JEEP Thrills

 

I suppose that if you want some Jeep thrills you have to have a Jeep, which is not to say that it is the only way to have thrills. I reported last night on a slight aberration I was having with the electrical system of our Jeep Cherokee. We’ve had it for a long time and it has really been a workhorse for us. With almost 140,000 miles, we have not had any real problems, yet. last night it caught my attention when we started down to Leo’s Pizza. The “check engine” lamp was on and the voltmeter was showing about 8 volts, but everything else seemed to be working properly. I put on the head lights and A/C and all worked well. There was no indication that the voltmeter was correct. Shortly the “check gauges” lamp also came on and I again checked ALL the gauges. Everything was functioning fine. After stopping and restarting the engine, the “check gauges” lamp went out and the voltmeter showed nearly 14 volts. The “check engine” lamp remained lit then and all the way home.

Back at the campground I got out my battery charger and connected it to the Jeep battery. It showed a voltage of 12.6 volts. That was about what it should have been. With the charger plugged in, it was showing a trickle charge rate and I left it on all night. In the AM, I again started that car and the darn “check engine” lamp was still on. Since we were going to Playa Del Carmen in the afternoon, I planned on a visit to Autozone and a free scan. However, I had one last thing to try, disconnecting the battery and turning on the headlights to drain any capacitors. After an hour or so, I reconnected the battery and started the car………no problems……..none. We made the run to Playa and encountered no other problems. I ASSURED Helen that he car is OK to drive for a shopping trip in the next few days. I’d better be right!