<strong>Reader Question

Hello Austin ,
I have a 2002 Jeep Wrangler Sport with 40,000 miles on it. It has always been very reliable until this past week when our temperature has been around and over 100 degrees everyday. I noticed that when I parked my car in the sun, the fog lights would turn on and stay on all by themselves.

I had to wiggle the control knob to get them to shut off, but they would come back on again. Now that has lead to my battery dying and when I try to jump start the vehicle, it will not staying running by itself. Do you have any idea what is happening with my Jeep?

Hello there

OK you got me on this one, I have never heard of this happening before. The fog light problem sounds like a bad switch, since you CAN get them to shut off if you wiggle the switch around. The other issue could just be a bad battery that will no longer hold a charge OR something has happened to your alternator and it is not charging the battery.

I would get an electrical system test to see what is or is not happening. This should include a battery “load test”, a drain test to see if something is draining the battery besides the fog lights being left on, and an alternator output test to see if the alternator is charging properly. If this battery is more than4 years old I would replace it regardless.

Does anyone have a suggestion for this visitor?

Blessings,

Austin Davis