Jeeps on drugs, need help fast.

[crawlin92]

I've got a 2001 Jeep Wrangler 4.0. A few weeks ago I ran into a electrical issue. Got in the jeep, noticed my radio was reset like it lost power, turned the key and it killed all power. I opened my door and the dome light didnt come on, but my gauges would jump up and down at a consistant rate of probably twice a second. As soon as I closed the door the gauges stopped jumping, open the door they jump again. If I turn the key to the on position I have no lights, no radio, nothing, but my gauges will jump up and down again. If I turn the key to start I can hear the starter getting power, but its not enough to turn it. I let it sit for a few minutes while wondering WTF, all of a sudden the dome light flickered, turned the key and it fired up and ran fine for about 3 weeks, now it's doing it again.

Any ideas? I thought the first time it had problems it was just something wet, because it had been raining like a SOB and if the Jeep is outside during the rain it will leak into the drivers side from somewhere (havent been able to chase the leak down). Now this time it hasn't been raining, and was in the garage so I don't think it's something getting wet.

[NAILER341]

Check your battery connections, and your chassis ground connections. Clean them all and reconnect/

[6spdYJ]

There is a multi function relay in TJ's that can cause all sorts of lighting and gauge issues. Also have heard of a dead short in the airbag causing goofyness (if that's a word).

[aw12345]

What you describe soumds very much like poor battery cable connections or a bad battery. Start of by cleaning the battery clamps and checking all connections of the positive and negative battery cables. If that doesn't solve it have the battery tested

[crawlin92]

Well today I tried pulling fuses, disonnecting various things that in some way could be linked to shorting things out, and checked a bunch of connections but no dice. Tomorrow I am going to pull the dash and see if something is loose back there or maybe has corrosion. Looks like I will be riding the ol' bike in the rain this week.

I will try testing the battery, and look into the airbag relay as well. My airbag light does come on at random times. Where is this multi function relay that was mentioned above?

[6spdYJ]

Had a buddy with a TJ Unlimited who had it. He wasn't much of a mech, but told me the dealership found it.

[kirkandsylvia]

There is a multi function relay in TJ's that can cause all sorts of lighting and gauge issues. Also have heard of a dead short in the airbag causing goofyness (if that's a word).

Goofyness <--- now thats a great word....I like it.

Ok, all joking a side, I'm kinda leaning to a lose connection of a ground like chasis...or like mentioned above, possibly a relay for the air bag. I had a buddy that had all kinds of weird things happening from a air bag malfunction. Something to do with the air bag sensor telling the computer that it was deployed or something like that. dealer fixed it right up.

[6spdYJ]

Always great advice from aw12345! Checked out the prints in the Haynes manual. Definitely check your connections. If the PCM has intermittant power, it will do exactly what you've described. Again check the connections at both ends of your cables. Also, gently flex the fusible link from the positive terminal to the PDC. If any point feels crunchy or soft, you may have a section corroded out. I've had this cause a lot of trouble before. Mine went out 4 inches away from the battery. It was intermittant for weeks and then died. Everything looked normal. Looks were decieving. The relay that may be involved is the automatic shut down relay. It's located in the Power Distribution Center.

[platnumb4x]

I'm guessing it's a ground issue.

[crawlin92]

Well this morning I put a tester on the battery itself and read 12v, tested it on the connectors themselves and read 12v. I opened my door and my light was going nuts so I tested the battery again with the door open and it read 12v, but when I tested it on the connectors themselves it bounced back and forth at about 7 to 8 volts. I cleaned the connectors and still did the same thing.

[dirtman13]

Sounds like a loose connection to me. While you going through and cleaning all your electrical connectors you might want to put some dielectric grease on the connectors. It will prevent corrosion in the future.

[NAILER341]

Great idea.... clean em' all up.
LOL

[crawlin92]

Got it. Went home on lunch, pulled the battery and scrubbed the shit out ofthe posts, scrubbed the connectors, and cleaned the piss out of the egine and chassis grounds. She fired right up.

Thanks for the help guys

[aw12345]

Glad you got er going, now if you had the, Chrysler electronic anti theft thing (Sentry) you would be in a world of hurt and on your way to the dealer on a flat bed tow truck. When stuff like this happens it tends to disable the the Jeep. So it's a good idea to keep the battery posts and related connections clean.