bullheimer

the door lock button does it's thing but none of the windows work like the lock out switch is on but it's up/off.

i don't see any fuse marked windows. is there a relay somewhere else?

on a related issue, my heater/wipers/radio/turn signals ALL quit working at once while i'm going, or don't work at all on start up. jiggeling either the key switch, or pulling the tilt and moving the column or or down, one to five times or even more, magically makes them all come back on again, so something is loose. is it the ignition switch you think? or maybe a wire stuck inside the moving parts of the tilt column? either way, this thing is one its way to a NO WORK, NO FIX situation, leaving me hangin and bo-dangin in the rain, or freezing cold, or with a cop behind me. thx for any ideas.

cliffy

I would check on the fuses, when I bought my 95, the power lock fuse had a blown 5A that was supposed to be a 20 or 30A but my power windows did work. I can say that is for mine not sure about the wiring or if there is a difference on an 89.

bullheimer

the manual says it's a circuit breaker, and some circuit breakers are located in the fuse block. ok so what does one look like and how to do reset it. never seen one for a car before. if it isnt in the fuse block, wtf would it be?

fixed:
took apart connectors and nothing. found the ckt bkr in the fuse box and they were both good, monkeyed around a little bit and everything went dead, the whole truck. and no headlights either.

cleaned the aluminum antioxidant off of the battery terminals, put the charger on it, everything now magically works. man!

well, not everything. my turn signals/heater/wiper/radio all still go on and off and only wiggling the sw or tilting the wheel a time or ten makes them come back on oh, and there is this: https://www.google.com/search?q=jeep...dRaxtTaf-gM%3A

peep

Bat terminal cleaned, always a good thing. 89 window switch anomolies, yes carefull disassembly, cleaning the little copper toggles, and very careful reassembly can get the pwr windows running again. If you have any slow windows, check inside the door, there are plastic tubes the window rod mechanisms run in, lube in there works wonders to speed up the operation again. Be carefull of the wire connections into the window motors, delicate and on my 89, prone to break. I've soldered sewing needles onto one and stuck back into the motor to get operational.
For the steering column. Look down the column. There is a switch at lower column section, your hi/low beam rod runs to it. I've replaced couple times over the years, tends to carbon up due to high resistance further on in lighting circuit system.
Also the harness to headlites and signals can use an upgrade. The AMC factory harness is less than optimum. You can run new wiring yourself, 16ga minimum, 14ga even better.
I also recommend removing the headlite/dimmer switch (at least replace it with new), the resistor rheostat will fail one day and it will melt down (you'll know from the melting plastic smell, can lead to last fire your jeep will ever have). I recommend a rewire with toggle switches and relays, 14ga wiring, soldered connectors, no future meltdowns.
Also, very important, look at the lighting connector, front driver side corner of your engine bay, just ahead of the fender mounted resistor, just behind your headlite. There is a connector there, very very very prone to corrosion and hi resistance. Your lites and half the north american electrical grid run thru here. AMC didn't have genius in all departments. You can clean this up really good if it is still intact, or remove it and wire direct connections.

bullheimer

hey peep, thanks for all that. i will keep your post in the back of my head for future reference. right now i think i have wiring issues inside my column with my ignition switch and whatever wire controls the t.s./radio/heater/and wipers. i feel must be like a main pos. wire that goes up there taking a crap or coming loose. i have checked there steering columns connectors and they are all tight. this vehicle has almost 200K on it. i am not wanting to keep it because of that. i am just wanting it to not leave my wife FORD (found on road dead) in this until i can get her other car back together. i am embarrassed that this is all i could afford for her to drive at 60 years of age! Once cars all started looking like this: massive wiring/computers/vacuum lines etc in the 80's, i basically clocked out on auto repair. This vehicle is the biggest electrical nightmare i have experienced since i had an MG. I think Lucas' engineers must have been hired by AMC to do this vehicles wiring, shortly before their alzheimers was discovered. i am sure i need either a new switch or new used column. can i somehow get to the wires that connect the ign sw inside the column?

peep

Bullheimer, love your analogy, wish I knew about the Lucas engineers and alzheimers.
I am in regression, got a 72 MGB last summer. Yes electrical nightmare. Perhaps all Ive learned from the XJ is assisting the rewire of the MG. Workin on it project thru the winter.
I found that when a circuit crapped out on the XJ, I just ran new wiring for that function.
I understand your frustration. I have premium family roadside assistance plan, it has helped my family fleet (4 Jeeps, 2 Chrysler, 2 Hyundai) home many times.
It is sad to say, the Hyundai have yet to have a breakdown. But we put high mileage on all the Jeeps and Chryslers (Intrepid, 1500 Ram).
My XJ leads at 754+K km.
Perhaps you can run a couple of new independent power supplies to the main items? Wipers and Heater.

bullheimer

i am working right next door to this Automotive Electric guy. i finally met him yesterday. he only charges $60 an hour and he thought it was the ignition sw. well duh, but i think he meant to replace it. if i am going to pay him to pull it and look at it, i might as well have a new one sitting there to install. my jeep left me high and dry yesterday too, needing a jump after i sat it in not running with the heater on for 10 minutes. i am sure the battery is done. i am going to order a new switch from rock auto here soon, and get a new battery as well in the near future as well. i have had very good luck with just jiggling the key as i am driving whenever the radio goes off and getting them all to come back on. i can live without the tunes, and the t/s for the most part and even the heat. but if it's raining i sure can't not have wipers! i spoze i ought to get off my butt and go Rain-X the windshield tho!!!!
hey best of luck with that MG! my second car i bought was a 69. i put a 327 in it, drove it about a year or so and then spun out braking and ended up in a ditch. end of lots and lots of work. that car only had about one stock part on it when i was done, the front clip. sure wish i never crashed that baby. 1st thing i think you should do is pull every wire out of it, but then again, i think most of the problems i had with it were the factory switches. so might not be any cure for The Prince of Darkness' evil doings. For that reason alone i would never own another one. and this renix jeep is a veeeeery close second place! i'll add that i am on my second drivers door because of broken motor leads to the window motor! and they snapped off too so now i'm looking for a 3rd! i believe i am already on my 2nd or 3rd steering column as well!

cruiser54

The brown wire is burned at the ignition switch and the switch is getting ready to take a dump.

bullheimer

thanks, that means new column, right? well thats how i figure it anyway.

cruiser54

Nope. New switch. Repair connector.