Engine Popping and Bogging Down? Did I ruin my Jeep?

'96 Cherokee 4.0L w/ 118,000

I have had a check engine light on my Jeep on for months, pulling up "Random Misfires All Cylinders", but it ran okay so I never dealt with.

Yesterday, I was really really stupid-- :twak: I disconnected the spark plug wires from the distributor cap and did not look at the order-- I then hooked it back up in the wrong order, and tried starting it a few times. Did this ruin my truck? I feel like such an idiot! I then went to the store and got the Haynes Manual, put it in the proper firing sequence-- and started to drive. Check engine light is still on, but it seems to be running.

I pull away and I hear a sputtering popping sound, hear it from the exhaust but suspect it comes from the engine-- I don't get very far before it starts happening more and more, running really rough, very hesitant. Eventually the noise takes over, the check engine light starts flashing, the car basically looses all power, I feel and hear knocking from under the floor-- and get this, the car fills up with smoke that smells like plastic!! I had to get towed...

So I put on new plugs.....

When I get home, I try to start it again-- knocking, popping, etc. etc. So I put new plugs on it, and although it sounds better then how it sounded when I first got it back from the tow-- it's making that same popping noise it made as I pulled out the driveway the time it broke down.... UGH

New Wires, Distributor Cap, and ignition rotor........ STILL DOING IT!! UGH! I should note I especially hear the popping in drive and while I start accelerate or come to a stop....

Also, what is the red light to the right of the headlights thing, and to the left of the rear window defroster. I didn't notice it before, but now it's staying on??

Thanks in advance for the help-- I am a poor student, and having a busted car is killing me

I had my plugs on entirely backwards. Someone told me plug one was at the back of the engine.....lol...just ran crappy until I figured this out and got them in the correct order!

No problems after that.

I'm not sure what the smoke/burnt plastic is but it could be the fan blower connection to the fan control......they seem to melt on XJ's. I occasionally get a plastic smell, but the plug is fine (besides being a little bent out of shape and sort of melted). I check it every so often to see how it's doing.....I hear people running the OEM melted plug for the entire life of the vehicle without problems. I just wrapped mine with a thick layer of electricial tape for the time being.

But perhaps you are the one that has a serious electrical problem. Glad you got it towed home before anything like a *fire* happened.....

You might want to check the firing order again just in case.
Jeep 4.0 Firing Order 1-5-3-6-2-4
This is clock wise rotation looking down ont he top of the cap.
The #1 position on the cap should be marked.
The #1 cylinder in in the front of the motor.

Reseat all your spark wire connections and check for tracing in the cap.

I don't know that the incorrect firing order would hurt anything electonic.
I could goof things n the motor.
Can you tell where the popping is coming from with the hood up?

Yep, got that figured out in July.....