Previous owner screwed up the wiring pretty good.

Which bundle of wires carries the trigger wire from the ignition switch to the starter? I want to hook it up back factory. he ran his own switch straight to the starter and the factory wire is no where to be found.. thanks

 

Is this for a 1996 XJ?

 

that would probably help. Sorry guys.

Yes 96 xj.

Looks like the wire was cut. Can't find it. Just need to know the general location of the wireloom to look at.

This is basically what happened and why I need to fix it.

I know I'm not the superman of wiring. But if I'm not gonna do it right. Relay's and fuses, ect. Then I just won't do it at all.


The jeep a bought, Ignition switch went bad, (probably steering column as well. There is no spring action at all) So the previous owner hooked up a push button switch for the starter.

Trouble is He went straight from the battery to the switch to the starter.. Clutch doesn't have to be in, key doesn't have to be on, no fuses to blow when **** hits the fan.

So I get a call from my g/f monday. she's been driving the jeep while I do some work on her car.

She says I need to get home now the jeep is moving on its own and smoke is coming out from under the hood. ( i asked if she pulled it out of gear she said yes and it still moves. ( spoiler She didn't))

I get home and not cranking any more. She said she went to hit the start button and it popped off then the jeep started clicking and cranking and moving she had to put her foot on the brake so it wouldn't move.

So* best I can gather is when the button broke the contacts touched and kept it cranking till the starter gave out. Because there was no way to shut it off.

All the guy had to do was tap into key on at the ignition switch and run to the push button then back to the starter wire on the ignition switch. The starter wouldn't work unless the key was on and clutch was pressed. And if something like this happened all you would have to do would be to shut they key off.

Now I get to rewire it and replace the starter* :bang

 

I don't have the wiring diagrams for a '96 XJ but I may help a bit until a '96 XJ pro comes along.

You may want to do some preliminary testing to see if some of the starter circuit is intact.

Below is a pic of the '96 PDC showing the starter relay.


Step one is to see if the Clutch Interlock Switch and its circuit from the starter relay to its ground is intact.
You'll need and Ohmmeter.

Disconnect the battery negative cable,

Remove the starter relay, The relay pin numbers should be printed on the relay next to each pin.

Using the Ohmmeter, probe (+) from relay pin socket 85 in the PDC and meter (-) probe to a bare spot on the right inner fender,

Have someone depress the clutch pedal,

You should see continuity if the switch is working, the wire to ground is intact, and the ground point is good. If you don't see continuity, or you see high resistance, the switch may be defective or the ground point is corroded, or the ground wire is defective.

• Step two is to see if the starter relay control coil is getting voltage.

You'll need a Voltmeter for this.

Hook the battery back up,

Using a Voltmeter this time, probe the relay pin socket 86 with the meter (+) probe and the (-) probe to that bare spot you used before,

Have someone turn the ignition switch to Start.

You should see battery voltage. If not, the fuse is blown or the ignition switch is bad.

• Step three: While you have your voltmeter handy, check for battery voltage at relay pin socket 30.

PDC:




As far as wiring goes, the only thing I could suggest is that you go to the starter and see if the original solenoid wire is still there. It should be a 16 gauge wire, Brown perhaps. The wire comes from the relay pin socket 87.

If the wire is still there and you still have the starter relay removed, you can check for continuity from the relay pin socket 87 to the end of the solenoid wire.

 

Your starter relay looks like a Type 2 or a Type 3 relay.

Here's a chart you can go by when figuring out where pins 30, 85, 86, and 87 are.

 

GF won't go anywhere near the XJ ever again, will she.

 

ready to push this heap down the street.

Got it wired up much better. Cranked super duper slow. Replaced starter as I'm sure that was the source of most if not all the smoke, Tho I wasn't here to see it.

Now it just clicks and the battery goes dead. replace the battery and the cable ends. Now it takes 3 pushes of the button to get the starter going tho it cranks pretty damn fast... but won't idle. Won't start unless I floor it and Won't stay running if I remove my foot.

Gonna run new grounds and power cables and see where that gets me.

any other idea's are appreciated

 

I don't have my wiring diagrams to hand, but that's not much of a handicap.

Look in your PDC, and look for a relay labelled "STARTER" or "STARTER MOTOR."

Track pin 86 from under the relay position, it should be a 14AWG GRN wire. That's the OEM solenoid trigger lead, splice it in and continue down to the starter motor. Use 14AWG GRN wire to match it up. The stud is 4m/m in diameter (M4-0.5, I think,) and a #10 ring lug should fit it.

 

Thanks.

 

is 4Gauge enough for the battery cables to the fuse box and starter or should I go 2 or 0?

 

The trigger lead is 14AWG.

As far as the mains, what have you got in mind? The OEM mains are 6AWG - which is "marginal" for our purposes. In order to give a better answer, I need you to ask a more detailed question (I'd need to know about accessories & such to get an idea of demand, they're otherwise separate circuits. The bigger factor is the max output rating of the alternator.)

 

http://www.jeep4x4center.com/knowledge-base/index.htm