Hard Starting?

[Hudson]

I have a 99 XJ with 114k miles. It use to start fine, but recently, i've noticed it's starting to get real hard to start.

I just changed out the Plugs, Plug Wires, Cap, Rotor, & Plugs. I DID NOT change out the coil, i think this might be the problem, but i could be wrong.

Let me explain the problem. If i don't start the jeep for a day, and i go to crank it over, right before it starts cranking, the battery gauge always appears really low. When i start cranking, it does it really slow, like it doesn't want to fire over. After about 5 seconds it will crank over, and the idling is all weird. Sometimes it will even stall. Normally speaking, once it gets to operating temperature and i turn it off, it will start back up fine. Maybe i just have a bad battery.

I also thought of the starter, but i ruled that out. I'm pretty sure i wouldn't be able to crank it over at all if the starter was bad.

Any ideas? The jeeps warm now, i'll get a video posted up of the problem tomorrow.

[LittleD]

sounds like a bad battery, check the connections or bring it to my work and ill check it for ya

[DizzDizz]

Its a 4.0 get used to it.

[Burton58]

once it's started it runs fine? ruling out the alternator? sounds like the battery

[hoggie101]

Werid ideas
-bad ground
-bad voltage regulator
-maybe fuel pump? For the idille issue
Put a meter on the battery when its running and see if its at 14v dc

[clean4drxj]

it's more than likely a battery as others have said, either it's old or you have a power going somewhere..

[Hudson]

Here's a video of it. I know it makes things easier when you can actually see the problem, and not just listen to me describe it. The first video is the entire problem. The second video is a video of the volt meter draining rapidly after i turn the jeep off after the first video. Then the pictures are of the battery terminals. Ideas? Thanks for all of your input.

I also noticed in the first video after watching it myself, that once i turn on the ignition, and leave the key in the position right before it cranks, and go check the battery with my volt meter (around 1 minute 30 seconds in the video) the battery is draining really really fast. I'm not sure if that's normal.


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJVAl2BGMTI[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw4G4IkVJxE[/ame]

[hoggie101]

Clean your ground and make sure your cables don't have any cuts in them making you have a slow drain and check the your starter to make sure you have a good connection same with your alt

[Hudson]

Clean your ground and make sure your cables don't have any cuts in them making you have a slow drain and check the your starter to make sure you have a good connection same with your alt

Will do. I'll bring the jeep in the garage and begin working on it. I'll use some baking soda and clean off the surface gunk, then use some metal brush to clean it up. I think i might even have some contact cleaner. What would a good connection look like? Just tight?

Thanks for the input by the way, it helps heeps.

[hoggie101]

yeah tight and clean metal on metal no rust or corrosion if its copper and its green just take some fine sand paper to it till its nice and clean, also set your meter to ohms and see if you get any reading between hot and ground(body) that might help tell you if you have a short and leaking voltage (disconnect the battery before the test so you don't blow a fuse in your meter)
ohms is the omega sign sorry if im over explaining stuff i don't know how much you know and rather be on the safe side

another random thing Ive heard something about the door modules using up power like were your window controls and stuff are try disconnecting them and recheck everything

[Hudson]

yeah tight and clean metal on metal no rust or corrosion if its copper and its green just take some fine sand paper to it till its nice and clean, also set your meter to ohms and see if you get any reading between hot and ground(body) that might help tell you if you have a short and leaking voltage (disconnect the battery before the test so you don't blow a fuse in your meter)
ohms is the omega sign sorry if im over explaining stuff i don't know how much you know and rather be on the safe side

another random thing Ive heard something about the door modules using up power like were your window controls and stuff are try disconnecting them and recheck everything

Here's a little update. Brought the jeep into the garage because it's raining outside. Just undid the positive and negative terminals to the battery, and pulled the battery out all together. Went to unscrew the ground (the one from the negative battery terminal to right under the passenger side fender.) Ground bolt snapped right off. I'm currently in the process of using a wire wheel to clean up under the fender to get it to shiny metal and doing the same on the inside. I'll throw a new bolt on there as well. I'm also going to replace all the battery terminals. While im there i'm going to use some sand papers on all the connections, and steal the battery out of my brothers car just to see if it fixes the problem.

I understand what you're saying, but if i disconnect the battery, how am i going to get any reading? I'll also check between the battery and the starter, and the battery to the coil to see if im loosing volts.

[hoggie101]

when you test for ohms you don't test for voltage you test how good of a connection you have, so if there's no reading between your ground and hot that is good because it mean the wires are not touching (no cuts nicks in the wire) so there goes the idea of having a short that's leaking voltage, the only down side to this is that you could be getting a "leak" reading which is a reading though the coils on a motor EXP. alternator starter so on so on we use it in to trouble shoot a lot of stuff breaker keeps tripping but it starts to get hard to use and a little inaccurate when you have a lot of motors in the circuit

[Hudson]

Thank you hoggie for all your input. I'll put your number in my phone so that way i'll have emergency 24/7 support.

Oh, and thanks for dummying everything down for me. It makes it fool proof. It's nice that way. I think i get this test now. I disconnect only the negative terminal from the battery, put the meter on ohms, put the positive on hot, and put the negative on the ground. This tests all the wires for leakage throughout the engine, correct?

Anyways an update.

All terminals are cleaned. I took the battery out, scraped all the terminal connectors off with a wire brush, and put a new bolt through the body ground. I also cleaned the terminals on the battery. I'm 99% sure i have a bad battery, but i also think i have another problem.

I currently have the battery charger on the battery, and the thing cranks fine. My problem now is that it just cranks, no turn over. To get it to turn over, i need to push on the gas pedal to get it started. Once it's started, it wont idle unless i manually idle it.

Here's a video of it just in case you want to see it first hand. Oh, and when i was done cranking at the end of that video, the battery was like half dead again. Just another reason im positive the battery is shot.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o2cmnEcwOQ[/ame]

[hoggie101]

disconnect both and do clampie thing to clampie thing with the probes, and did you maybe not connect one of the wires you disconnected?
the jeep is an enemy never a friend always remember that lol

[Hudson]

Well dude, i hate to say it, but i think you hit the nail on the head.

I have two different meters that both give ohm readings, and i put the negative probe on the negative battery terminal and did the same for positive, and i got a reading of 2.6 on one meter and 3 on the other. (i think the one that read three rounded 2.6 up) Oh, and of course, neither of the connectors were touching the battery at all.

If you wouldn't mind, could you explain quickly what exactly this is telling us?

Oh, and as usual, a video just in case you want to see it first hand. I think it's easier when i show a video because that way you actually know if i did it right/wrong, and can actually see it for yourself.

EDIT: I just went out and double checked it just to be sure, and now the reading is up in the thirties. I guess i have a huge short somewhere. I have a video of this as well that i'm going to get on youtube.. ********

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGpXgQO8CuQ[/ame]