Bad Electrical Gremlins

Hi, im new here, and will probably frequent here often.
my girlfriend just acquired a 1988 2door xj I6 4.0 with 196k mi.
this thing hates me.
we had it for 50 miles and the water pump blows up.

NOW,
yesterday on the way to work, something blew out.
i have NO:
-turn signals
-windshield wipers
-radio
-HVAC

all fuses are good. wiring looks good.
has anyone else encountered this garbage?

thanks.
-ryan

the renix era xj is a nasty bitch sometimes.
welcome to naxja though.
tune signals/windshield wipers could be caused by a problem in the steering column, but if they all went out at the same time, its probably electrical.
radio and hvac makes me recommend checking your power distribution block. its next to your battery and is fed by the positive battery cable, it then distributes this over a bunch of wires w/ circle rings at the end, over a single bolt. maybe make sure that didnt get fubard up
check your battery cables, AND GROUNDS (negative battery cable, and the braided cable connecting the firewall to the rear of the drivers side engine. all of these should mate cleanly to an unpainted part of the car/engine. old wires are like your grandma, she may get around, but not so well, and not for long!). replace if theyre even dodgy, maybe try wiggling the wires w/ everything ON, and see if anything comes on. replacing these is pretty much a requirement on older xjs, and you can get them at the local auto parts store. it'll help other potential future problems too, good investment!

old cars suck =\

are you doing the work yourself? who did your water pump? its a great thing to go wrong on a jeep, easy to fix, but complex enough to put you into framiliarity with the jeep 4.0!

yes i do the work myself.
i own a 93 mercury grand marquis and a 03 mercury marauder, so, im more of a ford v8 guy.
but, my girlfriend has a 73 VW bug and now this jeep is her beater.
and yes, the water pump was a piece of cake.
the jeep has no heat; the heater core is bad, but we have a new one.
i have to fix the fuel leak in the Grand Marquis before i can fix the heater core. lots of fun going on here. but....

thank you very much for the info. i will check out all the items that you mentioned when i get home from work.

thanks again
-ryan

if your heater core is bad, make sure the heater valve isnt bad, it can cause overheating issues, and maybe your heat issue??, dont buy one from autozone! mine was broken before i even installed it, and it wasnt even my fault.

shadz39 said:

NOW,
yesterday on the way to work, something blew out.
i have NO:
-turn signals
-windshield wipers
-radio
-HVAC

all fuses are good. wiring looks good.
has anyone else encountered this garbage?

thanks.
-ryan

Click to expand...

Ignition Switch. It is a common GM part, and is around 10 bucks. The switch is located under the dash, on top of the steering column.

xcm said:

if your heater core is bad, make sure the heater valve isnt bad, it can cause overheating issues, and maybe your heat issue??, dont buy one from autozone! mine was broken before i even installed it, and it wasnt even my fault.

Click to expand...

the heater core it bad. im getting coolant in the cab of the jeep.
i dont go to autozone. they are sexist. ask my girlfriend. she almost fought one of the employees there because he said that her 73 bug only had 1 valve cover gasket because" all 4 cylinders have 1 valve cover gasket"
and i get a 10% military discount at advanced

im pretty sure it doesn't have the valve. i know her uncle bypassed something in there before we got it. im just to lazy to go out and look right now. its crappy out.


88XJSport- thank you very much. ill go get a new switch monday. i will let you know how it goes.
thanks again!!!
-ryan

ok ok ok. so,
1. the heater core has been replaced
2. we replaced the ignition switch and everything works now
3. we picked up a heater bypass valve at the J-Yard and its going in soon.

thanks guys, it helped alot.
...
we saw a stock gauge cluster at the junkyard with tach, oil, water, and battery. im going to take it that someone on here has done that?
all we have are fuel and speedo.
the oil, battery, and temp are stupid dumb lights. thats probably in a different topic? right?
thanks,
-ryan

shadz39 said:

we saw a stock gauge cluster at the junkyard with tach, oil, water, and battery. im going to take it that someone on here has done that?
all we have are fuel and speedo.
the oil, battery, and temp are stupid dumb lights. thats probably in a different topic? right?
thanks,
-ryan

Click to expand...

As long as the cluster is out of a 87-90, it will work. You will have to run to the parts store and grab a new oil pressure switch and a temp sensor. Tell the parts guy they are for gauges not idiot lights.