Jeep didn't like towing...

I've got a 93 Cherokee , automatic with the 242 tcase. It's got 216k miles, rebuilt motor at 150k. I've had it since 212k miles.

So over the past two days i've been doing some landscaping work for a neighbor. We've got a little atv hauling trailer that I typically use for lawnmowing. I did put in 2 railroad ties and hauled them with my Jeep/trailer.

I also used a Uhaul 5x9 trailer to get two loads of a 1/2 yard of topsoil...just today after being parked overnight my Jeep seems to be having some issues. I noticed when at take off, in Drive... it felt like I had no power. I was on my way to return the Uhaul trailer and thought maybe it was the trailer taking some power... but once the trailer was dropped off it was still going on.

My wife had driven the Jeep about 30 mins before to get lunch so I asked her if it did the same thing, which it had.

Now what leads me to believe something is wrong with the tranny is that I can start in 1-2, and manually shift to 3rd and drive and it shifts just fine... however I cannot start in Drive and have the same power... it's like it's missing those first couple gears and it's not until I get up to about 20-25 that Drive finally has the 'normal' power.

Would hauling a heavy load cause my tranny to give out? I never gunned it or anything.. I always did a gradual start as to not put anymore stress on the Jeep as is.

Thanks for the input.

transmission cooler.... you needs it.

Check your fuses

Assume that the towing and the new symptoms are coincidental.

So, you should focus on the usual causes of strange transmission behavior. Check the fluid level, check for any disconnected wire plugs or damaged/melted wires, see if there are any Check Engine Light trouble codes, check the TCU fuse if your Cherokee has one, test the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS). The TPS has a direct effect on the shifting.

Should I be looking at the PDC fuses or the ones by the driver side feet?

Auto Trans fuse in the PDC was blown... didn't have a 10amp sitting around in that size so I threw in a 15... it worked for about 10 miles then blew. While trying to get that fuse out to see if it blew as well, my fingers fumbled it into the engine bay where I could no longer get to it... so I threw in a 20 amp which later blew but once I got home I got some pliers and it too was blown.

Now i've got some 10 amp fuses that is the recommended amperage... so we'll see if they continue to blow or if this fixes my issue. Hoping that it was just the amperage being wrong that caused them to keep going bad.

If it blew a 15 and 20 amp it will blow the 10 amp. Look for shorts in the wiring harness for starts.

X2.

Bet you find some neat meltdown either at the TCU or wiring harness. Never use a higher amp fuse than what was oem unless you upgrade the wiring. You will cause more damage than good. Hope it's ok.

Check your transmission solenoids. The first and second coils may have shorted out. That is usually the cause of the fuse blowing.

To start with, you shouldn't tow in D. You will get away with it with a very light load, but for heavier loads, use 3.

Locate the 7 pin connector at the trans dipstick tube. The row of 4 pins has 3 wires that go to the solenoids. Check the resistance with reference to ground (one meter lead on ground and the other to the socket in the female conenctor for each solenoid). They should read 12-18 ohms. If they are out of spec, more than likely you have a bad solenoid. My guess is that S1 is bad. If this is the case, its not too difficult to change.

Drain the fluid, drop the pan, remove the connector from the solenoid, remove the 10mm bolt, pull it out (has O-ring) and replace in reverse order. There is a bolt on the RH side, front of the bellhousing that will allow you to drop the dipstick tube without pulling it apart. The exhaust may be in the way not allow you to fully drop the pan.

Well the 10a blew too. Looks like its time to start diagnosing with the input everyone has given. Hopefully it won't be too hard to pinpoint

Thoughts from DJ, I wood look over this info before you start diagnosing your AW4
Shift Pointers AW4 Diagnostic - By Wayne Colonna
Printed in the October 1997 Transmission Digest
http://www.transonline.com/transdigest/magazines/1997-10/Shift%20Pointers/index.html

There is also a lot of info on AW4 in this post
1997 Cherokee AW4 Solenoid Replacement & testing write-up
This whole post has a lot of pic and info relevant to AW4 in general
OP post title is AW4 Solenoid Replacement write-up (no 56k)
Page # 1 http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=987463
Page # 8 there is a lot of testing info in post # 114 by t-frady:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=987463&page=8

any updates on this?

haven't had a chance to look, but the first link in DJ's post, the mustache made it well worth the read.

Note from DJ
So you like Wayne Colonna mustache. Did you look at all 4 pages of his info?
Keep us posted as to your progress.
If you need more info post a request, I have several W-sites of info on AW4s

If you plan on towing anymore I would most deffinetly put a trany cooler on. I tow heavy loads loads up Hwy. 80 towards Tahoe at about 55MPH. and the trany only gets about 150. And oh ya thats with the A/C on High.

Towing without keeping an automatic cooled will destroy it.

So I tested the connector that "excess650" mentioned... as long as I read my multimeter correctly and tested the right connector... all read about 16. Tested the top 4, the one on the far right is the only one that had no reading.



This is the connector I tested. I'm a little confused about the Shift Pointers link that was posted.

http://www.transonline.com/transdigest/magazines/1997-10/Shift Pointers/index.html

On page 2 it shows there should be a fuse somewhere near the TCU? Is that true on my 93 because I for the life of me can't find it... anyone have a picture of where/what it should look like?

I don't think a bad trans solenoid would cause the fuses to pop - additionally, if you have a bad trans solenoid, you wouldn't be able to drive normally in D.

The fuse is inline with the TCM that is located under the kick panel on teh passenger side. I can never remember if your 93 has one, though.

So... do I test TPS next? So far from the wires I've seen I haven't seen any melted wires.

The weird thing is... my aux fan/AC wasn't working before... but when I was checking fuses in the fuse box and PDC and replaced a couple and the the relays, but now they're working.

Cold A/C, Aux fan actually kicks on, and low washer fluid light shows up now. Kinda weird...Now I just need my AW4 to get back to normal.

Should I snag a TCU from the JY and try that? I can't seem to find the inline fuse if it even exists on this year XJ. Went and rechecked fuses and now my power locks aren't working even though the fuse for it checks out ok.

Also, in the PDC the Alt/Generator power fuse isn't there... the 60a one. Should it be? No clue how long it hasn't been there. It's the one labeled "1".