Old Girlfriends XJ, New projects for me...

So, many years ago, I had a 1989 XJ, which I had for a few years. I gave it to my girlfriend, we broke up, that was about seven years ago..... Her son calls me up and says- " Hey, do you want to buy a Jeep for $1000?" I say sure......
So I picked it up today, and it brings back a bunch of memories.... I have had a few XJ's in the past, and still have my WJ and WK2.

So, this one has the typical issues, need to fix headliner, flush coolant, etc....

Besides some other minor issue, I need to address a few things that I have not done before, so maybe you can point me in the right direction....

1. AC was working years ago.....but now the AC is not coming on, and the electric fan does not come on when I hit AC, so thinking it's relay or pressure issue? Any good links to what to check? Could it just be relay?

2.The ignition key cylinder starts the car with or without the key. I got one key from him, so not sure if its the right one or not. I does unlock the front door. I thought these things had a round key for the door, and square key for the ignition, but I am older now, so maybe I am wrong? Either way, how do I replace the key cylinder with a real key?

3.Stupid clock light not working, is it a fuse or does the bulb go bad? I think I remember changing a bulb in those years ago.....

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated, and I am sure I will have more questions, Still, a old xj with 170K miles seems like another project, not sure what I am going to do with it, but figured I should get some things sorted out.....
Thanks is advance for your advice........

The fan will not come on if the compressor does not come on. Relay is definitely step 1. But if all the gas has escaped that could also be your issue. If the system is not charged the compressor wont start

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Cool,
Thanks for the input....

Will check relay, as I sure I have some around here. As I recall, I can swap one of the other relays for testing the circuit?

I have been checking out YouTube for the key switch replacement. Looks like the steering wheel needs to come off. Kinda PITA, but doable.

Looks like the wire update I did years ago for the door locks is not working right, so will need to check that one out....

I also noticed that the 4wd indicator lights for full time and part time are not coming on. Could that be a bad fuse or is it possible the switch went out on the transfer case? I would think both would not go out at the same time ;-)

Thanks, fun to drive a XJ again, big difference from the WJ.......

bulb behind clock

cherokee4fun said:

The ignition key cylinder starts the car with or without the key. I got one key from him, so not sure if its the right one or not. I does unlock the front door. I thought these things had a round key for the door, and square key for the ignition, but I am older now, so maybe I am wrong? Either way, how do I replace the key cylinder with a real key?

Click to expand...

Keys are different. Mine went years without needing the key until the one day I didn't have them with me. It clicked and has needed the key ever since. I seem to recall a new cylinder and key was around $15 and not too difficult to replace.

Doors, tailgate, and glove box are the same, Ign is different. Chrysler keys have the square/round keys. Aftermarkets maybe not. My current keys are both square, but the Ign has a plastic cover.

If your AC needs refrigerant, you may not find any R-12 unless you pay through the nose on eBay, so it may be time to convert.

It could just be hung up pins in the ign lock, and spraying some lube in there might help. I looked it up and Rock Auto has Dorman part 924790 for $5.87. I can hardly get just the two keys cut for that price. Might have to do mine as well.


It's been a long time since I had the column apart to tighten up the tilt screws. You need to pull the steering wheel and a few parts off the front to access the two lock screws (might have been e-torx heads?). The Renix Jeeps used a GM steering column. Here's a short youtube showing the general approach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggRdEH-Wc4s

Cool, thanks for the links and the advice.

Will try to spray some lube in and see what happens, but looks easy enough to change out.

Took a quick look at the AC and shorted out the pressure switch and the compressor started, so at least that works. Might of lost all it's refrigerant, or maybe low. On my WJ, the local ac shop said not to recharge it unless you get a leak or take something apart, so most likely it's just old. Will check the connections to see if it's R12 or if it's been changed over. Looks like it has two valves on it, with a cap on each one.

I started it up yesterday, after switching around some of the relays in the motor ( thinking the AC relay might be bad) and now the light bulb works on the clock, may be just a loose bulb, and it just started to work. Still can't see the 4WD part time or full time light come on. Might be a fuse.....

Will keep poking away at it. Thanks again for the help and any other advice is greatly appreciated.

4x4 light on my 99 never came on since we got it in 03 and everything worked just fine and still does

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Could be the bulbs behind the part time / full time lights.