a newbie with some questions...

Just got my cj5 about 4 or 5 weeks ago. Original engine runs great still. Had some trouble starting it figured out that the battery was fried so replaced it. My question is how can I know what caused the battery to die beyond being able to recharge it? I had a stereo hooked up to it at the time. Could that have been wired wrong and kept drawing power? Or could something else have been constantly draining the battery? I'm not very good with the electrical side of things. Another possible electric question.... my gauges arent working...speedo, gas, possibly oil and temp too. Whats the best way to attack this? Any thoughts would be great. Wicked pumped to have a jeep again!! Thanks.

will

 

Well lets see,most older JEEPs should be rewired but maybe the battery was just old or there is a draw on it,shut every thing off and remove the + cable from the battery and see if you see a spark,if you do something is drawing on it.My 2 cents,i'm sure someone else will chime in..

 

How old was the battery? Maybe it was just its time. If not, check the alternator to see if its wired correctly. The guy that owned mine before me wired up the alternator so bad that it would drain the battery while driving. If you took your foot off the gas you'd lose spark and the engine would die.

 

Surefire solution is to install a master battery cutoff switch. They are only $20, and work great. They install between the negative cable and the chassis.