kikstand454

Ok. I'm sitting in the jeep now.
Just jumped it off and it started right up. It is now running rough and sounds like its skipping a bit. All connections look fine, but I have to keep foot on the gas to keep it going and when it take the jumper cables off, the engine dies.
I'm letting it 'charge' right now but I'm thinking its my alternator that has bit the dust.
Voltmeter says 14 but then...I'm hooked to the other car.
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Ok.
So after a rough patch there the engine settled down and the battery held and I drove it home. Everything seems fine except a possible slight decrease in power that may be in my head.
What would your next move be?
When I shut it off at home it started right back up. Apparently my playing in the mud puddles and then getting the undercarriage sprayed got the alternater too wet or something. I'm glad it dried out.
When crawling under to check connections however I noticed that not only is the filter adapter hold a fram :what: but it is also leaking from the bottom. Also appears to be a small leak from the back of my tranny pan.

Yay I have a REAL jeep! Lol....

tjwalker

Verify your charging system. Absolutely job #1.

Use your meter to be sure. Put one lead on each of the battery terminals. With a healthy charging system and battery, you should have 13.5 to 14.0 volts at idle. If you don't, it is likely that your adventure damaged your alternator.

You can pull your alternator and have it bench tested, but bench testing at a parts store is not always conclusive.

kikstand454

yes. Checking my volatge is job 1. I woulda done it when I got home but got distracted.
If I pull the alternator, I don't care if its good or not.... a new one is going in. I have a small working budget for this vehicle and I sure won't be putting old parts BACK into it. Lol.

I'm going out to test the voltage right now.

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Ok I have 13.4 at the terminals.
So while my alt works, I wonder if its age is weakening it. Or if my adventure did. Either way imma start hunting for one...maybe a battery too...couldn't find a date on the one in there and who knows how old it is. Any suggestions on battery/alt /terminals?

1991Jeep_Man

Hmm... you're gettin 13.4 at the battery terminals? Is that with the system alone, with nothing charging it? Totally stand alone? If so, it's within spec... I am wondering if the battery has bit the dust. Personal experiences have confirmed that a shot battery can cause haywire with everything else, even if the alt is good. With the Jeep totally off, what readings do you get at the terminals then?

Also, all grounds are good right? Not just a visual glace, but each one is clean and making solid secured contact with it's grounding surface?

I wish I could help more. Tjwalker seems to really have the better knowledge here, so hopefully he can help you find the solution. Good luck! Hope you get her up and going again!

kikstand454

No. It had 13.4 with the engine running. It didn't occur to me to take a second reading off just the battery at the time. So if 13.4 is normal/low then maybe originally I got the alt too wet...and now it has highlighted a dying battery?
I'm considering the battery replacement anyway at least because of the reasons stated above. Have to kick around the idea of changing out an alt just for changing it outs sake. Id prolly feel better knowing the batt and alt were new and reliable that's for sure.
The ground terminal that I found...right off the battery negative, was clean and solid. Main battery terminals were clean and solid...though they could have been done better in regards to the wire stripping/contact point. The wires to the starter were clean and solid...but had what I believe to be powersteering fluid on them. I wiped that flammable mess off. (My power steering cap leaks from underneath...I'm going to fit a condom under it till I can find a better fitting one...the one I picked up at pickNpull was no better than the one I had.)
I didn't see any other grounds to check.

In anycase thanks for the help guys!
This was my first 'help me ' thread and I felt supported in my efforts thank you.

Any suggestions on batteries and alternators would be appreciated, though I'm going to do a search in the morning.
Thanks again guys, ill post my battery voltage in the morning and see what you guys think in conclusion.
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Edit: ok so the more I thought about it I couldn't wait.
I have 12.1 at the battery with the engine off.
Conclusions?

stev-o

If your worried about your alternator gettin wet u could remount it were your ac pump is located an then get a shorter belt

ET JEEP

I sure would not replace anything that is not definately broken. Waste of money. Buy when it breaks.

Test battery voltage with engine off. If battery is charged it should read around 12 volts. Then go to alternator, with engine off, take a voltage reading off of the large terminal on the alternator. It should read the same battery voltage. This means that the alternator feed cable is good. If the reading is much lower than battery voltage you have a problem in the feed from alternator to battery.

Start engine and do the same test using care when doing the test at the alternator with the engine running. You should read 13-15 volts. Anything above 12 volts you are charging the battery. With the engine running the Jeep is running off the alternator current. The battery just gets charged. Take the battery to an auto shop and have it load tested. If it does not pass the load test replace the battery.

You could have gotten water in some of your electrical parts which caused the problems. I would start with the above and see what you get and go from there.

kikstand454

Ok.
Checked at all points mentioned and have 14.4 running and 12.1 not running.
Everything seems fine?
Guess it was just water in my alt or possibly distr?
Either way I guess I won't be blowing through 18" deep puddles anymore or getting the undercarriage sprayed. Ill hold off on getting the alt.... but I'm prolly gonna get a battery for peice of mind.
If I wait for them to fail, I won't have the money to fix it.....I have the money now.
That's why I'm about to go buy tires~ cause while these bfg's are working...one is losing pressure and they all have a bit of dry rot. They prolly have 6mos left in them or more tread wise....but in 6mos ill be broke as hell. So..............