clemens2

Hello everyone,

Sadly, I have to admit I have been neglecting my beloved WJ ('99 4.7L V8, stock) over the past year, and I let it sit on my driveway without proper maintenance, and I am now hoping to get it back into shape.

This past winter, all of a sudden, the horns started sounding, like when the alarm goes off.
I figured it must have been moisture, so I unplugged the battery, and a couple of days later, I reconnected it, and the problem was gone.
A couple of months later, after a lot of snow, if I recall correctly, it happened again, so I did the same trick, but forgot to check things afterward, and left the battery disconnected for a few more months.

In the spring, I decided to go for a ride, and when I reconnected the battery, the horns went off again and the lights also were all blinking. I am not sure (I don't recall, honestly), if the light problem was present also the first two times, but I think it wasn't.
I tried removing the horn fuse, but the lights were still blinking, so I removed the headlight fuse as well. I tried to start the engine, but the battery was not charged enough so, frustrated, I disconnected the battery again and closed the hood.

Summer has now ended, and I would like to fix things, so I was wondering what are the best steps to follow to isolate/troubleshoot the problem and then fix it.

Any guidance or reference to other posts would be great.

Thank you

BlueRidgeMark

Hmmm. Not fun. Kind of sounds like an alarm problem. Were the horns honking? Or just ON, constantly? Could be a wire has been chewed through, could be an insect in a switch....

Check your battery. After being partially drained, then sitting for months, it might be toast. No matter what the source of the problem is, you must start your troubleshooting with a good battery, fully charged.

clemens2

Thank you for the reply.
The sound was like that of the alarm, intermittent.
The battery is quite new, and I am now recharging it. I am hoping it still works, but in case, I'll get a new one and see what happens.
I should have an update tomorrow.

clemens2

I feel a little silly, but after recharging the battery the problem seems to be gone
It took a few attempts, but now it seems to be charging fine.
This week I will change the fluids and the front rotors and pads (they were in bad shape anyway), and all should be good to go.

I was really worried that the fuse box somehow rusted, but luckily that didn't happen.

Thank you for your support.

BlueRidgeMark

A weak battery, like poor grounds, can do weird things. Glad you got it squared away, and thanks for reporting back.