Turn the engine off, AC still runs

99 Jeep Cherokee Sport inline 6 blahblah

So today we stopped for some drinks and turned the engine off and pulled out the key and the AC was still running. F18 electrical engineer says it's a short, and I believe him, but has anyone had this happen before? Where should I look?

For now the battery is being disconnected when it's sitting.

do you mean your cooling fan running or the interior blower fan running?

Interior fan blowing. I was able to adjust fan speed, turn it on and off, and everything, just like when the engine is running.

My 2000 key would come out without the switch being 100% in the off position. Killed a battery that way. Pulled out the lock mechanism and lubed it up good to fix it. Just something to consider........

Sounds like the switch down at the base of the column is not working properly or the push/pull rod that controls it is not adjusted/bent.

I have a feeling I'm going to start having some serious issues soon. This morning the problem disappeared, but in the afternoon after having sat for 3 hours or so, the fan wasn't working at all. No air was coming in except for what was barely leaking from interstate speeds when I turned the dial to fan only, instead of the AC. I left the fan on and about 5 minutes later it suddenly started pushing out air, and the AC is working fine again.

Scary stuff when nothing will come out of the vents and you're thinking about moving to Oregon during the winter.