Battery quit working after having the radio on while I was cleaning my car

ROXANNE CUCCHIELLA

MEMBER
2005 JEEP LIBERTY
3.7L
6 CYL
4WD
AUTOMATIC
137,005 MILES

I was cleaning my car yesterday and had the car in the on position just so I could listen to the radio while doing so. It took a while so the battery quits on me. I charged the battery with a little portable charger and it started, I also drove it around and this morning it would not start again. So I am wondering if it is the alternator or battery. Any ideas?

4 Replies

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
13,464 POSTS

What does not it do? If it does not turn over it is probably a bad battery. They get weak over time and running it way down could have been its last straw.
If it turns over but does not start it could be that the low battery tripped the security system.
First thing would be to get the battery load tested, many parts stores will test a battery for free. Once you are sure the battery is good then if it does not start there are a lot of other tests depending on what it is doing.

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Monday, January 2nd, 2017 AT 11:58 AM

ROXANNE CUCCHIELLA

MEMBER
2 POSTS

It sounds like a stun gun when I turn the key.

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Monday, January 2nd, 2017 AT 1:36 PM

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
13,464 POSTS

Bad battery or bad/dirty connections (likely both) Clean the cable ends with a wire brush, If you can, remove the other end of each cable and clean that end as well. If you can't it's not a big deal. Replace the battery.

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Monday, January 2nd, 2017 AT 2:28 PM