1989 jeep Cherokee straight 6 4.0L

so i was driving at night i had my brights on driving down the highway. I think i may have heard a pop or something, the whole car shut off. luckily the car behind us stopped before they could hit us. I was still in the highway and was able to start it back up put it in drive and pull over. That was the last time i was able to shift it to drive. here are the problems

lights
brights
and brake lights are all out
i assume the turn signals are too, but haven't checked

the car will start just fine
my radio and inside lights work

i cant shift from park to any other gear position

i checked the normal 2 prong fuses they are all fine

i switched around the fuse boxes under the hood, i dont think there is a problem there

any ideas??????

its not an alternator or battery problem.

 

It could possibly be the neutral safety switch on the passenger side of the transmission. If it is damaged, dirty or anything you will have issues with lighting and starting and shifting the gear shift. That saftey switch is what allows the shifter to move and start the vehicle. There are some write ups on here explaining how to carefully remove and clean the nss. Be careful as the part is pretty expensive to replace if you break it.

 

I would change your brake light switch that would also cause some of those problems... you are having including being stuck in park... there is a trick to by pass it the shift interlock here it is step by step

first thing you do is turn your key to power accessory (do not start it)

Hold the Button on the shifter while it is still in park make sure the shifter button is stick in park...

while you are doing that put your foot on the brake and turn the key to start the your XJ

that will bypass the shift interlock hope this helps you out...

also call the dealer and see if your Jeep has any open recalls i think there is a recall for this issue

btw Welcome to the forum.. feel free to make a intro post and you have a Renix Jeep

 

I think this is something other than the NSS, if it had failed so catastrophically your Jeep wouldn't start. Period. The NSS, as far as I know, doesn't prevent the shifter from moving, it just prevents the starter from functioning (by depriving the solenoid of a ground in anything but "P" and "N"). I believe the shift lock is activated by a physical switch on the brake pedal arm, which may have cooked itself and taken your lights with it since I think it's the same switch that activates your brake lights.

With your Jeep off (and key out) depress the brake pedal and listen for a relay click. My guess is that you won't hear anything. Someone may have a recommendation for bypassing that switch/relay for the purpose of troubleshooting.

 

Cross-posted with Rooster. I knew someone would know!

 

F1 addict is also correct the brake light switch also controls the brake lights.... So i would change that out 1st... make sure you get the correct switch which ever your xj came with from the factory cruise control or no Cruise control... Get that switch ... let us know if this helps

 

^^X2 with F1Addict on the NSS.. I've had mine off for cleaning and they don't affect shifting at all.. They only prevent starting in gear, and turn on your reverse lights. I know I have to step on the brake and turn the key to start position to shift out of park, but afaik that's a physical linkage. When it died on the hiway, you didn't panic-slam it into part before you stopped didja?
Please keep posting, we're all curious

 

I'd start by checking fuses, you say you heard a pop that sounds like a short to ground followed by a fuse blowing. so you probably have a chafed/bare wire somewhere. unfortunately that is a PITA to track down...

I suspect that you have an electric shift interlock tied to hte brake lights so the brake lights not working are probably the reason why you can't shift from park

 

Any updates?

 

The shift interlock is tied into the brake light switch not the nss

 

I had the same problem with my 96 I replaced the brake light switch above the brake pedal & it solved my problem...Just 1 question, did all of this happen when you applied the brakes?