Slowly losing electronics

Not on my Jeep, it's on another user's Jeep, a 2000 4.0L to be exact. Friday we did a heater core & evaporator replacement. Everything was functioning once we were done except the keyless entry, and the A/C (bad low pressure switch meant I couldn't recharge it). Last night I gave the A/C another shot and we attempted an overhead console install. The overhead came from another 2000, so everything should be plug and play. We were going to take the old harness out to make room for the new one, and cut the 3-wire plug for the original dome light and mirrors after we unplugged it from the fuse panel. We ended up not taking the harness out because the rest of the wires are run straight to the main harness (as far as we can tell) and weren't sure if we should cut them (even though the new harness for the overhead has the same colors and plugs straight into the empty plug already there from factory, which I believe over-rides the factory set up).

We got the overhead up and it is functioning properly, however now he does not have keyless entry, dome lights, gauges, a radio, and can only unlock his locks with the switch...cannot lock them. Yes, we did swap the boards for the keyless entry over, so he does have the one that originally came with the Jeep. All fuses have been checked and are good. My thought is that maybe one of the three junction boxes below the dash on the passenger side is working itself loose (it's reminding me of very similar problems I had a few years ago after I disturbed one of them). I didn't think of this until late last night, and he's out of town until Saturday so I haven't had a chance to verify this.

Definitely seems like a harness is not making good connection type of problem, not a failing alternator or anything of that sort.

Any suggestions are welcomed. Seems like every time we touch this thing we end up making it worse!

Are you sure you checked all the fuses? One of them, I think it's blue (15A), is the one I blew in my MJ after shorting out the pink wire (always-hot) to ground by accident while wiring in new dome lights.

Yup, we checked that one several times in fact. It's definitely good.

that's really weird. I'm out of ideas... except maybe a loose connector somewhere, no idea which.

Did you try replacing the fuse for the hell of it? Or test the fuse with a test light? I have had a fuse go bad without it looking busted on me before.

He's going to work on it some Saturday when he gets back to town. Trying to get some ideas for him for when he gets back.

Hey,

It's my Jeep. Finally got their internet working.

I should be home tomorrow and will start looking at all of my connections to see where the problem is.

Any ideas on where to start as far as connections are concerned?

Like I said in my text the other day, start with the 3 junction boxes under the wheel. Starting to sound more and more like a similar problem I had a few years ago that involved one of those boxes not making a good contact.

Definitely unplug the battery and let it sit first. I'm not sure which (if any) of those boxes go to the air bags.

Found a short in the mirror wiring that was blowing a fuse that was ruining my life.

Got it all taken car of!


Thanks guys!