PDA

View Full Version : Stupid Me - Electric Problems - Where To Start?



jdoom
08-29-2005, 03:06 PM
So i made a stupid mistake yesterday. I took off the rear of my exhaust to add a turndown right after the muffler. Once i got everything lined back up i needed a hanger for my muffler. I decided to weld on my old support to the frame and weld on a hanger to the muffler. Well everytime i weld on the jeep i always make sure to disconnect the battery. Well dumbass me forgot to disconnect it. What a frickin idiot.

:axe: :smt067 :axe: :smt067

I get up this morning to go to school and my jeep won't start. It will crank over but just won't start. I immediatly think son of a bitch i'm an idiot and indeed i am because i forgot to disconnect the battery. I just replaced the coil, distributor cap, wires, and plugs a little over a year ago. My battery is only two months old.I check the basic stuff. I have no spark at the wires, and have no spark at the coil either. I checked all of the fuses and none were blown, they were all fine. I'm assuming i may have fried some module or something. I'm no mechanic so I need your help. Where should I start looking?

OverkillZJ
08-29-2005, 03:15 PM
I'm bad... I never disconnect the battery when welding to the jeep. Never had a problem with it though. :toimonst:

BigDaveZJ
08-29-2005, 03:32 PM
I think the ECU is what gets fried first when you do that.

norton
08-29-2005, 04:18 PM
LOL you suck.

if you need help checking shit lemme know.

btw hows it look? was looking the hotness before i left

JeepinHank
08-29-2005, 07:24 PM
I doubt you fried the module.

Did you ONLY work on the exhaust? What else did you mess with? Something un-plugged?

Did you crank it yesterday after working on it?

jdoom
08-29-2005, 08:43 PM
I doubt you fried the module.

Did you ONLY work on the exhaust? What else did you mess with? Something un-plugged?

Did you crank it yesterday after working on it?

That's the thing. I didn't mess w/ anything else. All I did was make some sway bar disconnects and some holders for them which was simply an eyebolt. Then all I did on the exhaust was take it off from the cat back, install the turndown, weld the hanger to the frame and put it all back on. I checked all the plug wires and coil to distributor wire and all that good stuff.

I started it w/ the cat and back off just so i could hear it, ohhh yeah, i love that sound. But yeah, it started fine then so i shut it off, welded it up, put it back on and left it for the night. Then it didn't start this morning. Piece of shit.

JeepinHank
08-30-2005, 09:12 AM
Are you sure you have no spark?

Sounds like you might not be getting fuel. Check to make sure the fuse to your fuel pump relay isn't blown (IIRC it's under the hood in the PDC). Then check and make sure you don't have any frayed areas on the wires for your downstream o2 sensor. If that o2 sensor shorts out, it will consantly blow that fuse.

jdoom
08-30-2005, 04:34 PM
Are you sure you have no spark?

Sounds like you might not be getting fuel. Check to make sure the fuse to your fuel pump relay isn't blown (IIRC it's under the hood in the PDC). Then check and make sure you don't have any frayed areas on the wires for your downstream o2 sensor. If that o2 sensor shorts out, it will consantly blow that fuse.

It very likely could be my fuel pump relay. There is also a relay for the AC clutch. My clutch went out a month or so ago, i just replaced it and the second i turned my AC on w/ the new clutch installed, it started to fry up again. Could this mean that there is something wrong w/ the relays in the PDC. All of my fuses are good, but i'm not sure how to check the relays. ???

jdoom
09-01-2005, 01:04 PM
So can somebody point me in the right direction for how to check my relays in my PDC. :smt017

ATL ZJ
09-01-2005, 02:46 PM
I have weld on my Jeep all the time with the battery connected. It's not a big deal.

ELLLLLIOTTTTT
09-01-2005, 03:25 PM
x2, with all the plastic chit on these station wagons I highly doubt its an issue.

JeepinHank
09-01-2005, 03:25 PM
So can somebody point me in the right direction for how to check my relays in my PDC. :smt017

Don't really have any ideas there. I'll thumb through my FSM and see if it has any suggestions for testing relays.

jdoom
09-02-2005, 05:40 PM
So I found a fuse in my PDC that was blown. The fuse is for Automatic Shutdown Relay and PCM Powertrain Control Module. I took off my coolant overflow tank and checked all the connections on the PCM. They all apper to be in good condition. Any suggestions? Do I need to replace my PCM or is there another alternative?

Thanks

EDIT: I did replace the fuse and the new one blew so I already tried that.

gsh
09-02-2005, 06:55 PM
The short may not be in the PCM. Unplug the PCM and the shutdown relay. Test the load side of the socket for the blown fuse for a short with a powered test light or continuity tester.

If there is a short, then it's not the PCM or the relay. Find the short in the wires between the socket and relay or the socket and the PCM.

If there is no short, plug the relay back in. Test for a short again. If there is, then you got a bad relay.

If no short yet, plug the PCM back in and test for short again. If one shows up now, then you probably have a bad PCM. Still a chance something plugged into the PCM is causing the short though and not the PCM itself.

AprilzWarrior
09-02-2005, 07:11 PM
I have weld on my Jeep all the time with the battery connected. It's not a big deal.


I NEVER pull the -Cables.


My money is on the Crank Position Sensor.

jdoom
09-02-2005, 10:31 PM
Then check and make sure you don't have any frayed areas on the wires for your downstream o2 sensor. If that o2 sensor shorts out, it will consantly blow that fuse.

This was the first thing I did because it has happened to me before. My wires rubbed down on my driveshaft fraying them causing my fuse to blow. I checked to make sure they were ok before i did anything else and then when you mentioned it i double checked. That's when i thought oh hell, something is wrong. I started chasing all my wires for my PCM and Shutdown Relay. Checked frickin everything and got pissed cuz everything was fine so I decided to start over. Tonight when i checked my O2 sensor wires there was a TINY burn mark. Yep, they were frayed. Solved all my problems. I'm an idiot, go ahead and say it.
:axe:

norton
09-03-2005, 01:45 AM
so u got it fixed or what? or still need to fix that bum wire on the o2 sensor?

it starts and runs now?

ya im drunk :partyman:

sorry for stupid post but for some reason i cant deipher whether u got it fixed or just that you think you found what has caused the problem.

jdoom
09-03-2005, 12:11 PM
so u got it fixed or what? or still need to fix that bum wire on the o2 sensor?

it starts and runs now?

ya im drunk

sorry for stupid post but for some reason i cant deipher whether u got it fixed or just that you think you found what has caused the problem.


Runs like a champ, it's ready for next weekend.

I also got my Kevins rad support and tow points installed yesterday, and my cb is supposed to come in on wed or thurs so hopefully it will and i'll have it installed for saturday.

norton
09-03-2005, 12:13 PM
:supz:

JeepinHank
09-06-2005, 03:30 PM
Glad to hear you got it fixed.

Funny how there's a TSB for 2wd ZJs but not 4x4 ones.

I feel your pain on it though. Been down that road before.

So, did you get to go wheeling?

jdoom
09-06-2005, 03:44 PM
Glad to hear you got it fixed.

Funny how there's a TSB for 2wd ZJs but not 4x4 ones.

I feel your pain on it though. Been down that road before.

So, did you get to go wheeling?

Yeah, I think everyone has been down that road, you think something terrible is wrong and are afraid you are going to have to spend hundreds of dollars to get some new part and then one day after countless hours of troublshooting you find a frayed wire, or something extremely simple. It pisses you off that you spent all that time and had all that frustration for something so minute, but at the same time you are relieved that it was nothing major. Yep, that was me.

Didn't get to go wheeling this weekend, have been sick and had to work on top of that but i'm going this saturday.
Oh yeah :rock:

weiln12
02-15-2006, 09:04 AM
OK, my ZJ is starting to irritate me...

I searched and found this post, and I'm having the same problem that was first described here. Truck starts, but immediately dies. All lights/battery stuff works, but it just starts and dies.

I was installing the stereo/sub into my truck last night, and everything went fine, except I cannot get the speakers to work. That I can't figure out at all, since the deck was working fine in my 98 Durango, and the wiring harness is the same as my Jeep. Actually, I was using the factory radio from the Durango in my Jeep the last month or so and it was fine.

Anyway, I finally stopped for the night, and everything SEEMED fine. The gauges all worked and except for the speakers, things were fine. Until this morning...

I get in, and it dies. Try again, starts and dies. Then I notice something weird, none of the guages are working. Actually, the only light that comes on during the start phase is the ABS, and nothing else. I can't see mileage, volts, fuel, nothing is showing. The backlights all work, and the ABS light works, but nothing else. I checked the PDC and all the fuses appear to be ok, but I'll check more thouroughly when I get home from work.

I was thinking fuel pump after reading the above post which would fix the dying part, but the guages are another mystery. What controls the guages? Looks like the PCM and it reads the information from the computer to determine speed, fuel level etc. I'm also going to borrow my dad's ODB scanner (AutoXRay if anyone is familiar) and see what it says. I just hope a fuse is blown and not the PCM. I did see that test in a previous post here too, so I'll look at that as well.

Sorry guys, any help here would be appreciated.

weiln12
02-15-2006, 08:41 PM
This is getting even more weird. The AutoXRay was able to communicate with the PCM fine. There aren't any blown fuses either, so that seems that the PCM is fine. I have no idea why the gauge cluster isn't working either, it's all funky. Now, the driver side door electric lock only locks the drivers side doors, it won't lock the passenger side or rear hatch. However, the passenger side lock works the passenger side and the rear. When I use the keyless remote, the passenger side and rear work, but the drivers side doesn't.

It also may be the fuel pump that went out, or something is funky with that. I can't hear the pump engage while in "run" before "start", anymore which I should be able to correct? I can on my Durango, and I thought I could on the Jeep too as it prime's prior to starting.

Where does everything run together like this? I'm thinking they're all related in some odd way, but I have no idea why. I didn't disconnect anything when I put the radio in, and I can't find any blown fuses.

I need a frickin' FSM! None of the dealers have one, which isn't a surprise, so I'm just waiting for it to be delivered now.

weiln12
02-15-2006, 09:03 PM
OK, I'm totally lost. I know it isn't the fuel pump now, since if I try to start it I can give it gas and it responds. However, it wont stay running, it still dies. Does all the stuff I mentioned run through the PCM?

The gauges, door locks, it's all weird. The highbeam indicator doesn't even work on the gauges, so I can't tell why the ABS light does.

Anyway, if anyone can throw stuff out I would appreciate it.

PoorMansZJ
02-16-2006, 12:00 AM
pull the stereo back out. see what happens when you do that... you may have a short in one of the splices... if that doesn't work.. disconnect the speakers. Basically work undo anything you did after it crapped out.:rolleyes:

weiln12
02-16-2006, 08:39 AM
I pulled the stereo out, nothing. Same problems. I didn't disconnect anything else running any wires for the sub either. I just can't figure out what could be causing these symptoms. I'm trying to study the wiring diagrams I was able to get for the truck, but I can't find anything that would tie everything together.

weiln12
02-17-2006, 08:59 AM
OK, it's now official, I REALLY hate electrical problems...

I put my Kenwood/Sub into the truck again, and magically everything started working just fine. Speakers all work, door locks work, gauge cluster works, all just dandy. Wiggled things, trying to see if it was a short or I just wired something incorrectly the first time. Everything seems fine, truck starts and runs, we're good! I have NO idea what was wrong until...

On my way to work this morning, it becomes very clear there is a short in the dash. The radio still works just fine, truck runs just fine, but the console starts acting like a light show! Gauges flipping on and off, lights going crazy. Even the anti-theft light decides to have some fun and goes on and off. Also, this is matched by a cacaphony of relays clicking as if their life depended on it.

So, I guess I'll be spending the weekend trying to figure out what is going on. Every time I go over a bump it works fine for a varying length of time, so something is grounding where it's not supposed to be.

At least I know it's something related to the gauge cluster now...

CurtP
02-17-2006, 03:27 PM
What all have you done recently to your ZJ? Sounds like you either have a loose connector or a bad ground. The weird part of the ZJ is that the dash doesn't have any grounds around the dash itself - IIRC, there's one under the hood (on the side of the block with all the other grounds) and a few more under the driver's side seat under the carpet.

I'd try pulling all the connectors and reseating them first. There's a whole gaggle of them on either side of the dash. On the driver's side, they're all right above the footwell. Stick you head under the dash and look up, you'll see all of those fuckers. On the passenger side, they all go the fuse block. Best way to get to those is to take off the kick panel. I wouldn't suspect those unless you've had your dick skinners on them recently.