Had a little scare yesterday
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Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 595
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From: Rome, GA
Year: 1990
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
Had a little scare yesterday
I was getting ready to leave work to go home. I cranked up my XJ, then turned on the A/C to cool things down a bit before heading home. About 2 minutes in, I lost all power and everything shut down.........the dome lights wouldn't even come on.
Checked the battery with a multimeter.....12.75 volts.......good.
Started hunting around for a main fuse and/or relay (which I never did find BTW).
Tested all the relays I found under the hood...........all good.
Tested all the fuses and relays under the dash............all good......still no power.
Finally, I started wiggling the battery cables. The clamps were tight on the battery but, the negative cable had just a slight amount of play where it connects to the clamp. Not enough that I could pull the cable out but, enough that it did move around a bit. I took it apart and flattened out the strap so that it would get a better bite on the cable, then tightened it back down. That was my last option so, I checked and the dome lights were on. All is well now. It cranked right up and I haven't had a problem since.
Checked the battery with a multimeter.....12.75 volts.......good.
Started hunting around for a main fuse and/or relay (which I never did find BTW).
Tested all the relays I found under the hood...........all good.
Tested all the fuses and relays under the dash............all good......still no power.
Finally, I started wiggling the battery cables. The clamps were tight on the battery but, the negative cable had just a slight amount of play where it connects to the clamp. Not enough that I could pull the cable out but, enough that it did move around a bit. I took it apart and flattened out the strap so that it would get a better bite on the cable, then tightened it back down. That was my last option so, I checked and the dome lights were on. All is well now. It cranked right up and I haven't had a problem since.
CF Veteran
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,841
Likes: 117
From: In the middle of Minnesota!
Year: 1999
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
You may also want to freshen your engine grounds. Solid battery connections and grounds are critical.
------------------------------------------------
Grounds can be the root cause of many electrical gremlins. Refreshing grounds is NEVER a bad idea, and the investment of your time in this procedure is always well worth it!
You can't tell much of anything by looking at ground connections!! You must remove, scrape, clean until shiny the cable/wire ends and whatever they bolt to. Be sure to remove all paint from any ground connections.
Start with the one on the back corner of the head, and where it attaches to the firewall, as it deteriorates over time and is an area that makes it susceptible to damage. Best to replace that woven cable with a #4 or #2 gauge cable. You can attach the one end to the intake manifold if you would like.
Next go over to the engine dipstick tube stud. Remove the nut and clean the wire ends and scrape the block until shiny at the stud. Reattach tightly.
If you are so inclined, add at least a #6 cable from the negative terminal of your battery to one of the bolts on your radiator support.
------------------------------------------------
Grounds can be the root cause of many electrical gremlins. Refreshing grounds is NEVER a bad idea, and the investment of your time in this procedure is always well worth it!
You can't tell much of anything by looking at ground connections!! You must remove, scrape, clean until shiny the cable/wire ends and whatever they bolt to. Be sure to remove all paint from any ground connections.
Start with the one on the back corner of the head, and where it attaches to the firewall, as it deteriorates over time and is an area that makes it susceptible to damage. Best to replace that woven cable with a #4 or #2 gauge cable. You can attach the one end to the intake manifold if you would like.
Next go over to the engine dipstick tube stud. Remove the nut and clean the wire ends and scrape the block until shiny at the stud. Reattach tightly.
If you are so inclined, add at least a #6 cable from the negative terminal of your battery to one of the bolts on your radiator support.
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