Jeep Commander Forum banner

Dead Battery

11K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  Mongo 
#1 ·
I was relaxing in my lay out goose blind when my wife called and told me that the XK wouldn't start. I was a moderate distance from home so I finished my hunt and went home to investigate.

I had a problem with the XK not starting several months ago. When I had the battery tested, it tested fine. It just needed to be charged. I thought this was odd because it showed no signs of problems like slow cranking or other symptoms. It just failed to crank out of the blue one day.

I charged the battery and placed it back in the vehicle. I thought maybe it was a problem with the harness that I had read about in some other posts. However, after placing the battery back in the vehicle, it was problem free for the last 7 months.

Today was a different story. The battery check showed a bad battery.
The silver lining is that I had received an email from Advance Auto just yesterday alerting me to a discount deal on their web site.

Other than having to drive 35 miles to pick it up, I got a new battery for $112 after tax.

I would have thought the factory battery would have lasted more than 4 years, but that's the way it goes. At least it happened at a time that I could get a good deal.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
I hear ya. Mine died over the weekend also. We were at Seven Springs for a Thanksgiving Mountain weekend. I'm loading up the wife, kids and what is an endless amount of gear, we stayed for three nights, and leaving the rear hatch open the whole time I was loading up, about 4 hours. We were the last to leave the rental. My Uncle pulling out a minute before us. I go to start up the 06 XK, and just click, click, click, click. I'm assuming dead battery, At least praying. I'm about 70miles from home. Do not want a tow that far. Call Uncle, comes back and we throw the cables on. After 1min, turns right over. Get home and start calling around for batteries. Sears $159 for a Diehard 3yr replacement, Advance Auto 159, Autocraft, same deal. Chrysler dealer near home, 150 for original Mopar unit. I think I'll get the Mopar. I guess 5yrs, 61k for original battery isn't bad.
 
#3 ·
5 years 50,000 miles, need to change it out.

Battery testers do not work on new batteries because they don't
put a load on the battery. Some places have newer/better equipment
that actually work, others just look to see if there is any current.

Get a hydrometer

you may need one every 50,000 miles.
 
#6 ·
What I have found here in Florida with both the XK and other Jeeps and non Jeeps is when the battery goes it goes.. no warning. Usually the first cold day and yes we have cold days(low 40's). I am a PA guy but cold is cold .......... relative. Also the first hot day 90's. I am also the one with the harness problems, but no more, the battery is eitheer good or bad.

Glad to hear you made it out of Seven Springs. I have not been there since the late 60's, but I loved it.
 
#7 ·
There also are several variables that are rarely taken into account.
Even though the OP's Commander is a 07, what is the build date?
Remember that the model year shown could have been assembled in September of the previous year.
Another unknown, how long did it sit on the dealers lot before the 'in service' date.
It may have sat so long the battery may have fully discharged keeping the computer memories up and running......deep cycling plays Hell on a battery not designed for it and shortens its life considerably.
Even though the vehicle displays a build date, no one can tell how long those pallots of batterys waited to be installed and a batteries lifespan begins to end the day it is filled.
These batteries are delivered to the assembly plant wet.

Just a little food for thought there.

Creek, we have learned over the years that most battery damage and reduction of lifespan is due to heat......this damage, usually the inability to provide enouph amperage to spin the starter, usually shows up the first time the starting system has to turn over a cold engine and, I agree, compared to your usual ninety degree days, forty is quite a shock to a marginal battery.
Add to that, the poor thing has to live in a underhood environment that, at shut off, often raises past 180 degrees.

So, all that being said, IMO anything past 4 years isn't bad and anything past 5 is a bad weekend waiting to happen.

Rob
 
#8 ·
Battery / ECU programming

Must be something in the water! Went to start my car on Saturday and wouldn't turn over the engine. Charged the battery and all was well. Went for a drive stopped; did some shopping; restarted. Came home and parked up overnight. Sunday morning, dead again. I do not know if the battery has a problem or if something in the car has failed and is draing current - although perhaps with a 98Ah capacity, it is unlikely that the battery would drain this fast without something being obviously wrong. Sounds therefore like I need a new battery - does this make sense? I am in the UK & a replacement battery is going to be ~300$ so want to be as sure as I can.

Also I have a Superchips ignition remap. Does anyone know if the flat battery will mean that the remapping will have to be repeated?

Thanks, Allan.
 
#9 ·
Went back to the programming garage. They checked the EEPROM and the contents were stills they had reprogrammed them. Just thought I would add for anyone else in a similar situation.
 
#11 ·
I picked up a cheap battery charger on sale years ago, once a year I try to put a trickle charge for 24 hours on every vehicle I've owned, I have had battery's last as long as 7 years since doing that.

My Neon, the battery is crammed into a crammed engine compartment that gets very hot, I have yet to have a battery last more then 3 years in that vehicle, and I suspect the heat exposure has something to do with it. It came with a battery cover and cooling tube OEM, and I took it off to put a Cold Air Intake on it, so that is part of it as well.

One of the worst things for a car battery is it going dead, if you do something to drain your battery dead, you've likely shortened its life. Deep cycle batteries are designed to drain down to total dead, Car Batteries are designed to give a huge burst of energy while only partly discharging and then recharge, so going fully dead hurts them.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top