why is my car battery not charging?

Question

my jeep battery is ony a couple of months old but it wont charge already. i have had the alternator tested and its fine. the voltage across the battery is 12.2 volts when engine is running, voltage across the alternator is about 13.5 (roughly what it should be) where is the charge going? the warning light on the dash doesnt come on at all, not even when you first turn the key to ignition. but it does work i can get it to come on so i know its not the bulb has blown or something.

my jeep battery is ony a couple of months old but it wont charge already. i have had the alternator tested and its fine. the voltage across the battery is 12.2 volts when engine is running, voltage across the alternator is about 13.5 (roughly what it should be) where is the charge going? the warning light on the dash doesnt come on at all, not even when you first turn the key to ignition. but it does work i can get it to come on so i know its not the bulb has blown or something.

cheers for advice so far. gunna try and clean it all up and check all the connections are good and get the battery checked today and we'll see what happens from there

i know its not the starter motor or ignition problems cause when there is charge in the battery or i jump it, it starts fine.

Answer 1

the alt should put out 14+ volts, check the fan belt, and battery cables, then replace the regulator :)

some cars have a fuse in the charge circuit

Answer 2

Your battery is charging, somewhere. It would be dead if not, at least if you are using the vehicle. The difference in charge is explained by a bad connection. A bad connection does not mean no connection. That is why your battery is still charging though not as expected. You might also consider the idle speed. If your vehicle is idling too slowly, it will not produce enough voltage to correctly charge during that process. Your regulator could be a problem though I doubt that given the available information.
Double check your connections. Then check the idle speed. As long as your battery is not actually going dead, you probably shouldn't worry.

Answer 3

Sounds like a draw on the battery when the car is not running. Take a test light and disconnect the negative battery cable and put the test light between the cable and the battery with everything turned off. If the test light comes on, you have a short.

Answer 4

first check if the starter is good(sometimes a leaning starter drain the battery )
second; check the voltage regulator(is suppose to cut the connection between battery-alternator when vehicle not running)
3--check the ground cable that goes from engine block to chassis(all metal,looks like macrame)
4 check the wire S at the starter solenoid

Answer 5

chack the resistance of your batt. cables ! they should have full continuity. did you clean the ends of the cables when you put the battery in ?ou should have full alternator voltage at your battery when your car is running. if your battery cables are clean on both ends and you have continuity then you have a short somewhere else in the system.

Answer 6

Are you sure it isnt charging? You didnt say that the car isnt starting... If the Jeep isnt starting, is it turning over at all? You could have an ignition switch problem...

Answer 7

Is the other end of the positive cable tight? Any bare spots on it that my be going to ground?

Answer 8

check all the groud wires going to thne alt check for bald spots it could be arcing out on ya. also clean all the connections. then take it out and

Answer 9

car light battery lighting on

Answer 10

Either a faulty battery or faulty wiring.