cklaus
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Blacksburg Va
Okay, for those not inclined to read the full story, the simple question is; what is the ~8awg Green wire that comes off the left side of the front of the Power Distribution Center (fusebox) on a 2000 Jeep Cherokee 4.0, 4x4, auto. I don't know how to post a pic but if you look at the link I attach and look at the last picture the guy has posted, you'll see the wire i'm talking about. Furthermore, if this wire is removed or damaged, can it cause a bad idle.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-AUTO-6-CYL-4X4-SUPER-NICE-99-NO-RESERVE_W0QQitemZ260086548917QQihZ016QQcategoryZ6281QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Now for the background, if i can heed your attention it is greatly appreciated. The XJ now has a no start/ bad idle issue and the insurance and Jeep dealer are claiming its not due to the accident because it was discovered after the body shop gave me the keys.
3 weeks ago my wife is driving the Jeep at her work 45minutes from our house when she gets rearended pretty badly by a 2000 GMC 1500. She was stopped and the guy drove into her at about 30mph. It was a 2wd that sits low and actually slid under the Jeep so the damage included: rear bumper pushed in, rear hatch was crushed shut (but caused the interior lights to stay on…this is important), the quarter panels were ripped down and now binding on the tires, the exhaust was ripped down and the unibody was tweaked (body shop verified this). The other guy’s truck looked way worse and his airbags didn’t go off because all the damage was ABOVE his bumper.
So the car got towed to the tow-truck’s lot. Insurance suggested it be towed to the local Jeep dealer/bodyshop for repairs. They did their work. We go to pick it up last Monday (12th) and the XJ didn’t start right. It would crank, sound like it would die, and then fire up…. Hmm weird I thought, but I assumed it was a dead battery or fouled plugs from being in a body shop. So we get home and parked it due to bad weather and it being dark, I didn’t get to do a thorough inspection. The next day, its freezing outside and the wife had errands to run, turns out, the car wouldn’t start right ( same as for me), then it died at an intersection while she was idling, started back up, then it wouldn’t start for 15 minutes in front of the post office, but then eventually started. I got home, popped the hood to check the battery terminals. I now noticed they had replaced the battery, and noticed that the GREEN WIRE that was once beside the PDC (fuse box) had burned off its insulation and was now black wiring. It was pouring down ice at this point so I had to go inside but called the bodyshop back up to complain about some problems with the liftgate (cheap struts wouldn’t hold it up and they painted the locking mechanism shut so the handle won’t operate properly) and then told them about this wire and it not starting. They said they were really sorry and to bring it up tomorrow. The wife brought it to them. They fixed the liftgate and said they replaced the wire. They even put a scan tool on it but “everything was ok.” They told her that they are not a mechanic shop can no longer help. She went to start the car and it still didn’t start right but she had to go to work. She got home that night, I looked under the hood, they had removed the wire, and no green wire was in its place… NO wire at all was in its place from the looks of it.
The next day it went to our local Jeep dealer and they said to leave it. I had the wife leave a picture I had of the engine bay with the original green wire and to tell them that it hasn’t started right since we got it back from the body shop and that the body shop apparently removed the wire.
I called back later and they said they didn’t know what had been done to the wiring, and don’t know what the problem is, but agreed that the OBDII showed no codes. They presumed it was the CPS or the ECU. They also told me that there would be no way for them to verify that it was due to the accident and the guy sounded like he wasn’t convinced it was. Well, they have had the Jeep for a week, and finally got the CPS instock and installed. My wife called this morning and they said it cranked up great on the first try. But now there is a second problem, they said it wasn’t idling properly.
I had called back the body shop to ask them about exactly what they did with the burnt wire, he said “ it wasn’t an original wire, when they got in there, it was spliced to a larger wire and was way too small a gauge and that they just replaced the main wire with proper gauge wire and removed the unnecessary splice.”
This sounded like a semi-logical answer until I found this ebay link of a guys 2001 cherokee with the SAME GREEN WIRE.
I am now weary that this Jeep dealership isn’t to aware of their own products or don’t own a 2000 FSM.
So, do you guys know what the purpose or official name, or better yet, part number , to this green wire is? Do you think that this wire burned out during the accident or when they likely installed the new battery and maybe shorted something? Do you think if that happened, it could have killed the CPS and possibly whatever other problem is now affecting the idle?
My brothers immediate thought was that when they were welding on the car for the rear-end damage or to weld on a new exhaust, they had to ground the welder to the car and they didn’t disconnect the battery, damaging the electrical components.
If you made it this far, my wife and I are extremely appreciative of your time and thought. I am a full-time medical student in my 2nd year and just had finals this week (woohoo, done with cardiovascular) and did not have the time to mess with the car myself. Its killing me inside knowing that strangers are manhandling our baby XJ and I just want her back in one piece, but also need to know as much info as possible to get insurance to take care of it. The Jeep drove perfect until this guy slammed into it.
The XJ is a 2000 4.0, np231, lifted 2”s with 265/75-16’s, and a 1 inch throttle body space. The car also has Viper alarm with remote start but it is fully functional and not causing the starting problem as I can turn the alarm completely off and it had the same problems.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-AUTO-6-CYL-4X4-SUPER-NICE-99-NO-RESERVE_W0QQitemZ260086548917QQihZ016QQcategoryZ6281QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Now for the background, if i can heed your attention it is greatly appreciated. The XJ now has a no start/ bad idle issue and the insurance and Jeep dealer are claiming its not due to the accident because it was discovered after the body shop gave me the keys.
3 weeks ago my wife is driving the Jeep at her work 45minutes from our house when she gets rearended pretty badly by a 2000 GMC 1500. She was stopped and the guy drove into her at about 30mph. It was a 2wd that sits low and actually slid under the Jeep so the damage included: rear bumper pushed in, rear hatch was crushed shut (but caused the interior lights to stay on…this is important), the quarter panels were ripped down and now binding on the tires, the exhaust was ripped down and the unibody was tweaked (body shop verified this). The other guy’s truck looked way worse and his airbags didn’t go off because all the damage was ABOVE his bumper.
So the car got towed to the tow-truck’s lot. Insurance suggested it be towed to the local Jeep dealer/bodyshop for repairs. They did their work. We go to pick it up last Monday (12th) and the XJ didn’t start right. It would crank, sound like it would die, and then fire up…. Hmm weird I thought, but I assumed it was a dead battery or fouled plugs from being in a body shop. So we get home and parked it due to bad weather and it being dark, I didn’t get to do a thorough inspection. The next day, its freezing outside and the wife had errands to run, turns out, the car wouldn’t start right ( same as for me), then it died at an intersection while she was idling, started back up, then it wouldn’t start for 15 minutes in front of the post office, but then eventually started. I got home, popped the hood to check the battery terminals. I now noticed they had replaced the battery, and noticed that the GREEN WIRE that was once beside the PDC (fuse box) had burned off its insulation and was now black wiring. It was pouring down ice at this point so I had to go inside but called the bodyshop back up to complain about some problems with the liftgate (cheap struts wouldn’t hold it up and they painted the locking mechanism shut so the handle won’t operate properly) and then told them about this wire and it not starting. They said they were really sorry and to bring it up tomorrow. The wife brought it to them. They fixed the liftgate and said they replaced the wire. They even put a scan tool on it but “everything was ok.” They told her that they are not a mechanic shop can no longer help. She went to start the car and it still didn’t start right but she had to go to work. She got home that night, I looked under the hood, they had removed the wire, and no green wire was in its place… NO wire at all was in its place from the looks of it.
The next day it went to our local Jeep dealer and they said to leave it. I had the wife leave a picture I had of the engine bay with the original green wire and to tell them that it hasn’t started right since we got it back from the body shop and that the body shop apparently removed the wire.
I called back later and they said they didn’t know what had been done to the wiring, and don’t know what the problem is, but agreed that the OBDII showed no codes. They presumed it was the CPS or the ECU. They also told me that there would be no way for them to verify that it was due to the accident and the guy sounded like he wasn’t convinced it was. Well, they have had the Jeep for a week, and finally got the CPS instock and installed. My wife called this morning and they said it cranked up great on the first try. But now there is a second problem, they said it wasn’t idling properly.
I had called back the body shop to ask them about exactly what they did with the burnt wire, he said “ it wasn’t an original wire, when they got in there, it was spliced to a larger wire and was way too small a gauge and that they just replaced the main wire with proper gauge wire and removed the unnecessary splice.”
This sounded like a semi-logical answer until I found this ebay link of a guys 2001 cherokee with the SAME GREEN WIRE.
I am now weary that this Jeep dealership isn’t to aware of their own products or don’t own a 2000 FSM.
So, do you guys know what the purpose or official name, or better yet, part number , to this green wire is? Do you think that this wire burned out during the accident or when they likely installed the new battery and maybe shorted something? Do you think if that happened, it could have killed the CPS and possibly whatever other problem is now affecting the idle?
My brothers immediate thought was that when they were welding on the car for the rear-end damage or to weld on a new exhaust, they had to ground the welder to the car and they didn’t disconnect the battery, damaging the electrical components.
If you made it this far, my wife and I are extremely appreciative of your time and thought. I am a full-time medical student in my 2nd year and just had finals this week (woohoo, done with cardiovascular) and did not have the time to mess with the car myself. Its killing me inside knowing that strangers are manhandling our baby XJ and I just want her back in one piece, but also need to know as much info as possible to get insurance to take care of it. The Jeep drove perfect until this guy slammed into it.
The XJ is a 2000 4.0, np231, lifted 2”s with 265/75-16’s, and a 1 inch throttle body space. The car also has Viper alarm with remote start but it is fully functional and not causing the starting problem as I can turn the alarm completely off and it had the same problems.