Battery Loss

What is causing my New Battery to lose power?

Yesterday I jumped in my 73 CJ5, started right up, drove about 5 - 6 miles to my house, turned it off, ran into my house for about 5 minutes, got back into the jeep and it didn't have enough power to crank it, so I had to jump start it.

 

I would start with the battery connections and the negative cable ground on the motor. Could also be a starter problem when it gets hot.

 

Yea, I just put a new cable both pos and neg, and grounded to motor, new battery. So are you saying that it could just be the starter when it is hot, and that once it cools it may start? I didn't wait for it to cool off.

 

It is possible and I've seen that happen many times. How are your connections on the starter? Why did you replace the battery in the first place, was it doing the same thing prior to you changing the battery? When you say the battery dies, is it cranking real slow or is the starter relay just clicking?

Just a few questions to try and help solve your problem.

 

This happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Turned out that the wire going to the starter just needed to be tightened on the starter side. Note: at first torque it appeared to be snug, just had to crank on it some more. Problem solved. Total cost: $0.00, feeling of accomplishment: priceless.

 

Does your Jeep have the starter solenoid on the fender? There's a copper disk in there that is pulled against the two big posts to make contact for the starter motor. When that gets pitted from years of use, it will sometimes not make contact, and this will give the same symptoms as a dead battery - click but no cranking. You can jump across the solenoid posts with your jumper cable, or direct from the battery positive to the starter cable. If the starter spins, then your problem is either ignition switch, solenoid, or wiring.

 

Try giving the starter a few raps with a hammer just to see if it is a stuck brush. Try the easiest stuff first.

 

Gen:I tried the letting it cool off and it seems to work. So I guess when it does get hot it doesnt want to start. It still has juice, just doesn't seem to have the will to start when hot.
CD60: It did the same thing before when I changed the Battery and wires, but fiqured because it did have a whimpy Battery and small thin wires I changed.
So, is there a way to fix it where it will still start when hot?

 

Replace the starter, me thinks. Take it to your local FLAPS and have them check it out.

 

:iagree:

Assuming all your connections are good, clean and tight.

 

Starters are cheap if that is the problem. I got one for $45 from a junk yard, and have now fixed my old one so I have a back up.

 

"Ford" style starters are notorous for worn brushes which can cause eratic starting. Might pop out the starter and take a look after you check the rest of the system.

 

Where did you attach the ground cable? Is that spot clean, bare metal? No paint, rust, grease or crud? New cable still needs to be bolted to a good, clean, bare steel spot on the motor.