Dying Alternator on my Commander CRD??

[Hanna]

Yeah, I thought as much. I am going to get the battery load tested today if possible and then should be in better position to assess.

[ren0vator]

Hey Hanna,

Mine dropped a cell the last night
Went down to Uncle Dan's to pick up a case
Jumped back in the Jeep, turned the key and ....

Christmas Tree Dash Lights
Alarm system going stoopid
Transmission overheating alarm
Central locking having a fit

Checked the voltage, 13.8V
The hydrometer eye was green
Even with the Bluedriver scan gauge it was OK
But try and crank, no way
Everyone was closed so
Called the wife to come get me
(Oh well at least I had beer)

This morning, and the Jeep was unscathed in the shopping centre
Connected the multi-meter to the battery
Reading was 13.5V
Try to crank and it dropped to under 5V
Typical of a bad cell
Have you got access to a multi-meter?


Connected the AutoEnginuity up this morning
There were similar codes to yours
It's just the low voltage that ruins CAN bus communication protocols

The old battery was a Supercharge brand
I had it fitted it Brisbane when I got stuck 2 1/2 years ago

Closest retailer was A1 Battery Pro
Not being flush with cash after Christmas
I just got one of their base model batteries
Predator SMF Battery
Installed it, Jeep made some weird attempts at unlocking
Cranked it, she fired up, ran for 3 seconds and died
Remembered to clear all the fault codes
Cycled the ignition, cranked again and all is good

Considering the high under bonnet temps and corrugations I drive
Next time I will save up for a decent AGM

[Hanna]

Originally Posted by ren0vator

Hey Hanna,

Mine dropped a cell the last night
Went down to Uncle Dan's to pick up a case
Jumped back in the Jeep, turned the key and ....

Christmas Tree Dash Lights
Alarm system going stoopid
Transmission overheating alarm
Central locking having a fit

Checked the voltage, 13.8V
The hydrometer eye was green
Even with the Bluedriver scan gauge it was OK
But try and crank, no way
Everyone was closed so
Called the wife to come get me
(Oh well at least I had beer)

This morning, and the Jeep was unscathed in the shopping centre
Connected the multi-meter to the battery
Reading was 13.5V
Try to crank and it dropped to under 5V
Typical of a bad cell
Have you got access to a multi-meter?


Connected the AutoEnginuity up this morning
There were similar codes to yours
It's just the low voltage that ruins CAN bus communication protocols

The old battery was a Supercharge brand
I had it fitted it Brisbane when I got stuck 2 1/2 years ago

Closest retailer was A1 Battery Pro
Not being flush with cash after Christmas
I just got one of their base model batteries
Predator SMF Battery
Installed it, Jeep made some weird attempts at unlocking
Cranked it, she fired up, ran for 3 seconds and died
Remembered to clear all the fault codes
Cycled the ignition, cranked again and all is good

Considering the high under bonnet temps and corrugations I drive
Next time I will save up for a decent AGM

Bummer!! Like you said though, at least you had beer!

Yeah, I have a multimeter I just haven't had a chance to play around with it yet - spent all day yesterday doing tip runs and selling stuff from the second lounge room to turn it into a nursery (baby No. 1 on the way).

With your lead acid battery dying at 2.5 years, I reckon there's a good chance mine has too given we both live in hot climates and have driven on some horribly corrugated roads. I will look into an AGM battery too if that is the case.

Anyone know of a good AGM that fits into the battery tray on a CRD? I am heading to Perth in a couple of weeks, so I should be able to shop around for a good one at a decent price. Anyone fitted 2 x AGM's in the limited space available? Wouldn't be a bad idea if possible, especially for camping and running my fridge etc.

[Clarky]

I have an Optima D27F since April 2016, so far so good.
Cold Cranking Amps: 830
Capacity: 66 Ah

Here is some pics of a second battery setup on a Hemi.
Can't figure out who did it (was a member here) but the original images hosted by Photo Bucket so of course we can't see then now.

[Hanna]

I couldn't get my battery load tested today, because the one of the auto store closed early and the other didn't have a functioning tester, so I had a play with the multimeter with the assistance of my wife. Here are the results in comparison to my wife's KJ Cherokee CRD with a newish Optima D34:

Commander:

• Starting Voltage (Ignition off): 12.34V
• Voltage (Ignition on, not running): 11.4V
• Voltage Running (At idle): 13.1V
• Voltage Running (At 2,500 Revs): 14.1V

Cherokee:

• Starting Voltage (Ignition off): 12.45V
• Voltage (Ignition on, not running): 11.7V
• Voltage Running (At idle): 13.9V
• Voltage Running (At 2,500 Revs): 14.1V

I reckon my battery is probably likely to be stuffed. If the alternator was no good the voltage shouldn't have increased that much whilst the engine was running at speed.

The voltage at idling speed is a bit of a worry. Explains why it died whilst idling for 30min with the lights on though.

[Blackie99]

That second battery tray would be so handy!
I'm a big fan of the Cat batteries, they are really heavy duty, good cca and best bit is the 5 year plus pro-rata warranty they carry (which I've used in the past). I'm just running a cheap battery that the previous owner put in and have been waiting for it to die.

[ren0vator]

Originally Posted by Hanna

Commander:

• Starting Voltage (Ignition off): 12.34V
• Voltage (Ignition on, not running): 11.4V
• Voltage Running (At idle): 13.1V
• Voltage Running (At 2,500 Revs): 14.1V

14.1 V is plenty
Your alternator is charging
Did you get a volt reading when the starter was cranking?