MechanicallyInept
New member
1046006
Well, it appears that my 90 Cherokee has several of the standard Jeep problems: overheating, a noise in the front right wheel well when I cut the wheel hard, and, as of last night, a sudden loss of all electrical power. Oh, also seatbelts that do not catch when I slam on the brakes.
I would not go so far as to describe myself as mechanically inclined, but since I bought this jeep a couple months ago, I have been able to fix a couple problems, or at least keep the truck from blowing up, yet. But I am hoping I can get some more pointers on this electrical problem.
Here is what happened. Last night, I came home and parked at the top of a steep hill. I realized I had not cut my wheels into the curb, so I turned the key again but absentmindedly did not push in the clutch. The lights and heater were still on when I started up, so I imagine there was some drain on the power. The jeep lurched as it will when you do not use the clutch, and then everything died. I figured maybe I had blown a fuse. Nothing in the manual seemed to account for so general a failure. So I went online and read about a guy here who had problems with his battery cables. I went back out, jiggled the negative cable, and the lights came on. I turned the ignition. There was a clunk and the lights went out. I went back out and jiggled the wire again. Same thing. The third time, I noticed a pretty big spark. So I quit. This morning, I came outside, cleaned up the negative battery terminal and resecured the cable. The jeep started right up.
Do I need to get new cables? Again, I am a mechanical bonehead. While the jeep certainly seems like a good vehicle to learn rudimentary repairs on, anything too complicated is probably gonna be a challenge for me at this point. But I would certainly appreciate any advise.
[addsig]
Well, it appears that my 90 Cherokee has several of the standard Jeep problems: overheating, a noise in the front right wheel well when I cut the wheel hard, and, as of last night, a sudden loss of all electrical power. Oh, also seatbelts that do not catch when I slam on the brakes.
I would not go so far as to describe myself as mechanically inclined, but since I bought this jeep a couple months ago, I have been able to fix a couple problems, or at least keep the truck from blowing up, yet. But I am hoping I can get some more pointers on this electrical problem.
Here is what happened. Last night, I came home and parked at the top of a steep hill. I realized I had not cut my wheels into the curb, so I turned the key again but absentmindedly did not push in the clutch. The lights and heater were still on when I started up, so I imagine there was some drain on the power. The jeep lurched as it will when you do not use the clutch, and then everything died. I figured maybe I had blown a fuse. Nothing in the manual seemed to account for so general a failure. So I went online and read about a guy here who had problems with his battery cables. I went back out, jiggled the negative cable, and the lights came on. I turned the ignition. There was a clunk and the lights went out. I went back out and jiggled the wire again. Same thing. The third time, I noticed a pretty big spark. So I quit. This morning, I came outside, cleaned up the negative battery terminal and resecured the cable. The jeep started right up.
Do I need to get new cables? Again, I am a mechanical bonehead. While the jeep certainly seems like a good vehicle to learn rudimentary repairs on, anything too complicated is probably gonna be a challenge for me at this point. But I would certainly appreciate any advise.
[addsig]
