NEED HELP ELECTRICAL!

Hey all,
so I have been slowly trying to work out all my electrical bugs in my 88 pioneer 4.0 5sp. Comanche. When I bought it, it had no wipers, turn signals, dash lights, interior lights, or front hazards. After Buying new front turn sockets, cleaning my fusebox, upgrading the dash ground, installing a new headlight switch, and putting on new +/- battery cables/terminals, I finally got all of my electrical problems solved. The only problem is, all of these things only work when my headlights are on. Why is this and what can i do to fix it?

Also, I've been having ignition problems. It started after my first day of wheeling, the truck kept randomly dying around my camp when I tried taking it for a second run, after looking around under the hood I found that my ignition coil was only held on by 1 screw, allowing it to bounce around and kill the truck. One zip tie later i was back on the trail, but now its keeps dying every couple of days. I replaced the coil and screws, but that didnt help, I thought it might be the cable going the the distributor, but after I bought a new one the truck stalled in the orielly's parking lot, so I returned it haha. I pulled the module out of the bay and sanded everything down because i heard the screws ground the system but idk. I am getting real frustrated and could really use some help. Also my voltometer clearly goes down when i turn on my electric fan or headlights, and by putting a big load on it at once i can sometimes kill the engine in the driveway

Have you done a complete ground refreshing and C101 connector refreshing yet?

What do you mean by "complete?" I have refreshed the driver side taillight ground, the driver front fender ground, the dipstick ground, and I made a jumper for the dash ground. Is there anything I'm missing?

I had cleaned the c101 and oxgarded it, but ill try again with some new wire brushes I got yesterday.
Also, I can kill the motor sometimes by fiddling with the wire going from the coil to distributor. The coil, Distributor cap, and rotor are all new, and when I had gotten a new cable it didnt help, so any help would be apreciated

Comanche_Coast said:

What do you mean by "complete?" I have refreshed the driver side taillight ground, the driver front fender ground, the dipstick ground, and I made a jumper for the dash ground. Is there anything I'm missing?

I had cleaned the c101 and oxgarded it, but ill try again with some new wire brushes I got yesterday.
Also, I can kill the motor sometimes by fiddling with the wire going from the coil to distributor. The coil, Distributor cap, and rotor are all new, and when I had gotten a new cable it didnt help, so any help would be apreciated

Click to expand...

This:
Renix Ground Refreshing
The Renix era XJs and MJs were built with an under-engineered grounding system for the engine/transmission electronics. One problem in particular involves the multiple ground connection at the engine dipstick tube stud. A poor ground here can cause a multitude of driveabililty issues, wasted time, and wasted money replacing unnecessary components.
The components grounding at the dipstick tube stud are:
Distributor Sync Sensor, TCU main ground, TCU "Shift Point Logic", Ignition control Module, Injectors, ECU main ground which other engine sensors ground through, Oxygen sensor, Knock Sensor, Cruise Control, and Transmission Sync signal. All extremely important stuff.
The factory was aware of the issues with this ground point and addressed it by suggesting the following:
Remove the nut holding the wire terminals to the stud. Verify that the stud is indeed tightened securely into the block. Scrape any and all paint from the stud’s mounting surface where the wires will attach. Must be clean, shiny and free of any oil, grease, or paint.
Inspect the wire terminals. Check to see that none of the terminals are crimped over wire insulation instead of bare wire. Be sure the crimps are tight. It wouldn’t hurt to re-crimp them just as a matter of course. Sand and polish the wire terminals until clean and shiny on both sides. Reinstall all the wires to the stud and tighten the nut down securely.
While you’re in that general area, locate the battery negative cable which is fastened to the engine block just forward of the dipstick stud. Remove the bolt, scrape the block to bare metal, clean and polish the cable terminal, and reattach securely.
Another area where the grounding system on Renix era Jeeps was lacking is the engine to chassis ground. There is a braided cable from the back of the cylinder head that also attaches to the driver’s side of the firewall. This cable is undersized for it’s intended use and subject to corrosion and poor connections at each end.
First off, remove the cable end from the firewall using a 15mm wrench or socket. Scrape the paint off down to bare metal and clean the wire terminal. Reattach securely.
Remove the other end of the cable from the rear of the head using a 3’4" socket. Clean all the oil, paint and crud from the stud. Clean the wire terminal of the cable and reattach securely.
A suggestion regarding the braided cable:
I prefer to add a #4 Gauge cable from the firewall to a bolt on the rear of the intake manifold, either to a heat shield bolt or fuel rail bolt. A cable about 18" long with a 3/8" lug on each end works great and you can get one at any parts store already made up. Napa has them as part number 781116.
A further improvement to the grounding system can be made using a #4 cable, about 10" long with 3/8" terminals at each end. Attach one end of this cable to the negative battery bolt and the other end under the closest 10mm headed bolt on the radiator support just forward of the battery. Napa part number 781115.
　
　
If you want to upgrade your grounds and battery cables in general, contact Jon at www.kelleyswip.com. He makes an incredible cable upgrade for a very reasonable price.
　
Revised 11-28-2011