rob_engineer

2012 Jku. 105,000 miles. Purchased new. Been pretty much flawless. This morning after sitting about 5 days there was a significant belt sounding squeal. It got better but can still hear it. Drove 10 miles to work without issue. Started up at end of the day without issue. Drive it 10 miles. Went into a store. Came back out and it won't start. Battery at 11.9 volts. Jump started and drive home fine with alternator putting out 14.5 volts the whole time. If it wasn't for the squeal I heard I would just assume a bad battery. But a squeal and a low battery in the same day after being perfect for many years? Any ideas?

resharp001

On various cars, almost every time I've had a squealing belt it was the tensioner pulley. Easy enough to check that by releasing the tension and sliding the belt off, then giving the pulley a spin with your finger. With the age of your jeep, it would be a common culprit. I tend to think that maybe the battery was just a fluke coincidence in timing. Maybe there's a chance the alternator pulley wasn't functioning 100% properly for that trip. Would make more sense with the battery, but also seems much less common.

rob_engineer

Battery appears to be bad. After full charge it's reading 12.2 immediately after removing the charger. I'll put in a new battery and take it from there. It was a Walmart Max ever start 4.25 years old.

resharp001

Not a bad life. I'm good to get 2-3 years out of a battery it seems.

rob_engineer

They told me at advance auto that the battery tested ok but that it needed to be fully charged. It had been on a charger for over 15 hours and was only measuring 12.2 volts. It was putting out 550 CCA and is supposed to be 730CCA. So although they didn't confirm the battery was toast, I figured it was on its way out and replaced it. I'll follow up in a few days if my problem is not solved.

rob_engineer

Ugh. Put the new battery in last night. Started last night. Won't start today. Won't turn over. I'm starting to think a bad idler or something like that. I'll pull the belt off tomorrow. If I find nothing wrong I'll take it to the dealer. I have the Chrysler lifetime warranty with $100 deductible.

Rednroll

Is it the original belt? I had to replace mine around 95K miles, it didn't look too bad but there was the occasional squeal which all went away with a new belt.

rob_engineer

I have a new belt. However no the Jeep won't start. The starter spins but is not engaging to try to turn the engine. I got a weird circumstance of symptoms.
1. Squealed for a day
2. Wouldn't start after I ran into a store for a minute.
3. Was able to jump start it.
4. Put a new battery in and it started the next morning, though I didn't drive it, only pulled it out of the garage.
5. At the end of the day went to pull it back into the garage and it won't turn over, though the starter spins.

I plan to remove the belt today to check condition of the alternator and idler bearings. Will also check the ground terminal.

jadmt

I know idler pulleys have been fairly common issue as far as squealing. If you put a fully charged battery in then it should not go dead over night unless there is something draining it.

Rednroll

If you have a meter, I'ld also check the standby current draw of the battery. It could be something else that failed or an accessory causing a slow current draw and draining the battery. It's also that time of the year when ice and snow get hung up underneath and cause problems.