screwed the pooch and now i really need help

[x6xdemonx6x]

i've got it mostly figured out the problem is i am sick as a dog (allergies and god knows what else) and my tools keep crapping out on me either breaking bits or running the battery for the drill dead.  Tommarrow it should be fixed though if all goes well i am going to snowball down in joplin with brushbeaters and some of them are willing to take a stab at wrenching on it.  Course that all depends on me waking up in time to get there before they all head out.

[why jay]

well, good luck with it.  Post up if u need help.

[x6xdemonx6x]

well i got everything but the new eye stud welded on shock is held on to the old stud (no threaded end to secure it) with a pull down strap (you may laugh but it held the entire and is still holding) if any of you still wanna help me with that.  There wouldn't happen to be someone thats any good at wiring cause I did find out i got some more wiring problems that need sorted out pretty bad.  Blew the engine managment fuse while i was there as well as found out there is a short in the harness to my fuel pump somewhere.  Also blew my tail light fuse twice yesturday on startup which took my instrument lights with it also

[last boyscout]

on your wiring.  have you added or modified anything recently.  radio? lights?  sounds like you have something grounding out.

[x6xdemonx6x]

No the previous ownder did a bit of a hack job on the wiring getting it to work.  I don't have enough knowledge to really even think about hacking into my wiring myself.  I do know that it was wired up for a amp and speaker system (all speakers except for the doors were taken out by po and it has a nice after market cd player along with a set of fog lights.  While digging around and looking at stuff since i bought it i know that he spliced up all the wiring for the tail lights and a few other things as well so my guess is the guy i bought it from jacked it up when bought it and tried to fix it.  If it ends up being me that fixs it alone i will probably buy all new harness' to go front to back because like i said my wiring ability is limited.  Last time i really messed with wiring on a car was in highschool and i set it on fire...Oh and on the jeep when i blew the pcm cause i jumped the wroung wire.

[x6xdemonx6x]

On a side note I did have another question about wiring and what looks like vacc lines.  I was under it the other day and noticed that some wires going to either the trans or t case and vac lines had fallen onto the exhuast and burnt through.  However everything still works like it should the only effect i notice is that the 4wd in the dash does not come on when 4wd is engaged and it doesn't use a vaccum disconnect because like i said the trans and t case both function like they should.  Trans is a little sticky in the gears when its cold but i am thinking that has more to do with the lucas i put in it.  Once it warms up its fine

[last boyscout]

what do you mean when you "jumped the wrong wire?"  were you jumpstarting it and crossed + and - .  wiring is not as scary as you're making it.  there is always cause and effect.  if you're blowing fuses what changes when the fuse blows.  do you turn on lights, radio, step on the brakes, or turn on the heater?  it could just be a wire that has rubbed through its shielding and that can be a little harder to find.  but is it blows the same fuse over and over then you know which wires to trace. 

the vac line of the tranny might just be a breather vent.  where does it go to?  what tranny do you have?

[x6xdemonx6x]

when i fried the pcm i a wire to power insead of ground while testing my temp gauge.  when the engine management fuse popped all i did was start it other then that nothing.  when the tail light/instrument panel fuse popped i pulled the lights on.

[last boyscout]

does the engine management fuse continue to pop now?  i've also put power to a ground wire before.  i flipped the leads to my volt gauge.  12 volts not fussed to a ground will get the wire hot enough to burn the shielding off.  once its burned through it shielding it will start into any wire next to it until you notice what you've done.  that ground wire is where i would start.  or i would pull the stereo and turn on the lights.  i grounded the lights dimmer wire to a stereo once that blew the same fuse you are.

[x6xdemonx6x]

that was the only time i ever blew the engine managment fuse.  As far as burnt wires i realized what i did as soon as the wires touched and watched for smoke and neither saw or smelled it.  I know the previous owner said the gauges didn't work before i picked it up from but he said it was a fuse also it had blown the stereo fuse on him but he didn't know it it has also blown the stereo fuse since i have had it.  I'm a little gun shy when it comes to wireing since i blew the computer in it that wasn't a cheap fix.

[last boyscout]

i know you're gun shy on doing wiring but what do you think you want to do to fix it?  new wiring harness?  i have a lot of experience with 98 XJ wiring.  i'm swapping a 98 XJ 4.0 into my CJ along with the full wiring harness.  the 98 has 4 different harnesses.  2 in the engine/ 1 in the dash/ and 1 to the doors, rear light, rear hatch, and fuel pump.  were you thinking about a painless harness or one from a junkyard.  you could cut cost if we can narrow it down to where your short is.  on the 98 there are two large clips on the drivers side of the steering wheel.  the retainer makes them look like one single clip.  one goes through the firewall to the ECM the other to the rear harness.  disconnect the rear harness and see if it'll still pop the fuse.  if he did a hack job on the rear lights that might be your problem.  the short has to be tied to your lights.  did he put a trailer light hook up on the tail lights?  if you're going to go as far as to replace the harness why not check its condition?  i thinned the 98 harness to put it in my CJ.  and yes there is a mile of tape on the wires.  but if you disconnect the rear light and the problem stops you know where the short is.   to remove the rear harness a lot of the interior has to come out.  but if that's the issue then its worth the work.

[OJTV8CJ]

X2 on what Boyscout said.

If you are shy about doing wiring REPLACING a whole harness is not for you.  I have a 85 XJ harness and 2 CJ harnesses hanging on my wall.  I used a XJ fuse block in my CJ with half of another harness.  I tried to simplify it some but it is still a big job to replace or modify a whole harness.

You would be better served by learning to do it right or paying someone to do it for you.

[x6xdemonx6x]

well the light issue is basiclly just a annoyance to me at this point.  The problem i want fixed now is the fuel pump short especially since i am planning on running the stocker the run at smorr on the 15th.  As far as the harness' i was just planning on getting replacements from the dealer so i shouldn't have to modify them or anything but i won't have the ability to do that before the run.

[CRAZY LARRY]

all you need to is. get an inline fuse @ toggle switch, about 15' on wire. wire the fuel pump to the swtich by pass all your wiring. just flip the switch before you start it and turn it out when you kill it. that should get you by until you get your new haress.

[x6xdemonx6x]

I think it might just crude and moisture that got into the connector cause i never had problems with it till that day and it was right after i went splashing into a mud puddle...same on the engine management fuse that popped