Was stranded, now stumped

[Bond--007]

Long story, short version. Left the house, jeep running fine. Drove about 12 miles and shut the jeep off. Returned to the jeep and would not start. I had no lights, no power, completely dead. Then all of a sudden I would get the dome lights and ignition buzzer sound. Turn the ignition and all power went out. No headlights, no dash lights, nothing. I played this game for about 3 hrs. Then I tried again, the jeep started with a CEL. Didn't risk it and drove it straight home. I did the ignition trick to pull the code for the CEL. The only code that came up was 55. The only thing I have to go on is the red positive cable coming off the battery term to the "fuse box" mounted on the pass fender. That connection is REALLY corroded. I'm going to try to take it apart and clean it really good. Should I apply dielectric grease to the connection? Any other thoughts to determine what now caused this d@mn gremlin to rear its ugly little head???? Still loving my jeep, just tired of it acting like a second wife...lol

 

[JPNinPA]

Sounds like you found something worth looking at. The power and grounds have been known to sometimes corrode within the plastic cover and causes many different issues. I'm surprised you didn't have a engine stumbling issue prior to the failure if it is a power wire.


You don't normally get a CEL without a code. If there is an O'Reilly's or AZ they could loan a code reader. The codes are stored for a while.

 

[Bond--007]

update: I tore that connection apart and hit it with a sanding wheel on the dremmel to bare metal. There was a lot of corrosion between the nut and first connector and between the 2 positive connections. Everything is a nice shiny metal again. I did smear a little dielectric grease between the connections of metal-on-metal. I started the jeep and did notice a difference. The lights on the dash and dome are brighter than they were. Also, the alt gauge now shows the needle a touch pass the 14v hash mark. Hoping this little gremlin is sent packing......:spank:

 

[greg92jeepxj]

Hey Mr. Bond ! Once again , good job ! Looks like your really getting the hang of this jeep thing ! Looks like you beat the service man out of a hand full of cash too . Really appreciate you sharing your good diagnostic find and repair with us that will no doubt save someone down the line from getting into trouble too. I say again , good show mate ! I just know that money you save on a tow and service will be useful to moving forward to getting to the work that you've been planning since you first got your jeep. Hey , who knows we might just find you posting a thread of an LS1 swap ! Don't let me give you any ideas , that 2.5 liter is doing its job getting you to point B and saving $$ on gas ! I know your real proud of your jeep every time you beat down the gremlin and make your jeep more reliable . Thanks for your post and wishing a safe journey every time ! Greg

 

[Bond--007]

Thx Greg92jeepXJ!!! I try to make sure to post resolution on every thread (even when I had 7.3L Powerstroke) in the forums. I get so bent when I read through a 13 page thread yo find out the OP never posted the resolution.

dont give me any ideas...lol. I have read some swap threads, but a V8 in a jeep seems a bit scary

 

[greg92jeepxj]

Your most welcome . It is important to follow up as you do ( thank you) with progress for the pure reason that we survive on help from one another . This is truly what Jeepz.com stands for , to help out in the community. Thanks once again. Personally , I'd say since your 2.5 liter is doing its job it's best to stick with it but you never know if you'll come into a good deal on another rig that needs an engine and you may just get in the mood to get radical . Who knows , you may be our next hero ! Wonder if we give awards for this kind of stuff ? :???:

 

[JPNinPA]

Bond being that 'seems' to have fixed the issue, I'll going hold off a bit on the congrats due to past experience. Consider doing the big three upgrade. As mentioned the wires themselves will corrode as you mentioned what they look like. The big three ( grounds, power and alt power lines ) upgraded properly will give many years of sustained service. Good work and stay on top of those issues.

 

[drewbuddy]

Lack of follow ups (resolution status) is one of my peeves too :x Don't be shy with the dielectric, it will help protect from corrosion on battery posts/clamps

 

[Bond--007]

Can dielectric be applied to any connection/termination? Just baffles me that its nonconductive but doesn't affect the connection

 

[JPNinPA]

Can dielectric be applied to any connection/termination? Just baffles me that its nonconductive but doesn't affect the connection

It can be applied to any connection. And yes it is non conductive high temp silicone based grease. You still need the metal to metal contact for current to flow, the grease fills in the gaps where contact isn't made and seals out the air and moisture. It also seals in moisture or corrosive material. It does not inhibit all corrosion like galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals. Penetrox is a zinc paste that will inhibit corrosion if not stop it. It is not as high temp as the dielectric grease so I wouldn't use it near the engine. It is also conductive.

 

[drewbuddy]

Dielectric is more or less an insulator. Prevents arcing, sparking, corrosion, boots from drying out ect. and loss of voltage due to these things. Unless it's an induced voltage (ex. a transformer) where contact isn't necessary, as stated above, you need contact. Good contacts you shouldn't need anything conductive

 

[Bond--007]

Bond being that 'seems' to have fixed the issue, I'll going hold off a bit on the congrats due to past experience. Consider doing the big three upgrade. As mentioned the wires themselves will corrode as you mentioned what they look like. The big three ( grounds, power and alt power lines ) upgraded properly will give many years of sustained service. Good work and stay on top of those issues.

JPNinPA wins!! The issue came back last night after I pulled it out of the garage. Left it sit for about an hour then tried to put it back in. Dome light works when the door is open. As soon as you try to start the jeep, everything in the guage cluster dies and the BRAKE light is lit real faint. While the key is in the ON position, I can hear clicking from the power distro box under the hood. Even when all the relays are removed, the clicking can be heard. After a couple of mins, the clicking would stop and the guage lights would come back on. As soon as the headlights were turned on or ignition turned to START, everything would die again and start clicking. I pushed the jeep back into the garage. As soon as I got it back in, everything came back again and this time it fired up, but the RPMs would hold at 2000...... At a lost at this point

In surfing the net last night, I found one issue regarding the ignition actuator pin...thoughts?

 

[JPNinPA]

My ign actuator pin failed about a year ago. Other than the key feeling loose or sloppy in the ignition when starting just before failure, I didn't have any issue. Then it failed. Then the key moved with no position clicks when turning. And no start. You could pull the key out when in the on position. Being mine failed in the on position I had to disconnect the battery or the dash lights etc to go out.

When it failed it was bad there is no intermittent issue.

Cost and work to replace isn't bad. There is a good tube video from the aftermarket mfg on it. I think I posted it because it was really good. http://www.jeepz.com/forum/cj-yj-tj-jk/38959-what-did-you-do-your-jeep-today-61-print.html ok so it was this past September.


I'll stick with my first theory. Bad connection or wire. Does your trip odometer reset? The clicking could be arcing ( bad contact) or is it a relay sound?.

 

[Bond--007]

I'm leaning towards contact sounds only because I removed the 4 relays and there was still clicking in the block

One thing I did notice was the radio reset back to factory like the battery was disconnected

 

[JPNinPA]

Could you wiggle the battery terminal connectors at all? Sometimes the terminals are smaller diameter than the cable connector and disputes tightening all the way you have s poor contact.

Have you cleaned and verified all the connections off the battery and the opposite side of each?

I'd go for the BIG 3 upgrade. It doesn't cost much and there is no drawback.

 

[Bond--007]

Could you wiggle the battery terminal connectors at all?

Have you cleaned and verified all the connections off the battery and the opposite side of each?

Both terminal connections were tight from the last time I had the battery out (even coated them with the anti-corrosion spray)

I've been surfing the web to try and find a write-up of all the ground points under the hood. That has been unsuccessful thus far

 

[JPNinPA]

Big two ground connection is battery to engine block and battery to body. The body connection is behind the engine on the firewall. The engine connection Is close to the battery.

 

[Bond--007]

UPDATE: Got the jeep started and running again. The short red wire from the positive terminal connection to the power distro box was bad. I cut the crimped connector off and there was a ton of corrosion inside the wire jacket. Replaced with a new wire and the jeep fired right up

JPNinPA: I did hit those 2 big grounding points also with the dremmel and a stone wheel.

 

[JPNinPA]

Plan to replace all the wires completely. If one was corroded they all may be a little. Partial corrosion while not an open circuit will add a fair amount of resistance. This resistance will produce issues like a bad ground or weak battery. Worst will be overheating the wires to the point they catch fire.

 

[Bond--007]

Plan to replace all the wires completely. If one was corroded they all may be a little.

Would you happen to know the guage wire used from the factory? Should I step it up a guage just to be safe?