Will not start?

Tiny
LA.VERO
  • MEMBER
  • 2014 JEEP PATRIOT
  • 4 CYL
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 113,000 MILES
I started my car up, the battery light came on, then I had to defrost the windows. When I did that the stereo went off. Then the brake, airbag, and the 4wd light all came on. I put Jeep in D and it just shut off. It won’t start.
Thursday, December 8th, 2022 AT 5:07 AM

5 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,871 POSTS
You're describing a failed charging system. When it doesn't keep the battery charged, system voltage drops as the battery slowly runs down. Computers are very intolerant of low system voltage so they start to shut down. They turn on their warning lights to tell you.

The place to start is by recharging the battery at a slow rate overnight, with a small portable charger. This used to take just a couple of hours, but your vehicle likely has a newer design "AGM" battery. Those take longer to recharge.

Once charged overnight, the engine should crank and run. At that point you can start the charging system tests yourself with an inexpensive digital voltmeter. If you've never used one before, check out this article first:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-voltmeter

They're using an auto-ranging meter here which is an expensive feature you don't need. You can find a perfectly fine meter at Harbor Freight Tools for around $7.00. Also look at Walmart or any hardware store. If necessary, I can help you set it up.

First measure the battery's voltage with the engine not running. It should be very close to 12.6 volts. If you find closer to 12.2 volts, it's good but totally discharged. If it's down near 11 volts, it has a shorted cell and must be replaced.

Next, measure the battery's voltage again when the engine is running. Now you must find between 13.75 and 14.75 volts. If it stays near 12.6 volts or less, the charging system is not working. You may be able to drive to a nearby repair shop, but it's unlikely to keep running longer than roughly 15 minutes, less if a lot of lights or accessories are turned on.

If you do find between 13.75 and 14.75 volts, that part of the test has passed, but that only means it is okay to continue with the rest of the tests. Those require the use of a professional load tester. Every dealership and every independent repair shop has one of those. Specifically, they'll check for "full-load output current", and "ripple" voltage. These tests take just a couple of minutes.

Every alternator starts with a minimum of six "diodes". Those are one-way valves for electrical current flow. When one of them fails, you'll lose exactly two-thirds of the alternator's output capacity.

A number of different alternators were available for your model and year. A 120-amp is common, and rather big, but if one diode has failed, the most the alternator can develop will be very close to 40 amps. That's not enough to run the engine, computers, lights, heater fan, fuel pump, and keep the battery charged. The battery will have to make up the difference as it slowly runs down. With this type of defect, the charging voltage you measured at the battery can be perfect, but the battery will still run down over hours or days.

Let me know what you find up to this point.
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Thursday, December 8th, 2022 AT 6:46 PM
Tiny
LA.VERO
  • MEMBER
  • 40 POSTS
So, I bought brand new battery last night drove around for about 20 mins then the battery light came on, then the brake light, then the ABS light, and gas light, then 4 wd light. Once I put it in park, it sounded like a car does when they run out of gas then turned off.
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Friday, December 9th, 2022 AT 2:33 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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This is not a battery problem. It's a failure of the charging system to keep the battery charged while you're driving. 20 minutes is about all you can expect before a good battery runs down.
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Friday, December 9th, 2022 AT 2:38 PM
Tiny
LA.VERO
  • MEMBER
  • 40 POSTS
I’m no expert and don’t know a lot but is it expensive to fix or how do they fix this problem? How did this problem happen? It was driving fine 2 days ago.
Please help.
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Friday, December 9th, 2022 AT 3:00 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
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That's true about every problem that develops in every car.

The most common cause of this problem is a failed alternator, but there are other possibilities. That's why tests must be performed so we don't waste money by throwing random parts at the problem.

The voltage tests I described are simply to verify the charging system isn't keeping the battery charged, but by now we already know that. From here you'll need to charge the battery with a portable charger, then drive to a repair shop for a diagnosis. Two more voltage readings will tell if the alternator has failed or if the voltage regulator is suspect. That regulator lives inside the Engine Coputer. It doesn't fail very often, so that should be at the bottom of the list of suspects. Besides the alternator, a broken wire is a better suspect.
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Friday, December 9th, 2022 AT 3:30 PM

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