I changed the oil in my XJ last sun. When I got on the highway, I noticed that the oil pressure gauge was pegged at 80! I've never seen it that high. It eventually went back to about 50(normal). I drove it a few times after that and same results. Then tuesday morn, when it was about 5 degrees, I noticed the lights all flickered when I turned on the heat/defrost. When I got to work, it did the same when I turned off the heat. I turned it on/off a couple of times and the radio stopped playing the cd and went to fm radio! When I left work, I repeated the heat on/off again and the radio ejected the cd on its own! The radio cut in and out and the battery gauge went all the way to 19! The check gauges light was also on. I turned off the radio and it continued to try to eject the cd that was already out. So I took the radio out(from a '97 Chrysler)Today, on my way to work, my headlights got dull and the batt. gauge went to 4! Then it went back to normal, then dead, then normal. When I jumped on the highway, the batt gauge went to 19 when the heat was turned off. AS I got close to work, I turned the heat on again, and again, the gauge went back to 4 with dull lights! Someone I work with told that the cold weather was causing the computer to act up, but I think it might be more. No probs on the way home, with the weather a lot warmer then it is in the morning.

 

my 99 xj has the oil filter really close to the starter. i even cut a little hole in the old filter when i stuck a filter wrench in there to loosen it up... i touched the starter and bam! it arc'd, sparked and cut right into that filter. so if anything like that happened, then mabey you fried a fuse, or relay somewhere.. grab the muli meter

 

sounds a lot like your voltage regulator is going out. have your checked your battery? other than those 2, you may have a short somewhere.

 

I was hoping it wasn't a short. I had thought of getting the battery tested. I replaced it a year and a half ago(the alternator 1 year ago).

 

try and just check/clean the connections of both battery and alt.

 

So for half a year you ran that battery on a failing alternator... yeah, run down to the parts store and have them test that battery. Doesn't take much to kill a battery.

 

Yea, it sounds like your alt is taking a dump. Parts store will run a test on it and tell you what its doing. Real easy job to change it.

 

Yes, autozone tested the alt for me when the batt died. The test showed that the alt was still good so I replaced the batt only. 6-7 mon later, the alt went out. I will stop by the parts store tomorrow and have both checked out. Thanks to all of you!!!