1997 expy dead battery now car is acting goofy

[Zachmorby]

So for the past couple weeks my 1997 Eddie Bauer expy battery has been going dead. I've put my battery charger on and got it running before and I've jumped it twice before.

So now I come home from work and go out to start my expy and nothing no lights on or anything totally dead. I jumped it with my 01 ford diesel. The expy fired right up. Well now when I put it in gear all the 4 x4 light come on the windows won't roll down when in gear. The speedo doesn't work. It has trouble shifting. And when I turn the expy off with the heater on it stays on along with the radio even with the key out and door open.

I've never had any problems till the battery problem is it all linked to a bad battery or ?

 

[splintrcel]

i think its time for a new battery, if the system isn't getting full 12 volts things go crazy lol. I bought the autocraft gold battery from advance auto and it has gone through -15 F weather in wisconsin and still turned the engine over. No complaints there.

 

[syntaxerror]

That sounds an aweful lot like the usual Windshield leaking onto the GEM module under the dash. The seal tends to go bad on the factory windshield and after a while will start to accumulate water inside and drip onto the electronics on the driver side under the dash. I had this exact same thing happen after a massive downpour and it just kept getting worse and worse every time it rained after that. Did you wash the car or get heavy rain just prior to this starting? If so, it may cure up once everything underneath drys out, but you'll likely need to replace or reseal your windshield.

Just as a note, I did this replacement and it solved the problem 100%. If it is the leak, get it fixed ASAP before your electronics get fried beyond being able to dry out and work again.

 

[RevBBD]

Although those may be symptoms of the windshield leak, the likely culprit is the battery given what you stated. As was mentioned above, when there is insufficient power to charge the system it will act like it's possessed ala Stephen King's Christine. I've gone through that a few times with my Expy when batteries are no longer serviceable. It could also be the battery isn't being charged properly by the alternator, but if it's an old battery I'd replace that first. Also check that your battery cables are not corroded, that could impair proper charging too.

 

[Zachmorby]

Alright thanks guys I'm going to limp it over to the autoshop and mess with it tomorrow I know the owner so he lets me use his shop when I need a space to work on stuff so I'll drop a new battery in it and go from there I'll let u know what turns up