So my gauges, radio, and overhead interior lights do not work. My gauges will light up but do not move. Windows, AC, lights on switches, rear wiper, etc etc still work just fine. The only blown fuse i could find is in the junction block on the left side (facing the engine) marked 15A IOD. It blows fuses the second they touch it. I tried just sticking a paper clip in it to see if anything happened and it immediatly started glowing red hot and burst into flames in about three seconds. So by my brilliant skills of deduction i must have a short somewhere right? Where could the radio, gauges and interior lights all be wired close enough, or together, for them to short together? Where should i start looking? i pulled the radio out today and found nothing. Help will be greatly appreciated. I just got my first speeding ticket due to this inconvinence. It is a 4 door 01 XJ with AW4 D30/C8.25 and NP231. I had to replace the alternator a few weeks ago, but this problem has been around for about a half year now.

 

Anyone?

 

Seriously, no one has any suggestions?

 

You've got a dead short to ground as evident by the fuse blowing immediately.

NEVER BYPASS A FUSE!!!!!

Get a DMM and start checking the wiring for short circuits.

Six months? Wow.....

 

IOD fuse stands for ignition off draw, its the fuse that stops any draw, so if you needed to let your vehicle sit for a month or more you could pull that and come back to it and she'd start. i would check for continuity to ground on the load side of the fuse, maybe your shorted to ground, then you could start wiggling the harness to see if the short goes away. or use a bigger insulated wire to put power to it and wait for smoke! thats usually my last resort though.

 

i had the same problem and found that it was my light bulb holder that goes into the shifter came loose fell down on the body and shorted everything out i ended up having to completly rewired the inside of my jeep from the firewall to the fuel pump so pull up ur carpet and take a look

 

I had the same problem with my 89, I had to change the switch on the colum. Now everything works fine.

 

check those grounds!!!

 

Those are all excellent suggestions, I will check first thing tomorrow. I haven't fixed it for so long because a month after it happend and couldn't be resolved I moved away for five months and have only recently got back to the Jeep. Thankyou all for your input.

 

Bringing this back from the dead after doing some searching. I have this exact same problem with my 99 XJ.

The #16 fuse in the PDC blows immediately. Checking it with a DMM it is shorted to ground on the load side of the fuse.

If I unplug the c7 connector on the Junction block, the short goes away. Also it goes away if all the doors are shut, but grounds when any one of the doors opens or I operate the rear dome light.

Any ideas? I've been chasing this for 2-3 days.... TIA!!!

 

Well I still haven't managed to get it fixed. Really starting to **** me off.

 

i have a 90 xj and i had the same thing happen i found under the hatch panel on mine a black wire that has a push conector in it(male to female connector) i un hooked it and the problem went away now i have no idea what its for cause everything works fine with it un hooked but try thatr if you need pics let me know and i will get some for you

 

I know it is fuse number 16 15amp in the distribution block. According to the manual it should be a pink wire with a black stripe.

 

go get a haynes manual.. and in the back they have a wiring section....

 

I got mine fixed, but I'm not sure what I did. It is fuse #16 on my 99 which is pink. It feeds the gaugue cluster, TCM, dome lights, etc.

What I suspect is the microswitch mounted on the hatch handle that operates the interior lights when you open it.

I have a FSM (thanks, Frankz) and it says to unhook everything on the circuit, then start pluggin things in one at a time, when the fuse blows, that's the unit that is grounded.