Problem Starting, Stalling

[whocares8310]

I recently had my battery disconnected for a few days, and connected for a few more days. There was a power inverter plugged into the jeep's power outlet and now my battery is dead.

i had a friend attempt to give me a jump so i could drive to the store and get a new one but when he went to jump me the jeep just wouldn't turn over. when i started to tap the gas while i was turning the key it fire up but when i left my hand off the key and took my foot off the gas she stalled out and died again. is the dead battery to blame? or is something else also dead.

i was thinking that the dead battery caused my computer to "forget" where to idle?

[Weldmen]

If the battery is dead the engine will not run. The ECM needs at least 10 volts to stay alive. But if you jumped it did you test yer alternator? 13.6 volts out on that.

[whocares8310]

i did not test my alternator . not really sure how to test it actually. everything was running just fine a few weeks ago.

[whocares8310]

so i went out and jumped it again today, had my friends car hooked up to mine for about 10 minutes to make sure my battery got some charge.

i cranked it and stepped on the gas a bit and it turned over and ran fine (in park) but the second i took my foot off the gas it dropped below 1k rpm and died. i did this twice just to make sure it was the same problem and it was both times.

**all of this was done with cables still attached**

[Weldmen]

Meter on DC 20 volts. + - on battery. Read volts. start it and look at meter should read 13.8v or so if its working. You will need to disconnect jumper cables though.
Sounds like a bad batery

[whocares8310]

ok thanks, if it dies when i take the cables off i guess i should go grab a new battery before testing the alternator right?

[Weldmen]

Throw a charger on it for a couple hours. See if the battery takes a charge. If it don't I would guess its the Battery.

[whocares8310]

i gotta contact a friend about getting ahold of a charger. my broke *** doesnt have one at my apartment here at school

also just went out and started it without the cables attached. but once i took my foot off the gas she stalled/died on me again

[whocares8310]

I have tested my battery

reading: 12.5 volts

I am about to test my alternator

reading:

[bigjim350]

Sounds like your ECM is trying to reset itself. Try driving it around a few miles.

[whocares8310]

thanks big jim. drove her around two footing the gas and brake and now she idles just fine thanks a bunch

i think switching from reverse to drive a couple times helped too

[Weldmen]

Well I am glad to here it was a easy fix for ya. :thumbsup: :driving:

[whocares8310]

the alternator reading was 14.5 or so when i took the multimeter to it

[whocares8310]

Big problem driving around town. i still have to sporadically two foot it. itll start fine now and itll stay alive while in park, which is what i meant by idle last night. but, now when i drove to the auto parts store and dropped gf off on campus it stalled once i took my foot off the gas on a straight away and at a few stop signs. any thoughts?

[4.3LXJ]

If you have put some miles on it and this persists, the first thing I would do is clean the idle air controller. It meters the air so you have a constant idle in gear or park. Since it will idle in park, but not in gear under a load it sounds like it might be stuck. You can clean it up by using some carb cleaner on it and where it mounts. But don't fill the manifold with liquid. It is located on the throttle body, has a couple of wires plugged into it, unlike the throttle position sensor which has more than two and located on the end of the throttle plate shaft.

[bigjim350]

If you have put some miles on it and this persists, the first thing I would do is clean the idle air controller. It meters the air so you have a constant idle in gear or park. Since it will idle in park, but not in gear under a load it sounds like it might be stuck. You can clean it up by using some carb cleaner on it and where it mounts. But don't fill the manifold with liquid. It is located on the throttle body, has a couple of wires plugged into it, unlike the throttle position sensor which has more than two and located on the end of the throttle plate shaft.

I agree. I have had this problem on a few cars. When your ECM is resetting, the IAC is one of the sensors that it is resetting. This means it moves futher open and closed than it used to. Its waiting on the ECM to tell it where to stay. What happens is, its been only going so far one way or the other for so long, it has carbon built up in the areas it didn't usually move to. So my guess is that its getting stuck.

[whocares8310]

cleaning out the throttle body and IAC fixed everything thanks a bunch guys