Electrical issues 96 grand cherokee Laredo
 

need some advice / educate me please!
OK here's some things going on.
1. Drivers side doors don't auto lock with button. I have to lock them manually. And if I forget to lock it and then open it up without the key, it trips alarm.
2. Dash lights flickering on and mostly off.
3. Everytime I get out of the jeep it SHOCKS THE HECK OUT OF ME!
I've learned that if I grab the metal part of the door before I put my foot on the ground it will avoid me getting shocked, but obviously this isn't a FIX for the problem.
I am clueless to electrical, but motivated to learn how to diagnose and fix these issues. HELP!!

I assume you mean won't lock with the key fob button. Does it lock with the lock switch on the door? When you press "the button" does the lock move at all like just a little but not enough to lock? also if it's auto lock why are you having to press a button. Do you mean remote controlled lock?

If it moves just a little with the electronic lock being activated with the remote, with rolling lock or with any lock buttons in the vehicle pressed in other words won't lock electronically. Hey I was checking common issues and going to start with check physical resistance of lock knob but there are a bunch of great Utube videos that show the places to check and what to look for. Way better than I can explain and draw. I know you have a 96 but this will take you to a ton of videos on your specific vehicle and this is with the harness pulled out and good to see.1997-2001 Jeep Cherokee Power Door Lock Diagnosis just copy paste and search.

On your dash lights the problem is probably while driving and hitting bumps or what? It helps to note when the problem is occurring. You'll find lots of great videos on this too. I think Utube will help so much better than I can, sorry it's Youtube. I don't even think you need a "good luck". The static' a lot of people swear on attaching rubber tire strips that drag the ground to the frame, you should be able to find existing bolts like at the rear bumper. I'd try that and maybe anti-static sprays, fabric softner and dryer sheets. If it's still that bad wear Timberland Pro Shock proof boots or shoes.

Does it have nylon or polyester seat covers on it. That can cause a static buildup.

I bought the jeep used, I didn't get a key fob button. I'm Refering to the auto switch on the door. It doesn't operate the manual switches on the driver side front or rear when I use it. It doesn't move them even a little. However it does work for the passenger side. This is the same whether I'm using the auto switch on the driver or passenger side.

The door lock actuators are probably worn out. Both my rear doors do the same thing. They work on and off so I just hit the button a couple times and they will eventually lock. But every other vehicle I owned that had this problem I just replaced the actuators and it took care of it.

The dash lights flickering could be your control panel. When it starts happening again put light pressure on your dim lever. If they stay on and bright pull this out and clean the connectors on the back side. Had this same issue when I added fog lights and swapped out the control panel. I was able to clean everything up and it took care of it.

Can't help you on your car shocking you. I had a car that use to do it to me as well. I chalked it up to the carpet or interior charging me as I got in and out. Just make sure you "discharge" yourself before pumping gas.

The door lock actuators are pretty weak on these Jeeps. Dirt and crud build up on the latches and gum everything up making the actuator work harder than it was designed to. The actuators are built into the latch assemblies, so you would have to replace the whole thing. I got some from the boneyard and cleaned them up, then I lubed them with Remington gun oil. I figured if the stuff works on my shotgun it should work on some stupid door lock actuators. No problems after two years of service. Your lights might be flickering because of a dirty or loose connection at the switch or at the back of the instrument cluster. The shock you're receiving is due to static electricity, it's pretty common. Just discharge yourself by touching the metal around the door, especially before pumping gas, and never get back in the vehicle while pumping gas. That big scare years ago about cell phones causing fires at the pump was actually caused by built up static electricity from the driver's clothing.

You may not have noticed, but at tool booths they have little wire antennas in the pavement as you approach the attendant. That's to ground the car BEFORE he gets shocked. Also at service stations on the highway.

More fueling fires are started by static discharge than anything else. I ALWAYS touch the fuel nozzle to the car body before opening the cap. It's just a habit I got into from working with aircraft. Most aircraft have a grounding jack on the hose nozzle because of this.

As a matter of fact, some jeeps have had problems with the SKIM module caused by static discharge.

Joe, SoCal inland valleys typically run relative humidities in the low double digits, meaning the air is dry dry dry!!! That's why you get seriously zapped with static. I was a firefighter in your area back in the 90's, and would get the daylight zapped out of me until I got in the habit of using my key to ground the static on the door frame when exiting my rig.

Thanks!
 

Thanks for all the feedback. I plan on replacing the actuators, and lubing. And I will be taking a look in my control panel behind the dimmer and cleaning everything up.

What a great site! I can get into stuff and replace/clean etc. But diagnosis is my weakness. Thanks a lot. I'll update how the repairs go.

BTW. If the shocling is static, from me being in a dry area, Why does my cherokee shock me so much, but not other cars?

Back when I worked in the Elsinore area, my wife drove a Jeep ZJ and I drove a Dodge Dakota, both vehicles would develop incredible static shock. I would give forum member's suggestions a try, let us know what you find out.

A lot of the static buildup has to do with different fabrics in the seats or your clothing. For instance nylon seats and cotton jeans work well together to form electrical charges. I think you'll notice leather seats don't build up static charges either. My wife used to soak her seat with Static Guard which helped a little. I had woven polyester seat covers on my Chevy truck which used to get me quite often and I don't live in a dry climate. I got used to hanging on to the door handle when getting out of the truck to ground myself.

When I use my plastic MAC creeper and wear a polyester work shirt I can actually see the arc jump from my finger to the car.

cleaned up the control panel
 

I took out the Control panel and cleaned it up. It did make the lights stay on. But I keep loosing my oil pressure guage, and the check guages light comes on.
I'm guessing now I just need to replace that paticular guage?