ZJ starting/battery issue?

[bchcky]

last saturday i was at my friend's lake house for the annual summer party. my friends were in and out of my jeep all night long for tents, beer etc... so the next morning when it wouldnt start, i didnt think anything of it, i had my friend bring his car over, and we jumped it, good to go right? not exactly.

i pulled out of his driveway and got no more than 100 yards, and i lost power steering, and then all electronics shut off and my jeep stalled. so i ran back and got my friend again, we tried to jump again. as i was hooked up to his battery, the ZJ would start, but it wouldnt stay on unless i consistently gave it gas. the minute i let off the accelerator, it died. i thought maybe fuses or something else, looked around, found nothing. so we unhooked the jumpers and were going to go call AAA or get a new battery, not quite sure what we were doing at that point. but just for kicks, i tried to start it up again not hooked up to anything, and she started fine, stayed running, so i shut her off again, and she started up just fine again? then i made the 2 hour trip home no problem, and havent had any problems with it since that sunday morning.

so my question is....any idea what the deal was? i mean that situation just went against all conventional wisdom i had. started fine after unhooking the jumpers? but died while hooked up? is this something i should concern myself with? or just assume that since its been working fine for the last week that i'm good now? THANKS in advance for the input everyone!

 

[TwistedCU]

are your battery terminals clean and tight? I'd check all the connectors at the battery, alternator, and the ground. Something has to be loose or corroded.

 

[jules]

If the battery went dead, there's a good chance the computer needed to re-learn your driving habits. It'll stall and idle real low.
It's happened to me a few times on my ZJ. Most recently this past weekend when I removed my battery to inspect the vacuum actuator under the battery tray. I had the battery out for only about 30 minutes, but she kept on stalling on me. I finally took her out for a 1/2 hour drive and she hasn't stalled since.

Jules

 

[IcyFridge]

It could possibly be a loose engine harness. My old XJ had old frayed wires on the harness and it caused the problems you describe. I simply cut and reconnected the wires. No problems.

 

[bchcky]

are your battery terminals clean and tight? I'd check all the connectors at the battery, alternator, and the ground. Something has to be loose or corroded.

i'll check all that stuff, but how would that explain that she started up fine and stayed on with no gas AFTER i disconnected the jumpers? not questioning you TC, i'm' still just completely baffled, haha....

 

[IcyFridge]

Still could be a loose connection somewhere.

 

[TwistedCU]

Found my "clunk"... GOOD THING!

are your battery terminals clean and tight? I'd check all the connectors at the battery, alternator, and the ground. Something has to be loose or corroded.

i'll check all that stuff, but how would that explain that she started up fine and stayed on with no gas AFTER i disconnected the jumpers? not questioning you TC, i'm' still just completely baffled, haha....

Well a poor connection, either due to being loose or to corrosion, can become a solid connection or a poor again by being moved, shifted, hitting a bump etc. If this is the case it will probably fail again if not corrected.

It's possible to have a loose terminal inside the battery too, but I'd bet it is the battery terminal connections.

Pull the connectors off the battery termals, give both the terminals and the posts a good cleaning with a battery termional brush (wire brush) and snug them up tight.