[Mark_]

Can you help me figure out which setting should be selected on this charger in order to charge my battery? I want to make sure that I'm doing it correctly and I have my doubts. There's very limited instructions on the unit itself and it says to refer to the instruction manual. Well, mine didn't come with a manual and I gave up looking for one online after an hour.

I had it set on the top position which is "Charge/Maintain 6*2A" but my uncle told me that's not what I should have done because that setting is for maintaining a charge or what he called a trickle charge. He thinks that I should have the middle one selected that says "Boost 10A."

When I first used this charger and had it on the top setting (Charge/Maintain 6*2A) the middle button on the right column that says "charging" lit up. Once the battery is fully charged that "charging" light is supposed to go out and the "Charged/Maintaining" light is supposed to come on and pulse. Well I had it hooked up for about 2 days on that setting and the light never changed or went out.

What's weird is that when I hooked it up this morning and selected the middle setting (Boost) none of the lights on the right side lit up at all. I was expecting to see the middle button on the right column to turn on and indicate that my battery was charging but I got nothing. I googled this and found 1 similar but vague scenario with one answer to it. They said that this same thing happened to them and that the button on the right under "charging" never came on because that meant that his battery was NOT holding a charge at all.

Here's the charger in question. On a side note, at the end of the 2nd day of having this thing connnected and running on charge/maintain, I did drop the selection down to "engine start" and gave it a try. Of course it didn't work at all.

https://www.autozone.com/test-scan-...cialty-tools/battery-charger/duralast-50-amp-12-volt-battery-charger/412270_0_0

I'll make this quick because I have to scoot... but I will return to this later. In the meantime, I have a manual for your charger. See where it has an alternate part number in that Autozone description ? Yeah that number means it's a relabelled Schumacher charger, which are sold everywhere. Here's the PDF :
https://www.batterychargers.com/sites/default/files/manuals/0099001890-R0.pdf

One thing for sure, you definitely want the 10A setting, in your case, though 6A charging would get most discharged batteries back up in 2 days...

Back later.

 

[Mark_]

Well I just got off the phone with a Schumacher rep (technical service), because I don,t understand what the "10A Boost" mode does, exactly. And having talked to this person, I am now even more confused. I've looked online and cannot find anything about these *boost* or *fast charge* settings on newer automotic chargers/maintainers. With older gen chargers, the answer was easy : any *boost* or high Amp charge setting meant it was manual, so not to be set there and forgotten (so to speak). I asked this person if she could tell me whether the 10A boost setting on the SC1361 was in fact an automatic mode and she didn't seem to understand my question... I then went through was the manual says for each mode and how it doesn't say anywhere if this *boost* mode is automatic or not, meaning if the charger will go to maintain after a full charge is achieved. She finally said that yes, this charger is fully automatic so no worries, but... that didn't totally satisfy me just from the way she answered.

For that 10A boost setting, the manual says :

For quickly adding
energy to a severely discharged or large
capacity battery prior to Engine Start.

... nowhere does it say if this mode is automatic, or not. If it tunrs out to be a manual mode, then leaving it there too long could damage a battery, though that may take a very long time.

Bottom line here : the manual shows the 2 - 6A charge/maintainer mode can charge a 50% discharged 1000 CCA (yours is 800 CCA) car battery in 10 hours, so there is definitely a problem with the battery if you didn't get it fully charged in 48 hours...
According to the manual, you should get a RED light if the charger detects reverse polarity OR a defective battery, but that is not a 100% reliable feature, depending on the type of battery failure I guess. Yellow/orange light means the battery is charging, and Green light means it is charged and in maintain mode.
I looked everywhere in the manual for a blinking charger light, but this unit doesn't appear to produce a blinking light, ever.

After looking at the manual again, I would not advise using the 10A boost setting for too long, they say to use it only for a few minutes on a heavily discharged battery, which tells me it is probably a manual mode, not included in the auto muti-stage scheme.

 

[Brandaloo]

Well I just got off the phone with a Schumacher rep (technical service), because I don,t understand what the "10A Boost" mode does, exactly. And having talked to this person, I am now even more confused. I've looked online and cannot find anything about these *boost* or *fast charge* settings on newer automotic chargers/maintainers. With older gen chargers, the answer was easy : any *boost* or high Amp charge setting meant it was manual, so not to be set there and forgotten (so to speak). I asked this person if she could tell me whether the 10A boost setting on the SC1361 was in fact an automatic mode and she didn't seem to understand my question... I then went through was the manual says for each mode and how it doesn't say anywhere if this *boost* mode is automatic or not, meaning if the charger will go to maintain after a full charge is achieved. She finally said that yes, this charger is fully automatic so no worries, but... that didn't totally satisfy me just from the way she answered.

For that 10A boost setting, the manual says : ... nowhere does it say if this mode is automatic, or not. If it tunrs out to be a manual mode, then leaving it there too long could damage a battery, though that may take a very long time.

Bottom line here : the manual shows the 2 - 6A charge/maintainer mode can charge a 50% discharged 1000 CCA (yours is 800 CCA) car battery in 10 hours, so there is definitely a problem with the battery if you didn't get it fully charged in 48 hours...
According to the manual, you should get a RED light if the charger detects reverse polarity OR a defective battery, but that is not a 100% reliable feature, depending on the type of battery failure I guess. Yellow/orange light means the battery is charging, and Green light means it is charged and in maintain mode.
I looked everywhere in the manual for a blinking charger light, but this unit doesn't appear to produce a blinking light, ever.

After looking at the manual again, I would not advise using the 10A boost setting for too long, they say to use it only for a few minutes on a heavily discharged battery, which tells me it is probably a manual mode, not included in the auto muti-stage scheme.

I can't thank you enough for all of your help on this. You've gone way above and beyond what I'd expect from a stranger, even going as far as calling a dreaded customer service number.

I think I'll just leave it on the 10A for a while. What concerns me though is that when it's on this 10A boost mode, the light on the righthand side that says "charging" does not light up at all. When I put it on the other mode, that charging light does light up, like one would expect it to. Do you think that my concern is valid about this or if the charging button isn't supposed to light under up the 10A mode? If it is in fact manual under the 10A mode then I'd expect that at some point, when the battery is fully charged, the light under "battery charged" would light up so you know when to take it off.

I'm going to put some work in on this over the weekend. Either taking the battery out of the loaner car or doing what you suggested and hooking some jumper cables up to the cables of the disabled jeep. I'm not sure if the first option will work because I quickly wanted to look at the battery in my loaner jeep which is under the seat and I couldn't figure out how to remove the plastic lid to the battery compartment. It didn't seem to want to come off easily and I was worried that I was going to break one of the tabs that holds it in place if I yanked on it too hard. It certainly wasn't coming off as easily as the older gentleman in the Youtube video (post #5 in this thread) showed his coming off.

 

[Rojhan]

I can't thank you enough for all of your help on this. You've gone way above and beyond what I'd expect from a stranger, even going as far as calling a dreaded customer service number.

I think I'll just leave it on the 10A for a while. What concerns me though is that when it's on this 10A boost mode, the light on the righthand side that says "charging" does not light up at all. When I put it on the other mode, that charging light does light up, like one would expect it to. Do you think that my concern is valid about this or if the charging button isn't supposed to light under up the 10A mode? If it is in fact manual under the 10A mode then I'd expect that at some point, when the battery is fully charged, the light under "battery charged" would light up so you know when to take it off.

I'm going to put some work in on this over the weekend. Either taking the battery out of the loaner car or doing what you suggested and hooking some jumper cables up to the cables of the disabled jeep. I'm not sure if the first option will work because I quickly wanted to look at the battery in my loaner jeep which is under the seat and I couldn't figure out how to remove the plastic lid to the battery compartment. It didn't seem to want to come off easily and I was worried that I was going to break one of the tabs that holds it in place if I yanked on it too hard. It certainly wasn't coming off as easily as the older gentleman in the Youtube video (post #5 in this thread) showed his coming off.

There are special jump-start battery posts in the engine compartment even with the battery under the seat.

Is it possible you have a bad charger? You could see if it has the same behavior on the loaner.

 

[Brandaloo]

There are special jump-start battery posts in the engine compartment even with the battery under the seat.

Is it possible you have a bad charger? You could see if it has the same behavior on the loaner.

Really? That's convenient. Wonder if I'll be able to find those. Although, I've already tried jumping my jeep with no luck. I was wanting to take the battery out of the loaner jeep and hook it up to my disabled jeep to see if my battery is the problem.

 

[Rojhan]

@Mark_, the manual you linked shows manual selection for 10A as well as a 50A engine start.

@Brandaloo if that's the right charger, you should try the engine start mode. Do not leave it in that mode for more than about 30 seconds with a 5 minute rest in between attempts.

You can also see if it gives you enough power to at least release the brake.

 

[Brandaloo]

@Mark_, the manual you linked shows manual selection for 10A as well as a 50A engine start.

@Brandaloo if that's the right charger, you should try the engine start mode. Do not leave it in that mode for more than about 30 seconds with a 5 minute rest in between attempts.

You can also see if it gives you enough power to at least release the brake.

Thanks. I did try the engine start mode, no luck. I don't believe I attempted to release the brake while in that mode though so I'll give that a shot tonight.

 

[Mark_]

I can't thank you enough for all of your help on this. You've gone way above and beyond what I'd expect from a stranger, even going as far as calling a dreaded customer service number.

I think I'll just leave it on the 10A for a while. What concerns me though is that when it's on this 10A boost mode, the light on the righthand side that says "charging" does not light up at all. When I put it on the other mode, that charging light does light up, like one would expect it to. Do you think that my concern is valid about this or if the charging button isn't supposed to light under up the 10A mode? If it is in fact manual under the 10A mode then I'd expect that at some point, when the battery is fully charged, the light under "battery charged" would light up so you know when to take it off.

I'm going to put some work in on this over the weekend. Either taking the battery out of the loaner car or doing what you suggested and hooking some jumper cables up to the cables of the disabled jeep. I'm not sure if the first option will work because I quickly wanted to look at the battery in my loaner jeep which is under the seat and I couldn't figure out how to remove the plastic lid to the battery compartment. It didn't seem to want to come off easily and I was worried that I was going to break one of the tabs that holds it in place if I yanked on it too hard. It certainly wasn't coming off as easily as the older gentleman in the Youtube video (post #5 in this thread) showed his coming off.

It's my pleasure to help when I can... Truth be told, I really-really like a good battery challenge
About the 10A boost setting : there is no mention of any charging light with this mode, in the manual or anywhere online, so it's a mystery... However if you get the charging light in 6 - 2A mode, then we could assume the battery is accepting a charge. My advice : because I believe the 10A mode is manual ( @Rojhan may have seen something I missed ), then leave it there for an hour no more, then go to 6-2A mode, to be sure you are in Automatic mode. And since you've already tried the 50A Start mode with no luck, better wait until you know the battery can hold a charge.. which it may not be able to do if kaput...
So give it 10A for an hour, then go to 6 - 2A mode and leave it like that overnight.

There are special jump-start battery posts in the engine compartment even with the battery under the seat.

Is it possible you have a bad charger? You could see if it has the same behavior on the loaner.

Found a vid on YT, with those posts (assuming this is the most recent GC platform) :

@Mark_, the manual you linked shows manual selection for 10A as well as a 50A engine start.

@Brandaloo if that's the right charger, you should try the engine start mode. Do not leave it in that mode for more than about 30 seconds with a 5 minute rest in between attempts.

You can also see if it gives you enough power to at least release the brake.

I'll go and re-read the PDF, but I had suspected 10A mode here was manual, despite what the rep told me over the phone.

 

[Mark_]

@Mark_, the manual you linked shows manual selection for 10A as well as a 50A engine start.

So I've gone over the book again. There are a lot of things not explained here... Instructions for the 10A boost mode are practically non existant, except one thing I didn't catch earlier : they say when you try the 50A Start mode and it fails with the battery reading below 2V (two volts), then try the 10A setting for a few minutes ; this kinda confirms 10A mode is full manual, not integrated into the microprocessor multi-stage charging scheme. Newer *smart* chargers usually won't charge when battery voltage is too low (below 9V ?), so the only way to get some charging current going is to use a manual charger (old style) or a newer one with a special mode, like this one with the *10A Boost* ; kinda like the *activate* option on some older chargers... used on nearly dead batteries.

Ok I don't want to bring this off-topic...

Like I said earlier, taking the battery out of the loaner is not something I'd recommend, but it's up to you. Less work to just disconnect the Cherokee battery and then jump (boost) with the GC, I think... because one less battery to manipulate..


Edit to add : something else I noticed in the manual. This charger will shut down with a red light (fail) if charging stage stays active for 12 consecutive hours. This because a healthy enough battery should not require 12 hours to fully charge at 6A.

 

[Stevendon64]

Hi,
I haven't read every post as I broke my specs, but I'm hoping that I can offer a bit of info regarding chargers.
Most chargers these days won't charge a flat battery. Essentially in order to charge a battery, the battery needs to have a charge.

I had bought a Wiz bang charger which was on special. I returned it twice as I thought it was dodgy, but I had learned that it won't charge a dead battery. One of my cars had a lot of flat batteries as I didn't drive it enough, as it's more of a weekend car.

I have found an excellent charger called "Matson Battery Rescue" which will charge any 12v battery, even if it's dead flat. I found that it did a great job with my Statesmen. I used to keep the charger hooked up 24/7.
I will share a link, but I'm not sure if I can share links, especially to online shops. I haven't read all the rules yet, but will read them as I get a chance.

If you're in a hurry to have it changed, then charge for a couple hours on the battery rescue, then swap to the faster charger. That's what I have done a couple times in the past.

Cheers,
Steven.

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

 

[Mark_]

Hi,
I haven't read every post as I broke my specs, but I'm hoping that I can offer a bit of info regarding chargers.
Most chargers these days won't charge a flat battery. Essentially in order to charge a battery, the battery needs to have a charge.

I had bought a Wiz bang charger which was on special. I returned it twice as I thought it was dodgy, but I had learned that it won't charge a dead battery. One of my cars had a lot of flat batteries as I didn't drive it enough, as it's more of a weekend car.

I have found an excellent charger called "Matson Battery Rescue" which will charge any 12v battery, even if it's dead flat. I found that it did a great job with my Statesmen. I used to keep the charger hooked up 24/7.
I will share a link, but I'm not sure if I can share links, especially to online shops. I haven't read all the rules yet, but will read them as I get a chance.

If you're in a hurry to have it changed, then charge for a couple hours on the battery rescue, then swap to the faster charger. That's what I have done a couple times in the past.

Cheers,
Steven.

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

Hey Steven. Thanks for sharing that, and welcome to JCC :wink:
Yep *dead batteries* are not charger-friendly, for sure. I was even a little surprised to read this particular Schumacher could produce a charge at below 2V.

This case here is kinda special, I guess. OP's Cherokee is up a road where access is difficult, too difficult for a 2WD tow truck even. The Cherokee is practically new, so any little thing we try, we must consider the warranty. If this little Schumacher can, if fact, charge a 2V (= dead) battery, then who knows... In general, automotive batteries reading less than 9V are considered dead, as in don't even try because it won't ever hold a charge, not a healthy charge anyway. These Cherokees are very sensitive to battery health, they can and will act out in very strange ways if battery state of health falls below a certain threshold, to a point where the Jeep may simply shut down. OP's Jeep sits on top of a hill with a difficult tight and slippery road, we can't take any chances of him rolling down and have the Jeep stall with no power brakes and steering, for example...
The goal here is to try and ID the problem, then fix it so the Jeep can make it down safely, and to the dealership ; at least safely down that hill, then it can rest on a tow truck's flatbed if needed. If this battery is toast, he can get a new one from the dealership under warranty (hopefully !) and get the Jeep down that road.

 

[jdd]

Been following this thread and I don't have any ideas, but all this battery stuff really seems to be barking up the wrong tree. He has tried jumping and nothing? Headlights on and presumably bright? Can't even release e-brake? Fairly new vehicle? I know these things do strange things with battery problems but something just isn't adding up.


As was suggested by another poster, why not just take the battery out of the Cherokee and have it tested at autozone or dealer? You could at least eliminate that as the cause if you really suspect battery.


I've had a battery go real weak in my 2015, almost to the point where the engine sounded like it wasn't going to start. I think voltage was dropping below 10v on start, but it still cranked and started, barely. OP is getting nothing, just not sounding like battery to me.

 

[Brandaloo]

OK, a quick update.


I got home from work and hooked the charger back up. When I first hooked the battery charger up I tested the battery with a voltemeter that I just went out and bought. It was at around 12V or so. T."his test was done with the charger hooked up though so I'm not sure if it was even an accurate reading or if the charger being hooked up and turned on would have given me a higher reading.

I left the charger on the Boost 10A setting for about 4 hours. I hadn't yet read @Marks_ advice about only running that mode for an hour or so. I went out there and to my surprise the 10A light was no longer on and now a green light under "charged/maintaining." This makes me think that 10A is automatic after-all? What do you think @Mark_?
I put the voltemeter on the battery (and again I did this while the charger was still connected which I'm thinking is not the correct way to get an accurate reading) and it was at 12.99. I got in the jeep and tried to start it and had the same result as always. No sound, no nothing. I tried the remote start with same result. I changed the charger to the Engine Start mode and that didn't work either.
I also want to add that it the radio and touchscreen has turned on a few times during the many attempts I've made at starting the Jeep. It turns off after a couple of seconds though. During my attempt tonight the radio did not turn on. Another thing that is odd to me is that when I first noticed my Jeep wouldn't start the automatic trunk button was still working. It stopped working after the second or third attempt I made at starting the jeep though and it's still not working tonight. I get a ding and a message in the dash and a message that says something like "auto trunk temporarily unavailable, open it manually."
.

After the failure tonight I disconnected the charger completely and immediately took the voltage reading. It went from 12.99 minutes early to now reading at 12.52.


I will take another reading in the morning and post the results. I was going to try marks suggestion to hook jumper cables from a good battery to the cables of my disabled jeep but now my novice mechanical mind is thinking that it won't matter. I got a reading from the battery tonight of 12.99 with the charger connected and then 12.52 with it disconnected. Wouldn't the 12.52 be more than enough to start the jeep or at leatryst give it enough juice to open the trunk? Or am I mistaken here and me using a new battery is still a possible fix?

 

[Jeepster1]

My worry, as I mentioned below is that if I go out and buy a new battery for a couple hundred dollars and it turns out that a new battery didn't solve my problem then I wouldn't be able to return the battery and get my money back. Maybe I'm wrong in assuming that I can't return a battery though?

The issue is how much is being wasted as of now in your time, aggravation and fretting about this vehicle.
Just consider one thing. If it is not the battery then you will have to get the Cherokee towed to the dealer one way or another.
That is one sure fact. That will cost you for sure. So your issue of not being able to get a tow to your Cherokee is irrelevant. It will have to be towed. You are all ready into it for a volt meter, what ever that cost you.
I doubt that battery will cost you couple hundred dollars if you live in the US. Also testing for voltage is irrelevant as the key here is amp draw when you try and start. A defective battery may very well show 12 volts but be incapable of suppling enough amps to turn over. In that case you will show a big volt drop as you try and start. There may be enough voltage and amps to run the radio ect but not to start the vehicle. That is until you use them a bit or try and start the vehicle.

Go and get a new correct size battery for that Cherokee. If that does not start it then you will have to figure out a way to get it towed.
A new battery is the lesser of the. U-Tube has great videos on how to change out batteries. Be sure to wear safety glasses when you do it.
As far as returns go just ask them when you buy it as to their policy. You might even get them to come out and put it in for a service charge.
Again just ask them.

I would be willing to gamble its the battery from everything you have said. If it was my vehicle in the situation you described I would just put a new one in and be done with it. :smile:

 

[Mark_]

OK, a quick update.


I got home from work and hooked the charger back up. When I first hooked the battery charger up I tested the battery with a voltemeter that I just went out and bought. It was at around 12V or so. T."his test was done with the charger hooked up though so I'm not sure if it was even an accurate reading or if the charger being hooked up and turned on would have given me a higher reading.

I left the charger on the Boost 10A setting for about 4 hours. I hadn't yet read @Marks_ advice about only running that mode for an hour or so. I went out there and to my surprise the 10A light was no longer on and now a green light under "charged/maintaining." This makes me think that 10A is automatic after-all? What do you think @Mark_?
I put the voltemeter on the battery (and again I did this while the charger was still connected which I'm thinking is not the correct way to get an accurate reading) and it was at 12.99. I got in the jeep and tried to start it and had the same result as always. No sound, no nothing. I tried the remote start with same result. I changed the charger to the Engine Start mode and that didn't work either.
I also want to add that it the radio and touchscreen has turned on a few times during the many attempts I've made at starting the Jeep. It turns off after a couple of seconds though. During my attempt tonight the radio did not turn on. Another thing that is odd to me is that when I first noticed my Jeep wouldn't start the automatic trunk button was still working. It stopped working after the second or third attempt I made at starting the jeep though and it's still not working tonight. I get a ding and a message in the dash and a message that says something like "auto trunk temporarily unavailable, open it manually."
.

After the failure tonight I disconnected the charger completely and immediately took the voltage reading. It went from 12.99 minutes early to now reading at 12.52.


I will take another reading in the morning and post the results. I was going to try marks suggestion to hook jumper cables from a good battery to the cables of my disabled jeep but now my novice mechanical mind is thinking that it won't matter. I got a reading from the battery tonight of 12.99 with the charger connected and then 12.52 with it disconnected. Wouldn't the 12.52 be more than enough to start the jeep or at leatryst give it enough juice to open the trunk? Or am I mistaken here and me using a new battery is still a possible fix?

Well that's interesting... Ok a few observations :

- Voltage at battery with the charger connected and ON is not a reliable reading, because it is the voltage from the charger, not from the battery. Having said that, an initial reading of 12V with the charger ON is very low. Very. Should be above 13V with the charger.
- Your 12.99V with the charger ON later that night is still very low ; a charged battery, with charger should be around 14V or 12.8V with no charger
- As @Jeepster says, a defective battery may still show 12V (give or take) but not be able to produce current (Amps), and you need Amps to start an engine. The only way to test available current from a battery is with a load test (special tester needed here).
- My suggestion of boosting the Jeep while its battery was disconnected appears to make you uncomfortable and I understand that, and I won't try to push you to do this. With this option off the table and considering all other factors in your very specific and difficult conditions, I can see only 2 other options :
1) Take the battery out of the Cherokee and bring it to the dealership for a load test. They *should* accept to do this at no charge to you (warranty). If they refuse and want to charge you for this, take the battery to Autozone and let them load test it. If the battery is bad, you go back to the dealership and make your case that the battery is dead and ask for a new one under warranty. If they refuse... don't buy a battery from them, go to Autozone or Walmart and buy an AGM group H7 (= group 94R).
2) Buy a 94R battery right away and install it in the Jeep. This option may end up costing you this new battery if you can't return it, or if the problem is not the battery after all... And remember : you must only install an AGM battery in your Jeep, so if you buy the regular H7 at Walmart for $150 (non AGM) because they don't have the AGM in stock, you have to return it because it may be good for getting you out of there and it will work in the Cherokee, but its life will be very short because it can't handle the loads of the ESS system. But hey if they accept returns no questions asked, just get any H7 they have and throw it in the Cherokee, then bring it back no matter if it got you down that road or not...

** If you do decide to try and boost the Cherokee without its battery connected : try to start it and if it does start, just stop the engine immediately and remove boost cables ; you'll know your battery is defective and you can take it from there (contact dealership with this information, that you need a new battery).

I know buying a battery feels wrong because your Jeep is new and you shouldn't have to pay for this, but... your Jeep is stuck up there and it has to come down. If there are no other options, no one capable of towing it from up there, then you can't risk injury or damage to the Jeep by trying to roll it down the road with no power ; but you can't even do that now with the electric park brake activated...

 

[Mark_]

@Brandaloo one more question :

Option #1 in my previous post : this option *seems* really simple to me, and would cost you nothing other than a trip to the dealership to have your battery tested. You haven't addressed this option, which I have suggested a few times already, so I have to ask if you have a problem with it ? Something I've missed ? I know it's what I would do, considering the situation and options...

 

[Brandaloo]

Just a quick update. Have a lot of things going on today and haven't read any responses since my last comment.


I just now put the voltemeter on my battery. It's 2:45PM here so it's been about 15 hours since I got my last reading of 12.52 amps. The battery is now at 11.96. I have not tried to start the jeep in between my two last tests so I'm not sure why it would have already dropped 56 amps or volts or whatever. Is this normal?

Will check back in later tonight and read the rest of the comments. Thanks!

 

[Mark_]

Just a quick update. Have a lot of things going on today and haven't read any responses since my last comment.


I just now put the voltemeter on my battery. It's 2:45PM here so it's been about 15 hours since I got my last reading of 12.52 amps. The battery is now at 11.96. I have not tried to start the jeep in between my two last tests so I'm not sure why it would have already dropped 56 amps or volts or whatever. Is this normal?

Will check back in later tonight and read the rest of the comments. Thanks!

Nope, not *normal* if your battery was healthy. I'll let you catch up...

 

[Brandaloo]

The issue is how much is being wasted as of now in your time, aggravation and fretting about this vehicle.
Just consider one thing. If it is not the battery then you will have to get the Cherokee towed to the dealer one way or another.
That is one sure fact. That will cost you for sure. So your issue of not being able to get a tow to your Cherokee is irrelevant. It will have to be towed. You are all ready into it for a volt meter, what ever that cost you.
I doubt that battery will cost you couple hundred dollars if you live in the US. Also testing for voltage is irrelevant as the key here is amp draw when you try and start. A defective battery may very well show 12 volts but be incapable of suppling enough amps to turn over. In that case you will show a big volt drop as you try and start. There may be enough voltage and amps to run the radio ect but not to start the vehicle. That is until you use them a bit or try and start the vehicle.

Go and get a new correct size battery for that Cherokee. If that does not start it then you will have to figure out a way to get it towed.
A new battery is the lesser of the. U-Tube has great videos on how to change out batteries. Be sure to wear safety glasses when you do it.
As far as returns go just ask them when you buy it as to their policy. You might even get them to come out and put it in for a service charge.
Again just ask them.

I would be willing to gamble its the battery from everything you have said. If it was my vehicle in the situation you described I would just put a new one in and be done with it. :smile:

Good information and I definitely see your point. A tow is not going to cost me anything though because my Jeep came with 3 years of free roadside assistance.


I think I'll take the battery to the dealership and have them test it. If it's a bad battery then maybe they'd be willing to just give me a new one since everything should be under warranty since I bought the jeep brand new less than 5 months ago.

 

[Brandaloo]

Well that's interesting... Ok a few observations :

- Voltage at battery with the charger connected and ON is not a reliable reading, because it is the voltage from the charger, not from the battery. Having said that, an initial reading of 12V with the charger ON is very low. Very. Should be above 13V with the charger.
- Your 12.99V with the charger ON later that night is still very low ; a charged battery, with charger should be around 14V or 12.8V with no charger
- As @Jeepster says, a defective battery may still show 12V (give or take) but not be able to produce current (Amps), and you need Amps to start an engine. The only way to test available current from a battery is with a load test (special tester needed here).
- My suggestion of boosting the Jeep while its battery was disconnected appears to make you uncomfortable and I understand that, and I won't try to push you to do this. With this option off the table and considering all other factors in your very specific and difficult conditions, I can see only 2 other options :
1) Take the battery out of the Cherokee and bring it to the dealership for a load test. They *should* accept to do this at no charge to you (warranty). If they refuse and want to charge you for this, take the battery to Autozone and let them load test it. If the battery is bad, you go back to the dealership and make your case that the battery is dead and ask for a new one under warranty. If they refuse... don't buy a battery from them, go to Autozone or Walmart and buy an AGM group H7 (= group 94R).
2) Buy a 94R battery right away and install it in the Jeep. This option may end up costing you this new battery if you can't return it, or if the problem is not the battery after all... And remember : you must only install an AGM battery in your Jeep, so if you buy the regular H7 at Walmart for $150 (non AGM) because they don't have the AGM in stock, you have to return it because it may be good for getting you out of there and it will work in the Cherokee, but its life will be very short because it can't handle the loads of the ESS system. But hey if they accept returns no questions asked, just get any H7 they have and throw it in the Cherokee, then bring it back no matter if it got you down that road or not...

** If you do decide to try and boost the Cherokee without its battery connected : try to start it and if it does start, just stop the engine immediately and remove boost cables ; you'll know your battery is defective and you can take it from there (contact dealership with this information, that you need a new battery).

I know buying a battery feels wrong because your Jeep is new and you shouldn't have to pay for this, but... your Jeep is stuck up there and it has to come down. If there are no other options, no one capable of towing it from up there, then you can't risk injury or damage to the Jeep by trying to roll it down the road with no power ; but you can't even do that now with the electric park brake activated...

Great advice and this is what I'm going to do. I'll take the battery from my Jeep to the dealership on Monday and have them load test it. I'll let you all know how that goes. Thank you again!