Hello Everyone,

I'm new to the forum, and i can tell it's going to be fun and informative. I just purchased a 1997 Cherokee SE RWD and have a few issues. I have searched for hours on the internet, only to feel overwhelmed and confused.
the main issue i have is that the A/C only blows through the defroster. And i keep reading about the vacuum lines. I did find a line leading nowhere, and i can hear and feel the suction on it. But i have no idea where is
supposed to go. I also searched countless hours for the complete vacuum harness, only to find that no one has it. I can't even get a part number. And lastly, the A/C only blows full blast. It's either full blast or off lol.
Please help guys. Thanks in advanced.

 

Where is the line leading nowhere? Engine compartment or inside cabin? Maybe a pic would be helpful.

When you say the A/C only blows full blast or off, are you talking about the fan (blower motor)? In other words, the fan blows on 4, but not on 1, 2 or 3, regardless of if it's on AC or heat? (If so this is the classic sign of a bad blower motor resistor - which seems to fail frequently on 97+ XJ's and TJ's.)

 

The line goes from the intake manifold wraps around the firewall, to a "T". the line that does down from that, is just loose. Stuck at work, but will post the picture later today.
I just read on the blower resistor. Yes it only blows on 4 either on heat or A/C and 3,2, & 1 doesn't blow at all. I am trying to fix small things, so i can save some money
to get the A/C serviced, since it only blows slightly cool.

 

The resistor is a pretty easy and not super expensive if you replace it yourself (which you should ). The only caveat on this is if you find the wires melted/burned/etc then you will also need to replace the blower motor since it's drawing too much power. You will know once you get into replacing the resistor.

There's got to be something that the vacuum line goes to, it's just a question of finding it. Once reconnected it should correct the "only defrost" situation since the whole "air direction" system is vacuum operated.

As a new XJ owner, do yourself a favor and get a copy of the FSM (Factory Service Manual) for your Jeep. Pacificcoastmanuals.com will happily sell you one for a reasonable price.

 

Just purchased the FSM from the website. Awesome stuff to have. Thanks for that. I added the picture of where the T is that has the loose hose. But i still can't find it on the FSM lol.
If anyone has an idea, or maybe a similar model as mine with a clean engine shot of it, would be great. i circled where the hose is for reference.

 

Look to the firewall near the heater core, it may be white in color. When you find it put a little dielectric grease on it - it will help seal it up and also allow it to pull off if you need to remove/replace it in the future.

 

I just checked my 97. There is a line coming out of the firewall next to the heater hoses, near the top of the foam seal. It goes from the "T" straight thru that foam seal and into the cabin. My line is black, and is the only vacuum line i see.

 

As I understand it, the line runs straight to the heater controls, so if it's broken you could run a new hose (available by the foot at your local auto parts store) from the T to the heater controls.

I guess this is a pretty common issue - lots of info on the interwebs.

Let us know how it goes!

 

I'm in the exact same boat with about same issue in a nearly the same XJ.lol. This is my first post even though I have been trolling around here for a while. I have a 97 XJ SE 4 0 aw4 2wd 234k and my ac controls only blow in defrost. The hose that goes into the cabin is brittle & broken to the point where I can't connect it to the T. Could I splice or somehow lengthen the black hose directly to the T and make it work or am I going to have to open up the dash and connect a new hose from the T to the ac-heater box?

 

Matt, you can indeed buy a small splice joint from an auto shop. It's easy to do. The splice should come with a rubber piece to join the original line to the new line, then run the new line to your T. Hoonagin, you can do the same. As far as the electrical parts, the ballast is the first place to look.If you pull the heater controls, you can measure current from ground to each pin on the electrical connection (located right behind the fan power switch). That will tell you whether it's the switch or the ballast

 

Thanks for the quick response! That small hose that goes from the T to the ac-heater box is so fragile that I broke another piece off trying to reconnect it. I really really don't want to have to open up the dash to just to replace a tiny hose but I do live in Florida & defrost ac pretty much sucks. Is it possible to bypass the small hose entirely? Its my understanding that the black hose in the vacuum harness does nothing but provide vacuum to power the control. If that's correct, can I:
1 plug the small hose thats broken
2 cut or disconnect the black hose in the vacuum harness and plug the connection from the ac-heater box
3 run a new hose from the T through the firewall and connect it directly to the vacuum harness under the glove box?

 

Not trying to bump your thread, Honnigan, but since both of our XJs are similar you may run into the same problem.

 

No Problem. I finally was able to fix mine. I had half an inch of the tube sticking out of the firewall. I found a BIC pen that ran out of ink, and used the plastic tube
that holds the actual ink, and shoved it between the hose from the T to the half inch hose from the firewall, and now my AC blows through the vents.

 

Lol genius!