I've been having odd electrical issues with my 98 XJ over the last couple of weeks. From the IDO fuse blowing constantly, to the jeep apart and then it suddenly started working fine. Today the alternator quit charging and I looked at it and then that kicked up and started charging again. But now, the most jacked up thing is when I open the rear hatch, the speakers cut out. The sub keeps playing, but the front and rears stop. I don't even have to open the hatch any more than just popping the latch so the idiot light turns on in the cluster.

Totally confused...

Any thoughts??

Thanks in advance!

 

Those sort of problems usually trace back to damaged wiring and/or deteriorated grounds. Unfortunately there's no easy way to find either without inspecting it all.
Pick an end, disassemble, clean, reassemble...repeat..

 

Short somewhere. As for your alternator, could be bad alt or bad battery cables

 

If you are seeing that many problems in different circuits, I would start with pulling and cleaning the grounds. There should be one at the back of the engine to the firewall and one near the battery to the body. Check the condition of the cable, too. Sometimes there is corrosion inside the wire itself.

 

I have checked all battery cables and those seem to be good. No corrosion and everything is tight. The alternator I have a feeling is just on its way out the door. As far as the speaker issue after talking to a friend of mine last night I have a feeling that the IDO and this new speaker issue is very related. The IDO fuse started blowing a couple months ago when I had the rear hatch open. I think I will be starting at rear latch and work my way forward.

Thanks for the replies!