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MASSIVE elec. problem after aux. fan switch install!

Fergie

Fergie

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Flagstaff, AZ
Okay, electrical systems are not my forte, but I can usually tackle the problems, however this one has me baffled.

Yesterday I tried to install a manual switch on my aux. fan, so I can keep it on before the temp get to high.

30 went to the battery
85 went to ground
87 went to aux fan wire(white), first near quick by fan(first try), and then collant sensor near t-stat(second try).
86 went to toggle switch

I turned everything on, and something blew, and the cab lights, CD player, offroad lights and toggle switches went out. I rechecked the relay, and found the wires were crossed, so I put the wires on the correct tabs, and tired again.

This time, the offroad lights would not come on. The fan switch would come on, and when that switch was on, the CD played and cab lights would come on.

Everything else works, as does the fan still, but I cannot get the cab lights on, the CD player on, the OR lights on, and can't get the switch for the fan to work.

WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING WRONG?!?!?

If it is any help, the power for the switchs came from the CD player.

Fergie
 
Oh, and I checked all the fues(dash and under hood) and didnt find any blown ones. Also checked the inline fuses for the OR lights and CD player, and nopthing blown there either.

Fergie
 
Might want to try putting the switch on the ground side of the relay. That way your exciter coil has voltage available, along with the circuit it comes from, all the time. When you flip the switch it closes the circuit as the ground becomes continous, and the relay sends power to the fan.
 
What do you mean the power for the switch comes from the CD player? It sounds like you have the connections right: 86 is toggle switch to power the relay, 85 is relay ground, 30 is heavy-duty power for the device, and 87 is output to the device.

http://www.installdr.com/TechDocs/999404.pdf

But the wire to 86 should be a fused wire, ideally with the fuse before the toggle switch to protect the entire circuit, but certainly before the relay. Then the power lead to terminal 30 needs to be a heavy-gauge wire, and that should also be fused. The aux fan is a rather heavy draw -- you should be using at least 12-gauge wire for that lead.

I'm not clear from your post if you are only powering the control circuit on a tap from the CD player, or if you're trying to power the fan itself from that, too. If the latter, I'm sure a radio fuse (and wiring) are inadequate to power a fan. I think you need to remove all the fan wiring, trouble shoot the various circuits/devices you are now having problems with, and after they are fixed go back and rewire the fan circuit so that it isn't sharing off any other circuits.

By the way -- what year XJ? There are at least three different ways the factory wired the aux fan, depending on year.
 
Eagle said:
What do you mean the power for the switch comes from the CD player? It sounds like you have the connections right: 86 is toggle switch to power the relay, 85 is relay ground, 30 is heavy-duty power for the device, and 87 is output to the device.

http://www.installdr.com/TechDocs/999404.pdf

But the wire to 86 should be a fused wire, ideally with the fuse before the toggle switch to protect the entire circuit, but certainly before the relay. Then the power lead to terminal 30 needs to be a heavy-gauge wire, and that should also be fused. The aux fan is a rather heavy draw -- you should be using at least 12-gauge wire for that lead.

I'm not clear from your post if you are only powering the control circuit on a tap from the CD player, or if you're trying to power the fan itself from that, too. If the latter, I'm sure a radio fuse (and wiring) are inadequate to power a fan. I think you need to remove all the fan wiring, trouble shoot the various circuits/devices you are now having problems with, and after they are fixed go back and rewire the fan circuit so that it isn't sharing off any other circuits.

By the way -- what year XJ? There are at least three different ways the factory wired the aux fan, depending on year.
Click to expand...

Okay, I have a set of three switches that I installed at the same time, one for the OR lights, and two for whatever else I wanted(like a fan switch). The power to the OR switch came from the CD played power wire. I then ran a wire from the 12v tab on the OR switch to the second switch 12v tab, and then again to the third switch. I did this with the ground wire too, which was also tapped from the CD player.

As for the fuses, completely forgot to wire those in, so I will do that once I get this whole thing figured out. This is 1995 XJ.

Now, for the trouble shoooting part.
Dome lights: Don't come on when the door is open, or when I turn them on with the headlight knob.
CD player: Doesnt come on period. I did not do the install, so I do not know where the power for the CD player is coming from.

All of the wires relating to the switches and relays have been taken out, and all the fuses under the hood nad dash have been checked, as well as all the relays.

I think that if I can figure out why the domes dont come on, then the CD will follow.

HELP ME PLEASE!

Fergie
 
If your hurtin enough let me know and Ill let you borrow my FSM for you to trouble shoot with...just pm and well go from there...
themud
ps its for 95s
 
Well I think your problem is that the fan is not switched via a postice at all on a 95! They are negatively switched! Check my write up on running 2 electric fans and it is mentioned there. You shouldn't be running so much from a single power wire anyway as Eagle pointed out.

www.go.jeep-xj.info
 
TheMud- Thanks for the offer. I may make a trip up to borrow it.

GJ- I'll reread your write-up, but please explain the negatively switched comment.

Fergie
 
GoJeep-
Pin 30 is power straight from the battery with an inline 30 amp fuse. Pin 85 is run to the body for ground and the fan motor. Pin 86 connects to the power at the stock fan ( green wire on mine ). Pin 87 goes to the fan motor but remember if you have converted from a pusher fan, it will go to the negative wire on the fan.
Click to expand...

Okay, so pin 30 is the same. Pin 85 is the same. But the other two are confusing me.

Fergie
 
Fergie said:
Okay, so pin 30 is the same. Pin 85 is the same. But the other two are confusing me.

Fergie
Click to expand...
Go to the link in my post above -- it shows two pictures of a relay, one showing the terminals as you see them and another showing how it is wired inside the relay case. 85 and 86 are the control side of the circuit and can be reversed without causing problems. One gets power, the other goes to ground. Without ground, the relay won't actuate.

What GoJeep is trying to tell you, I think, is that the relay for the aux fan in your year isn't in the "hot" wire to the fan, it's in the ground wire downstream (after) from the fan. Your description makes it sound like you tapped a second power input to the fan, but if it's the ground side that's switched by the stock relay then it won't matter how many additional power inputs you provide, the fan won't work until something completes the ground circuit.
 
You looked at how to wire the relay for the extra electric fan and not the over ride switch. It is further in the same paragraph. "Some wire in a switch to turn on the fans manually but don't see the point as it will turn on itself a couple of degrees above normal operating temperature anyway. If you do want to do it then on my 95 it was a blue with pink stripe wire going into the first relay in the fuse box. Now you have to supply a negative supply to activate the fans to this wire in the 91+ Jeeps and not 12volts."
 
Okay, makes sense now Eagle and GJ.

Now, WHY are my domes lights and CD player not working? Could the CD played be tapping power from the domes or what?

Fergie
 
91 Jeep Project said:
Who put in your CD player?? If it was done right, that shouldn't be possible.........:dunno:
Click to expand...
Why do you think I am so confused about it!!

Is there anything under the dash I should be checking for, or anything under the hood that I would miss?

The dealer installed the CD player, and the Jeep belonged to the dealership owner.

Fergie
 
Fergie said:
Okay, makes sense now Eagle and GJ.

Now, WHY are my domes lights and CD player not working? Could the CD played be tapping power from the domes or what?

Fergie
Click to expand...
a few weeks ago i installed some switches in a quasi overhead console. at first i had the switches getting their power from the power lead to the dome light. when i started flipping switches to see if they worked, one popped a fuse because the terminals on the back of the switch were touching.

anywho, the jeep was running when i was testing this. when the fuse popped, the dash, cd player (using the factory wiring harness), and dome light all went out. turns out i popped the 15A fuse under the hood. replaced that, fixed the terminals on the switch, and rewired the switch panel so i wouldn't ever lose my dash if my switches messed up again.

i know you said you checked the fuses, but it sounds so similar to what i had happen.

edit: if you need me to, i can go out at lunch and snap a picture of the exact location of the fuse. but if you're standing at the passenger side front tire looking at the relay box, there is a group of those small fuses to the right of the relays that run verticle compared to how you're looking at them. the fuse that blew was in the top right corner of those. (kinda confusing, so if you need pics, lemme know)
 
Last edited:
Fergie, if you're going to around phoenix anytime soon, let me know. I've got the tools to troubleshoot it and fix it.
 
Fergie said:
Why do you think I am so confused about it!!

Is there anything under the dash I should be checking for, or anything under the hood that I would miss?

The dealer installed the CD player, and the Jeep belonged to the dealership owner.

Fergie
Click to expand...


you installed the switches right?

The OR lights are powerd from the CD hot lead?

Did the cd and lights work before you installed the swithes?

somewhere I believe you have a hot and ground crossed
 
Fitch- I'll take a look at my fuses again. The description is fine.

Jason- I appreciate the offer and may take you up on it if I head up to Flag or to use Mud's FSM.

XJN- I installed the switches. The lights and CD worked and the lights are from a hot CD lead. The CD worked when I flipped the fan switch after a wired the relay correctly.

Fergie
 
Fuses were checked and everything is fine.

All my dash stuff works except the CD and the domes. They dont turn on manually or when the doors are open.

Where are the wires that I need to check for everything?!?

Fergie
 
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