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[IHB33]

I have recently suffered a failure with the electrical system on my Cherokee - not helped by my own stupidity - RTFM in future! 

I managed to flatten the battery by leaving the doors open for a few hours (!) - it was a sunny day and I was trying to dry the car out - (I have a water leak from the drivers door.)

When I went to jump start the car - I did 2 things wrong - 1) - left it in "PARK" and 2 )- attached both jump leads to the battery - the earth is supposed to go to the chassis/ engine I am now told.

As a result of this ( possibly) , when I tried to jump it - there seemed to be a loud " crack" noise - like something electrical and expensive dying - and everything is now dead - when I turmn the key there is no resistance and nothing lights up on the dash / anywhere -even the Alarm system which seems to be designed to foil any attempt to silence it - and which normally goes off as soon as the battery is flat / disconnected - is now silent.  The car is also jammed in Park and I cannot move it.

I have checked all fuses and they seem to be intact.

Any help or polite suggestions gratefully received.


Ian

[Nosebolt]

Def not an expert on these new fangled electical cars but first thing i would do is charge the battery off the car and try it again

[tim_aka_tim]

You did everything right. You must leave it in park when trying to jump it - there's an interlock which
won't let you turn the key to start if you're not in park. They say to put the negative on the engine or
chassis, but it's only a precaution, putting both clips on the battery is fine.

Check the fusebox (Power Distribution Centre) under the bonnet. It's on the left as you look at the engine.
Fuse number 6 is the ignition fuse (60A) - look there first. Check other fuses too.

[IHB33]

Ok thanks for the help  - I can take the "Dunces Cap" off now and stop standing in the corner.

I will try the fuses and also try getting the battery charged fully - probably set the alarm going again !

Is there a way of disabling the alarm temporarily while I try and fix the problem - my old BMW had a key to turn it off.

Ian.

[Dave69]

if you have a multi-meter use that to see what the actual voltage is on the battery. What you need to do is leave the battery on charge overnight for a decent charge. if possible check the cells to see if they are full of distilled water/acid.
 If you have another car next to it you could connect the jump leads as if your going to jump start the car and leave it running for a few minutes. Use a volt meter to see what is going into the jeeps battery (should be 12+ volts).
 then turn the ignition key on the jeep, you are only initially looking for the instrument lights to show. if these light then your possibly ok, if no lights then your looking at a fuse or a loom failure, where a wiring diagram might be needed.

As Tim says it's ok to connect straight to the battery but everyone advises to connect the negative to the car battery of the main choice is the engine itself