ended up having to go pick up some stuff at autozone down the street so i followed him there. just for shits i turned it of then tried to start again and it died again. after we came out i was getting the cables ready again to jump it. i connected my positive first then the negative, the other ends were on the parking lot pavement. as soon as the negative touched all the electrical kicked back in and was able to start it right up w/ out having to jump off his battery at all, b/c the other end of the cables were on the floor like i said before.

sure enough when i got home i shut it off and tried to start it again and it died instantly just as it had been doing before. so its sitting out in the lot, dead and im willing to bet that tomorrow ill be able to just touch the jumpers to the terminals w/ out another battery attached and it will trigger what ever it did before and will start right up.

Does anyone have any idea what could be going on?

2007 unlim x
Auto
76,000 miles

Thanks guys/ gals

 

As a newbie, I don't know much, except for I experienced the EXACT same thing not more than 2 months ago. I took it to the Jeep lot once, they told me they couldn't find anything wrong, and sent me home as they said it would start. Got it home, tried to start it up the next morning, and nothing (clicked once and would do nothing else). Took it back to the Jeep lot, and I told them I didn't want it until they figured out the issue. After having it a day, they replaced the battery (just as a precaution), but told me that the main issue was that the rectifier within the alternator was not distributing properly and had to be corrected. They took care of all of it under warranty, and I haven't had any problems since. Not usually a betting man, but considering what you're describing is exactly the painstaking experience I had, I would try it first. That's all I got.

 

toad - I was thinking the "click no start problem" Range Sensor/Ground issue, bit this issue is a lot more involved as it looks like nothing works sometimes...

 

Yeah, he can add his problem to the list! It will be interesting to see what's wrong.

 

JdTms11 - I read somewhere that if you disconnect the positive cable and touch it to the ground for a minute (or something like that) it does some kind a special complete reset. Maybe when you touched the negative to the other battery it did the reset thing? Maybe a complete reset will help? Maybe you computer isn’t happy? Electrical gremlins can be troublesome to track down and kill.

Here's the thread that explains how to do the complete reset thing: https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...uadratec+reset

 

I'll give those things a try this weekend.
Thanx!

 

Did you check if the battery connections are loose or corroded? Remove both the + and the - connections from the battery and get a battery post cleaner at the auto store. Clean both the connectors and battery post and re-install. While sometimes the connection seems ok via the naked eye, there could be bad connection. That was probably why your Jeep started when you went to connect the jumper cable to that one terminal and not the other from your previous battery jump. Worth a shot , Battery post and cable terminal cleaner is around $8. When it comes to grounds, battery and connections the Wranglers' computers are very sensitve.

SLIM

 

the terminals are fine, and the cables are tight. i really dont think its a problem with the battery, especially if i dont need to hook it up to another battery and jump it.

i called the dealer, im dropping it tomorrow night and hopefully picking it up on Saturday at some point.

ive also heard of it being the neutral safety switch in the transmission, so ill mention that and the range sensor to the service guy when i bring it in and see what they say

 

I've had that problem and had it fixed at the dealership. When it happens the only thing that’s a problem is that the engine won't start, all other electrical things function normally. Also, when it happens you slide it into Neutral, or into Neutral then back into Park, or push up on it in Park to get it to go. The Range Sensor is like a Neutral Safety switch, and can definitely stop you from starting, but it shouldn’t have any affect on any other electrical components.

Hopefully the dealer can run some good troubleshooting diagnostics and find a problem in the computer or something and replace it for free.

 

some new things now.


got it started again, while it was idling it died, so now im thinking alternator, but even if it is the alternator why cant i use things like my lights of CB which are wired direct to the battery.

i got it turned over again and quickly put it into drive, got it from the back of the lot to the front of the lot, while driving i had the ABS, esp bas, the parking break light and the other esp light all flash and chime at me, when i came to a stop the jeeps dash lights dimmed and the thing dies again.

AAA is supposedly on their way right now to tow me