Dancing gauges when I turn my headlights on
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Port St. Lucie, FL.
Year: 2002
Model: Grand Cherokee
Engine: 4.7L
Hi, I am Jamie, I am a girl.
I have a 2002 Jeep GC Limited 4.7L. My gauges dance if I turn my headlights on and my A/C and blower motor shut off and do not work.
I do most of my own work on my jeeps, unless there is something I am not strong enough to do. Then I call a friend or 3.
I would like to respectfully ask for some help, I have changed relays, fuses, checked the grounds etc. I like my 2002 and just wan't it to work.
I want to give this car to my daughter who is a CNA, EMT, and will be graduating in December from Paramedic School.
I also have a 2009 Jeep GC Limited and no problems with it.
I have a 2000 Jeep GC Laredo 4.7L and a 2000 Jeep GC Limited 4.7L.
I haven't had this problem in either of these two.
My Son has a 2000 Jeep GC. Laredo 4.0L and has not had this problem.
Thank you,
Respectfully,
Jamie
I have a 2002 Jeep GC Limited 4.7L. My gauges dance if I turn my headlights on and my A/C and blower motor shut off and do not work.
I do most of my own work on my jeeps, unless there is something I am not strong enough to do. Then I call a friend or 3.
I would like to respectfully ask for some help, I have changed relays, fuses, checked the grounds etc. I like my 2002 and just wan't it to work.
I want to give this car to my daughter who is a CNA, EMT, and will be graduating in December from Paramedic School.
I also have a 2009 Jeep GC Limited and no problems with it.
I have a 2000 Jeep GC Laredo 4.7L and a 2000 Jeep GC Limited 4.7L.
I haven't had this problem in either of these two.
My Son has a 2000 Jeep GC. Laredo 4.0L and has not had this problem.
Thank you,
Respectfully,
Jamie
CF Veteran




Joined: May 2012
Posts: 7,965
Likes: 964
From: Lost in the wilds of Virginia
Year: 1998 Classic (I'll get it running soon....) and 02 Grand
Model: Cherokee (XJ)
Engine: 4.0
Hi, welcome to the wrong forum! 
You don't have a Cherokee. You have a Grand Cherokee. Different vehicle. It has its own forum.
That said, I see you said you checked your grounds. Good move, because this does sound a lot like a ground problem. But how did you check them? See my sig, #1. Visual inspection does not cut it at all. You have to take them apart.
Another thing to check: inspect for corrosion in the wiring feeding the headlight circuit. No, don't just eyeball it. Take apart any connections, and get rough with the wiring. Pull, yank, push, shove it around like a fat classroom bully. Corrosion can be inside a wiring jacket, unseen, making your life miserable.
Also consider the headlight switch itself. Might be the problem.
That's all I can offer at this point. I don't know the GC wiring, so I can't be more specific.

You don't have a Cherokee. You have a Grand Cherokee. Different vehicle. It has its own forum.
That said, I see you said you checked your grounds. Good move, because this does sound a lot like a ground problem. But how did you check them? See my sig, #1. Visual inspection does not cut it at all. You have to take them apart.
Another thing to check: inspect for corrosion in the wiring feeding the headlight circuit. No, don't just eyeball it. Take apart any connections, and get rough with the wiring. Pull, yank, push, shove it around like a fat classroom bully. Corrosion can be inside a wiring jacket, unseen, making your life miserable.
Also consider the headlight switch itself. Might be the problem.
That's all I can offer at this point. I don't know the GC wiring, so I can't be more specific.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Port St. Lucie, FL.
Year: 2002
Model: Grand Cherokee
Engine: 4.7L
Sorry I didn't realize that, I obviously received the wrong information.
Thank you, for being so kind as to point me in a better direction. I will try and find the one you are referencing. Have a great Labor Day Weekend!
Thank you, for being so kind as to point me in a better direction. I will try and find the one you are referencing. Have a great Labor Day Weekend!
CF Veteran




Joined: May 2012
Posts: 7,965
Likes: 964
From: Lost in the wilds of Virginia
Year: 1998 Classic (I'll get it running soon....) and 02 Grand
Model: Cherokee (XJ)
Engine: 4.0
Just click on the words, "It has its own forum" in my first post. That's a link to the correct forum. See how it's underlined? That's a clue to a hyperlink. Now hover your mouse over it. See the cursor change? That confirms that it's a link. Click that, and you'll get where you need to go.
CF Veteran




Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 2,863
Likes: 201
From: syracuse ny
Year: 1997 230,000 miles
Model: Grand Cherokee (ZJ)
Engine: 4.0, new lifters valve job with new springs and exhaust valves, preload set with shims
Not sure about what dancing means but if you are saying the backlights for the dash go dim and bright, I had luck with resoldering cold soldered joints in the circuit board in my 97s headlight switch. There are youtubes on how to do this.


