What does a short in the electrical system do

[Jeepmedic46]

My 2000 XJ with 97, 000 miles on the engine and 271,000 miles on the body has decided now to not unlock the doors did operate the rear windshield wiper. Cigarette lighter won’t stay in pops out while being pushed in. Lights came on in the switches next to the cigarette lighter. Would a short cause all these issues? Any ideas where to start. Could this be caused by the new engine with the wiring?

 

[Dilldog]

Sounds like a power issue, not getting power to things so they wont work. Start with checking fuses. An engine swap shouldnt effect wiring in that area of the rig.

 

[Jeepmedic46]

Sounds like a power issue, not getting power to things so they wont work. Start with checking fuses. An engine swap shouldnt effect wiring in that area of the rig.

Thank you, will check fuses tomorrow. New to all this. Tough to be learning.

 

[M Rose]

Thank you, will check fuses tomorrow. New to all this. Tough to be learning.

Send me a pm and ill give you my Telle number and ill help you troubleshoot your system over the phone. do you have a Multimeter and a test light?

 

[Jeepmedic46]

Thank you, I have to replace my test light. It got broke in the move. I’ll pick up a new one on Tuesday when my wife is home so I can get to the auto store.

 

[Jeep jeeep]

I would suggest if these problems showed up after the engine swap would be to check all the electrical plugs under the hood. When i say check I mean unplug them (one at a time, so things don't get crossed up) and look at the pins in the plug, if any got bent during the install and is touching another, well , there's your problem. If all was well before, go to the things that were touched first. Electrical demons are evil and can prove a pain to chase down, if you start feeling frustrated walk away for a while before you make it worse. Good luck.

 

[Anak]

If things were working when you got the Jeep and only just started doing this then it is unlikely it is related to the engine swap. The only way I see it being possible to be related to the engine swap is if they did a poor job of reconnecting a ground between the engine and the chassis.

Given the problems you are describing I would be more inclined to suspect a ground problem in the interior of the vehicle. I think there is one behind the panel to the left of the driver's footwell.

It will be worth it to get access to a Factory Service Manual. I think you can access them online for less than $20 (Dinosaur that I am I have always bought old greasy ones off ebay). Find a way to study the wiring diagrams that include the accessories which are acting up and then figure out which ground connection(s) is(are) common to them. The ground connections will probably be labelled as G7 or G15 or something like that. There will be another place in the manual where it will tell you the locations of G7, G14 and all other grounds. Doing your research this way will save you some discomfort compared to trying to follow all the wires under the dash and behind the interior panels, and while there is a learning curve with either system, this one's learning curve will transfer to more situations. And it is generally better to be able to study the problem from the comfort of a nice seat inside as opposed to twisted into a pretzel under the dash, outside, in the cold. While it is snowing. And probably dark.

Oh, and count your blessings you have a Jeep and not a Land Rover. You could be dealing with Lucas, "the prince of darkness". Elsewhere you have noted that you are not particularly mechanically inclined, so you may not be as aware of Lucas Electric. Just know that Lucas headlight switches have three positions: Off, Dim and Flicker. And the reason the British drink warm beer is that Lucas builds their refrigerators. Yes, life has its challenges, but there is always someone who is worse off.

 

[Jeepmedic46]

If things were working when you got the Jeep and only just started doing this then it is unlikely it is related to the engine swap. The only way I see it being possible to be related to the engine swap is if they did a poor job of reconnecting a ground between the engine and the chassis.

Given the problems you are describing I would be more inclined to suspect a ground problem in the interior of the vehicle. I think there is one behind the panel to the left of the driver's footwell.

It will be worth it to get access to a Factory Service Manual. I think you can access them online for less than $20 (Dinosaur that I am I have always bought old greasy ones off ebay). Find a way to study the wiring diagrams that include the accessories which are acting up and then figure out which ground connection(s) is(are) common to them. The ground connections will probably be labelled as G7 or G15 or something like that. There will be another place in the manual where it will tell you the locations of G7, G14 and all other grounds. Doing your research this way will save you some discomfort compared to trying to follow all the wires under the dash and behind the interior panels, and while there is a learning curve with either system, this one's learning curve will transfer to more situations. And it is generally better to be able to study the problem from the comfort of a nice seat inside as opposed to twisted into a pretzel under the dash, outside, in the cold. While it is snowing. And probably dark.

Oh, and count your blessings you have a Jeep and not a Land Rover. You could be dealing with Lucas, "the prince of darkness". Elsewhere you have noted that you are not particularly mechanically inclined, so you may not be as aware of Lucas Electric. Just know that Lucas headlight switches have three positions: Off, Dim and Flicker. And the reason the British drink warm beer is that Lucas builds their refrigerators. Yes, life has its challenges, but there is always someone who is worse off.

Thank you, I will try and find a service manual on eBay. I like the greasy book as well over the internet.

 

[Anak]

Thank you, I will try and find a service manual on eBay. I like the greasy book as well over the internet.

Make sure you get one that is for your model year. Jeep changed things up every now and then, and wiring is probably the area where the changes matter the most. Tempting as it may be, don't go for one that is a little cheaper but off by a year or two.

Also note that if you get a Factory Service Manual it is not one book. It is probably four or five. I think the FSM for my Duramax is 7 or 8 volumes. And they are not small ones either. Each one is about a ream of paper. Also note that the indexes in these manuals are relatively basic. They may not use the term you think of. I have found it worthwhile to start a blank page as my "cheat sheet". Once I find something useful I note it and its location in my own terms so that I have a snowball's chance of finding it again.

 

[Jeepmedic46]

Make sure you get one that is for your model year. Jeep changed things up every now and then, and wiring is probably the area where the changes matter the most. Tempting as it may be, don't go for one that is a little cheaper but off by a year or two.

Also note that if you get a Factory Service Manual it is not one book. It is probably four or five. I think the FSM for my Duramax is 7 or 8 volumes. And they are not small ones either. Each one is about a ream of paper. Also note that the indexes in these manuals are relatively basic. They may not use the term you think of. I have found it worthwhile to start a blank page as my "cheat sheet". Once I find something useful I note it and its location in my own terms so that I have a snowball's chance of finding it again.

Thank you, Still looking for book form. It’s either in disc form or pdf. I wonder if people are even able to open a book anymore.

 

[M Rose]

Thank you, Still looking for book form. It’s either in disc form or pdf. I wonder if people are even able to open a book anymore.

The 98-200? XJ were all the same, and iirc the fsm was only on disk. We stopped getting FSMs in book format back in 1997. Starting in 1993 most publications were starting to go to electronic manuals so the service techs could use the manuals in conjunction with the new state of the art engine diagnostic systems.

 

[M Rose]

Also look over on NAXJA, they used to have free service manual download links. been years since I spent any time over there, so not sure if links still work or not.

 

[VCeXpedition]

...
Given the problems you are describing I would be more inclined to suspect a ground problem in the interior of the vehicle. I think there is one behind the panel to the left of the driver's footwell.
...

Best advice and the best place to start... that was my first thought, bad ground somewhere, they tend to create the demons you're describing.
And not that it's connected or not. Remove it, clean it and then firmly re-attach it. Then spray it lightly with some corrosion inhibitor.

Dan.