Gonzo1SG

My 88 Jeep Cherokee (4.0 L) is suffering high RPMs when I depress the clutch or put the 5-speed in neutral. It only does this when the engine is warm. While troubleshooting, I found a 4-conductor plug that is not connected to anything at all. There are 3 wires, Red, Orange, and either Black with White, or vice-versa. This plug does not connect to the TPS or IAC, which I was checking. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

cruiser54

The extra harness is for auto trans equipped vehicles.
No big deal. Sounds like your TPS is failing. Here's how to test it. Be sure to do the sensor ground test in the beginning.

RENIX TPS ADJUSTMENT
Before attempting to adjust your TPS be sure the throttle body has been recently cleaned. It's especially important that the edges of the throttle butterfly are free of any carbon build-up.
IMPORTANT NOTE: With the Key OFF, and using the positive (red) lead of your ohmmeter, probe the B terminal of the flat 3 wire connector of the TPS. The letters are embossed on the connector itself. Touch the black lead of your meter to the negative battery post. Wiggle the wiring harness where it parallels the valve cover and also over near the MAP sensor on the firewall. If you see more than 1 ohm of resistance, or fluctuation in your ohms reading, some modifications to the sensor ground harness will be necessary. The harness repair must be performed before proceeding. I can provide an instruction sheet for that if needed.
MANUAL TRANSMISSION:
RENIX manual transmission equipped XJs have only a flat three-wire TPS mounted on the throttle body and it provides data input to the ECU. It has three wires in the connector and they're clearly embossed with the letters A, B, and C. Wire "A" is positive. Wire "B" is ground. Key ON, measure voltage from "A" positive to "B" ground by back-probing the connectors. Note the voltage reading--this is your REFERENCE voltage. Key ON, back-probe the connector at wires "B" and "C". Measure the voltage. This is your OUTPUT voltage. Your OUTPUT voltage needs to be seventeen percent of your REFERENCE voltage. For example: 4.82 volts X .17=.82 volts. Loosen both T-20 Torx screws attaching the TPS to the throttle body and rotate the TPS until you
have achieved your desired output voltage. Tighten the screws carefully while watching to see that your output voltage remains where it is supposed to be. If you can't achieve the correct output voltage, replace the TPS and start over.
Sometimes, after adjusting your TPS the way outlined above, you may experience a high idle upon starting. If that happens, shut the engine off and reconnect your probes to B and C. Start the engine and while watching your meter, turn the TPS clockwise until the idle drops to normal and then rotate it back counterclockwise to your desired output voltage.
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION: RENIX automatic transmission equipped XJs have a TPS with two connectors. There is a flat three-wire connector, same as the manual transmission vehicles have, and it is tested the same as the manual transmission equipped vehicles, as outlined above—FOR ALL ENGINE MANAGEMENT RELATED ISSUES.
However, the automatic TPS also has a square four-wire connector, clearly embossed with the letters A,B,C, and D. It only uses three wires and provides information to the Transmission Control Module. THIS SQUARE FOUR WIRE CONNECTOR IS USED FOR TRANSMISSION/SHIFTING RELATED ISSUES ONLY. Key ON, measure voltage between "A" positive and "D" ground. Note the voltage. This is your REFERENCE voltage. Back-probe the connector at wires "B" and "D". Measure the voltage. This is your OUTPUT voltage. Your OUTPUT voltage needs to be eighty-three percent of your REFERENCE voltage. For example 4.8 volts X .83=3.98 volts. Adjust the TPS until you have achieved this percentage. If you can't, replace the TPS and start over. So, if you have an automatic equipped XJ your TPS has two sides--one side feeds the ECU, and the other side feeds the TCU.
FOR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION RELATED ISSUES: Check the square four-wire connector side of the TPS.
If you have ENGINE ISSUES check the flat three-wire connector side of the TPS.
For those with a MANUAL TRANSMISSION--the TPS for the manual transmission XJs is stupid expensive. You can substitute the automatic transmission TPS which is reasonably priced.
Revised 09-22-2012

Gonzo1SG

cruiser54,

THANKS MAN! Tonight was Halloween, so we were busy with all that, otherwise I would have been under the hood. However today at lunch, I found ANOTHER quirk, two diked wires, taped off, one is violet / white and the other black / white. My Chilton's shows these might be for the Engine Speed Sensor, I cannot even find where that is. Any additional thoughts?
Thanks either way, you have already helped a ton. -Gonzo1SG

cruiser54

The cut wires could be because your Jeep had the CPS bypass procedure done on it. The connector was clipped off after the new harness was run.