1997 Jeep Laredo Low voltage at start-up

1997 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE LAREDO
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MATTHEWC
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Electrical problem
1997 Jeep Laredo 6 cyl Four Wheel Drive Automatic

97 Grand Cherokee 6cyl.

It's getting a little cold around these parts lately, and a new problem has appeared. I started my Jeep this morning. It took a few cranks to start up. I noticed that the Volt gauge, instead of raising straight to 13-14V's, hovered at 10V's for about 30 seconds, long enough for the "check gauges" light to come on. It then went up to the 13-14V range. This happened again at noon after sitting for a few hours.

I'm not sure if this is the alternator since I maintain a steady 13-14v's while driving at all times. It may be that there is a bad cell in the battery and it is unable to keep a charge for a very long time. This doesn't happen if I start the Jeep up after a few minutes or an hour.

Any thoughts?
Dec 9, 2008 at 11:26 AM
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RASMATAZ
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
  • 75,992 POSTS
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
Get the battery and alternator load tested if it checks out make sure its clean and properly tightened. And also check for battery drain
Dec 9, 2008 at 7:54 PM
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