PharryNess

Good Day everyone, I am new to the Jeep Cherokee's and have bought a 2001 XJ with the 5sp manual and 4.0L straight six 4 x 4. I have a coupe of issues that I trying to solve. Please see below.

1. After startup while idling, the battery gauge on the dash shows 14 volts for about 20-30 seconds and then goes to 19 volts and the check gauges light comes on. I measured the voltage at the battery while the car was idling at it shows 14.7 volts. Is that high? Also, the interior light flickers while its on. I have a new interstate battery in the car and it looks like the previous owner replaced the alternator cause the car came with a spare unit.
2. Power steering does not work while the car is idling, its really hard to turn the steering wheel, it is easier once the car is moving but that is probably because the car is moving. How do I test the pump? Fluid level seems ok by there is a small leak.
3. Headliner is sagging, any trick to correct that?
4. How do I test the AC compressor? Also, the HVAC switch only works on setting 4, does not work on settings 1 - 3.
5. Both headlights d not work but all other lights work including the front parking lights.

I like the car, it has 199K but runs amazing, and seems to be lifted a couple of inches. If these are expensive issues, I may need to sell it unfortunately. I was gonna use it to tow a 5 x 8 landscaping trailer.
Any help would be greatly appreciate it.
Thank you,

4.3L XJ

That is a number of issues, you should probably separate them out so we can address them. Yes, 14.7V is too high. That is controlled by the ECM
AC switch? Maybe you mean the fan switch?

RockyMtn96XJ

14.7 is not detrimental, but not amazing either. Normally its ONLY that high when the alternator is charging the battery, then it will come back to a lower 12V once the alternator is done charging the battery. No clue why the gauge reads 19 after a few seconds. Voltage regulator maybe. It can ruin your battery if its actually 19 volts though.
My XJ has the exact same steering issue. You pretty much described it like I have in the past. Unfortunately I havent got an answer yet. I may get it fixed in a few weeks when the jeep is torn apart to install my 4.5" lift.
Plenty of videos for headliner replacement/repair.
Does the A/C come on? or just blow warmer than it should?
Your HVAC switch is melted on the back side, behind the dash. Thats why it only works on Hi. Not really hard to replace if your wires are still in good shape.
Headlights are sealed units that have to be completely replaced. Cant just replace the bulb. You can unplug the headlight, pull the headlight switch to turn the headlights on, and then use a multimeter to make sure you are getting 12V to the headlights. If so, replace the headlights. While you're replacing them, buy a new upgraded harness to install. its easy to install. Jeep XJ upgraded headlight harness. it gives more voltage to the headlights so they are brighter.

IJM

I bet 20 bucks your battery cables are on their way out. That happened to me and would give me an erroneously pegged volt gauge and flickering interior lights. It would go dead for a few seconds randomly when trying to start it. Replacing/updating my battery cables and terminals fixed that issue.

Saudade

Once you start moving the engine speeds up and drives the pump faster delivering more pressure,

You'll need a manifold gauge to check your refrigerant level in case your ac is blowing warm.

You should check your battery voltage at the battery when off and when running. Mine shows about 12.5v off and just over 14.5 at idle. My gauge reads 1-2 volts low. With lights (including fogs), AC om, fan high, rear window defroster on and radio on, my battery drops to about 13.8 but reads about 12 on the gauge. It climbs to 14v at around 1200 rpm but the gauge doesn't move.

lawsoncl

Battery cables and ground connections are the usual place to start for battery voltage wierdness. The fan only running on high could also be the blower fan resistor is bad, often caused by the blower motor pulling too much current. If you end up replacing the PS pump, avoid Cardone remanufactured as they are junk. Use only high quality transmission oil meant for transmissions with brass synchros such as Redline MTL, Penzoil synchromesh, etc. Do not use typical GL-rated gear oil as the sulfurs in it are not friendly to the brass synchros. On a new-to-me Jeep I would change it just because you don't know what the previous owner used.