hopefully im in the right spot for this question..

1) drove home from work the other night, all good
2) stopped at the gas station, turned off vehicle, went inside
3) turned jeep back on and all of sudden a lot of electrical components gone, such as radio, blinkers, power windows. but lights still work, dome light still works
4) brake light is on now and wont go off, parking brake is definitely disengaged
it also is grinding badly but ONLY IN REVERSE AND PARK, NOT DRIVE OR REVERSE (OR 3, 1-2)

sound like anything anyone has ever experienced before? like i said, i drove it home from work to the gas station and it was all good, but when i came back from inside and started it up again was when these issues arose. thanks for any help guys/gals.

FIGURED IT OUT WITH THE HELP HERE, SEE MY LAST POST FOR SOLUTION. THANKS AGAIN.

 

oh yeah, 4WD, auto tranny, about 110k

 

Sounds like you got in the wrong Jeep when you came out of the gas station. Are you sure it's the same Jeep?


I'd start with checking all the fuses and voltage on all the circuits and battery.

 

tell me about it, totally random. i will def check the fuses and such, but, not sure that would explain the grinding noises when i put it into to park...right?

 

has a brand new interstate battery, installed my someone else..

 

I've never had it happen but I'd guess that crazy electrical gremlins could freak out the transmission.

 

check the ignition switch (where you put the key) sounds crazy but on our 98 if the key isn't ALL the way in, the car will run and drive but all the electrical stuff goes haywire.

 

the ignition seems to be more resistant when turning fyi

 

you might have found your issue. You can take it out of the column, spray down well with electronics cleaner, then get some dry lubricant (kind you put in lock cylinders, graphite i think) put that in the cylinder and put it all back together and see where that gets ya. Its worth a shot and not a whole ton of trouble to do. Otherwise rockauto.com is your friend for an ignition switch.

 

thanks man. but does this explain the grinding? also now relaize it only is grinding in Park and Neutral, and thats it

 

Test your ignition switch, key cylinder, ignition interlock system.

Refer to your owner's manual, section 5 Ignition/Starter Switch image and functions.

With key in ignition,

Turn key to ACC - Key can't be removed; Accessories like radio, front wipers, windows will work; Gear selector won't shift out of Park; Steering wheel locked.

Turn key to LOCK - Key can be removed; Locks steering wheel; Gear selector won't shift out of Park; No accessories available.

Turn key to OFF - Unlocks steering wheel and gear selector can be shifted out of Park and from gear to gear without any hang-ups. No accessories available.

Turn key to ON (without starting engine) - This is the normal running position. Gear selector should move from gear to gear without any hang-ups.

See if you have any abnormalities when checking these functions.

 

all seems to be normal with the test

 

so here it is:

i was able to turn my key too far, past the ON position which was causing these probs i think. if i turn the key back just a little all the grinding noises and electrical pieces come back to life, sounds like a bad switch?

got some tidbits from all the posts here, thanks a lot guys. still dont know why this causes everything that happened, but im sure you guys could fill in the blanks better than me, feel free, im interested.

thanks again!

 

that grinding you were hearing was your starter grinding against your flexplate. it was only grinding in park & nuetral because those are the only positions you can engage the starter. might wanna pop the starter out and have a look to see how badly chewed the gear is