Just going to throw this out there... How old is the battery? Batteries can die suddenly or they can go out with a whimper. if the battery is more than 3 years old have them replace it OR take it to an auto zone/auto parts store, and have them do a cycle test on the battery. the fact that it runs after a jump tells me that is almost 100% a battery issue.

Edit: if you don't know how to check the battery should have a sticker on it that looks like this:

The little pink sticker, sometimes yellow or green. it will be somewhere on the battery.

 

Thanks for the quick reply! I forgot to mention that I took the Jeep to the autoparts store the first day and had the starting/charging/battery system tested and it passed. The battery is a Bosch and was manufactured in 2014.

 

Hmmm.... I still feel like it is your battery, is it one you can check the fluids in? See if they are low?

 

I found my multimeter and connected it, and I am getting 10.7 volts after jumping it off. It wont start under its own power. I may just charge the battery and drive it to the Jeep dealer near me. I am curious to see tomorrow morning if the battery light is on. If it is off while cold, and stops charging while hot, I wonder if some control module is getting hot keeping the alternator from charging.

 

if your alternator isn't putting out power, then the car wouldn't run.

 

Repeated rundowns will kill even a new battery.

I had a problem with a frequently dying battery about a year ago. Turned out that my wiring harness was corroded directly below the battery. Once that was fixed, the problem went away. I mention the location only as a possible weak point - yours may be somewhere else, but its a place to start looking. Mine is a pretty high mileage vehicle so I may be hitting problems sooner than others.

In my case the clue was that my interior lights dimmed out whenever I closed the door.
Normally the interior lights will stay on for 30 seconds when the ignition has been off for 1/2 or so. (The computer does not shut down things immediately, it takes a while.)
When the ignition is on they will dim out almost immediately.
When it had been parked for 1/2 hour it should have shut down by then. However, when I opened & closed a door the lights dimmed out immediately. That told me that the ignition was staying on all the time. That will run down the battery in a few hours.

It took my very good dealer a couple visits to find and diagnose the problem because it was inconsistent. Meanwhile I carried a battery pack for a couple weeks. Those frequent rundowns killed my original battery and my brand new replacement! The problem became less sporadic and more frequent until my dealer had it one day and discovered that the ignition was staying on -- then it took some time to find the break -- and then a week to get a new harness ordered and installed. Altogether about $1200, and my dealer replaced my now wrecked new replacement battery at their expense.

That was at 190,000 and I seriously considered dumping my Patriot then, but I went ahead with the repair and that was the first significant repair I'd had to pay for. I figured I'd risk the money on the repair and I'm glad I did. I've had no more repairs for the past year / 30,000 miles. With a good dealer nearby I'm confident I can cope with a few more repairs before lil Ignatz goes to that freeway in the sky.

 

Well I started it this morning and the battery light was still on, and still is this afternoon. Hopefully it will still be on tomorrow when the Jeep dealer looks at it. I will be dropping it off tonight to have it diagnosed, and hopefully repaired. I will update the thread when I hear back from them.

 

I know this is 5yrs later... I've got a 2008 Patriot and having similar issues. changed the battery which I thought solved the issue, then went for a long drive today and battery light came on during high revs going up a mountain, then went off.. then came on again as I accelerated from a stationary position and then all the lights went on then off thankfully as I was miles from home with the family..
drove very slowly home. checked battery and alternator which showed 1400+ while idling.. from what i've read on here i'm hoping its the bad terminal on the starter grounding? any other ideas? thanks

 

Did you find put the causes of your battery problem? I am having exact same problems with my 08 patriot and we are just exhausted with trying to find what's wrong . Alt,batt,starter and wire is good we all out of idea's.

 

Get a good scan tool and check for any stored codes.

Keep in mind that the PCM and TIPM (plus associated wiring/connectors) play a role in the charging system.

Be sure to check the battery connection at the TIPM, make sure it's tight: