aitn't that how it goes...

[Pete M]

finally got my dakota all cleaned up to sell... and today the battery died and now the engine suddenly won't idle (revs fine but dies as soon as I let off the pedal).    

 

I've decided that whatever the problem is can wait til morning.  maybe a full battery will magically fix it. 

[Fernando87mj]

35 minutes ago, Pete M said:

finally got my dakota all cleaned up to sell... and today the battery died and now the engine suddenly won't idle (revs fine but dies as soon as I let off the pedal).    

 

I've decided that whatever the problem is can wait til morning.  maybe a full battery will magically fix it. 

Drive it around for a while and let the computer relearn , my wife’s wj did that when the battery went bad last week  

[shelbyluvv]

Sound advice above. It needs to re-learn.

[jdog]

Chrysler don't like dead battery's, I agree with above, drive it, it'll learn the idle

1988 swb 4.0 ax15 np 231 red with gray interior.

[Minuit]

Yup. Wait for it to learn a fuel map before you go looking for a problem. My '91 MJ and most HO jeeps I've been around do this too! Mine likes to almost stall when going from reverse to drive and the idle is inconsistent for at least a handful of key cycles after the battery is unhooked.

[Pete M]

than I shall remain patient.     thanks guys!

[Pete M]

you guys were right.    eventually all was well.   but it appears my battery is doing some weird things.  might be dying.  dang  

[Fernando87mj]

1 hour ago, Pete M said:

you guys were right.    eventually all was well.   but it appears my battery is doing some weird things.  might be dying.  dang  

Did you replace the battery ? Or just Charge it ? I went through this last week , I though my wife’s wj had a parasitic draw but it was just the battery that was bad. I took it to work , hooked it up to the fancy Honda battery charging tool and the battery only charged up to 11.9v. Let the battery sit all day at work unplugged and by the end of the day it was at 4.3 volts 

[Pete M]

it's the battery that came with my 88 MJ.  I finally found my multimeter and it reads 10.6v and it was on the charger all night.  and it appears to be leaking fluid out the top. 

[Pete M]

I put the charger back on for a bit and eventually it clicked off an indicated full charge.  battery read 11.6.  tried to start the truck and it struggled mightily to turn over.  either the battery is dead or my charger is. 

[jdog]

Battery

1988 swb 4.0 ax15 np 231 red with gray interior.

[Pete M]

ah yes, the glorious irony of needing to spend money on a thing that you're trying to sell because you don't have money. 

 

I bet I can snag something at the junkyard...  I've looking for an excuse to hit up pull-a-part north anyway.  

[jdog]

Either there or if you have a used battery seller.

1988 swb 4.0 ax15 np 231 red with gray interior.

[jdog]

Any luck Pete?

1988 swb 4.0 ax15 np 231 red with gray interior.

[Pete M]

managed to snag a big ol truck battery of proper size at the second yard I went to.   the R/T fires right up and works like a charm.    now to find a buyer.