Charges sporadically==We've gone bald and gray

[Tina]

Hi all....We bought a 1992 Jeep Cherokee Limited about 4 mounths ago. She has a 4.0l engine and runs like a scalded dog!!
Until now...
We have a charging problem. When it first happened it quit charging as we were taking the dog to the vet. It started charging for a minute or two then quit completely. We barely made it home on the battery.

We thought it was the alternator so we got another one and put it on. It worked for about 2 weeks then quit charging again.

Then we changed the little box thing that is bolted into the alternator. It charged for maybe a week.

Then we changed a blown 60a fuse that was labeled alternator 1. It charged for about a week.

Then we switched and put the old alternator back on (that autozone tested and said was good) and it charged about 5 days. It slowly sank down to discharging on the way home. We turned everything off because of running on the battery. My son got the bright idea to put his foot in the carbeurator and see if it would charge at all. It came back up to 14 volts. When we slowed down to 50 mph it would start discharging again. Right now it won't charge at all. Not even if you goose it.

Also, sometimes when it would quit charging we would unhook the battery for a few minutes, and then she would start charging again. It seems like when the Jeep has been run and everything is warm is when it breaks down. Then it won't start charging again sometimes for days.

This is where we are right now. We've checked for shorts, open wires, fuses and so on. All is okay. Thinking of changing the computer but unsure if you just change it or does it have to be matched to the VIN on the Jeep. And where can we get it matched at? Autozone? Also can we buy a used computer and just put it on?

Also, Where the crap is the voltage regulator? We've had people arguing that its in the computer....oh no its in the alternator....I give up... At this point we are on foot.

My hubby is pulling his hair out and my son has gone gray, we need all the help we can get.

TIA

 

[Tina]

Hmmmm......

Guess nobody knows........

 

[TerryMason]

It almost sounds like the belt is slipping. Here's a question, when you say that the battery is not charging, do you mean that the gauge in the dash says that the battery is not being charged? Have you verified this with a voltmeter? Just a wild guess, but the gauge could be bad.

It is odd that it blew a fuse.

 

[Tina]

Yep, yesterday when we were out in it, it started out at 14 volts. Then it just slowly sank down to discharging. My son put his foot in the carb and it started charging again for a few minutes. Then it quit charging completely again. No matter what we do it won't charge right now. Hubby and son are working on it right now.

Yes, we've checked the alternator with a voltmeter, plus the battery goes dead. It won't start unless its jumped because the battery was run down due to the alternator not charging it.

I'll ask them about the belt.

Thanks for your help. We are ready to run it off into the lake!!! :bomb:

 

[Tina]

Okay, they changed the computer and it didn't start charging. Then they went ahead and changed the alternator (even though it tests good when we put it on there) with one we had tested tonight and it started charging.

Betcha within 5 days it will quit charging again.......:?|

 

[Saurian]

Hope that it does not, for your sake... What shape is the battery in? I would also suggest that the belt may be slipping, or you have a wiring problem somewhere; when things are jiggled around changing out this, that, and the other, it could be pressing things back together the way they should be, until it shifts, and causes the problem again, a short, or a loose connection... Short would also explain the fuse blowing. Just a thought, based on the information presented... Best of luck to you, welcome to the site