Ayden Smith 2006

I have a 1996 jeep Cherokee ****box is having issues actually moving itsself in drive. When I put it in drive it won’t move at idle unless I press down the gas a good bit but when I put it in one of the towing gears it moves just fine. I’m not sure what’s going with it. I’m not sure if it’s a transmission or electrical issue with fuses or the solenoids or if it’s just normal. Just wanted to come here first before I tried to fix anything cause I’m like 15 and I have a lot to learn so I’m not sure what I should go for first.

boxburn

By towing gears do you mean 1-2 and 3? If it pulls in 1-2 then shifts to 3rd when in 3 and 4th when in D it is electrical.

awg

If your No1 solenoid fails, you will have no 1st or 2nd (or 3rd I think) when in D, only 4th

If when operated manually, you have 1 & 2, that means you should test whether no1 solenoid has ~15ohms resistance, measured via plug adjacent to trans dipstick

it is easy to test and replace if needed



that is the TC solenoid, the wires next to it are No1 and No2

Ayden Smith 2006

it has the 1-2 then you shift it to 3rd that’s what I ment by towing gears and there is d which is the one that’s acting up
when it’s in the d it takes about 2-3k rpms for it to move on a flat ground in 2wd but r and 1-2 and 3 act fine

PatHenry

Side note: How are you "like 15"?? If you're 15 years old, and you're coming here for advice and guidance before throwing parts at your Jeep, then you're a smart kid and your parents should be proud. Many folks reach a much greater age before acting so wisely (and some of us will fall into that trap sometimes no matter how old... )

A great reference for these Jeeps is what is known as the FSM (or Factory service manual). You can download a PDF of the one for your year (they are specific to each year) for free from some great sites like cruiser54.com, xjjeeps.com, etc. These are the manuals that the dealer mechanics use to diagnose and repair vehicles.
Download it and take a peek... it's an awesome reference. Another great one is the "Parts catalog". The Parts catalog, again is a dealer reference guide, is great for 2 reasons - getting OEM part numbers AND nice diagrams of how parts fit together.

boxburn

As yours is a 96, it is a strange year so I coudn't tell you which fuse to check in your junction box. Your description sounds exactly like what mine did so it's either an electrical fault (power feed or ground) or a bad solenoid in the transmission.

To rule out a power fault you can try setting off in 1-2 then at about 20MPH, go straight to D skipping 3. Keep driving up to about 40MPH and see how many gears you feel it change into. If Solenoid #1 has died (as did mine) you should feel 3 gears in total, 1st, 3rd and 4th. Drive it gently so it doesn't try to skip past a gear. If you only feel 2 gears, 1st and 4th then either it's an electrical fault or both shift controlling solenoids have broke or the wiring to them.

I'll post back later with a bit more info pn checking the solenoids but I have to cut it short right now. Unless someone else wants to chime in in the meantime.

Ayden Smith 2006

yeah I will try that but I was doing research on the transmission things and I saw something about the tcm and I went out there just to look and see if all the wiring is good on it and I don’t have a tcm that’s probably the issue right. And I looked at tcm’s for my trans and same year and it’s got the same pattern except for the top and bottom rows of the connectors but they got no connection in there and it’s the same 2x16 pattern

Ayden Smith 2006

thank you, I will definitely try that out cause it’s got a lot of things disconnected like wiring and stuff

boxburn

Yeah, a missing TCM will cause that. Get one ordered and fitted and if you're still having issues we can help from there.

PatHenry

Anytime - another side comment, I see you have the typical passenger side floor rot. Floorboard rot is not a huge concern - the proper fix is welding in new preformed metal floor panels.. your case looks pretty minor, so you may be able to get away with patching it (my buddy used rivets on his neighbors 88 XJ, but bolt/screws and seam sealer will get you a bit of time)..

The bigger and more important concern is the frame and suspension stress points. You should confirm the Jeep is free of those things before dumping any kind of money into it. Anything can be fixed, if you're willing to pay for it, but if you're a young man starting out, you probably will find frame welding and that sort of thing to be more trouble than it's worth.
Stuff to check would be:
-frame rails
-front control arm welds, the brackets at both body and axle upper and lower
-Track bar and steering gear brackets
-Front spring perches
- Front shock upper mounts
- Rear spring brackets

Poke with a screwdriver, don't just use your eyes. Rust is a sneaky demon. If any of those items don't check out, then you need to decide if you're going to fix them or give up on the Jeep.
My kids are a bit young, but I would NEVER allow them to drive a vehicle with a compromised component of the sort I've listed. I wouldn't drive one myself.

Not trying to scare you, my floors are well further gone (they've been service-ably if not nicely repaired by the P.O.) than yours appear to be and I have no issues with the items I've listed as of yet... floors are pitifully fragile by comparison.

Ayden Smith 2006

alright thanks

lawsoncl

Yeah, no trans computer will do that. I was thinking this was a new problem, not a recently purchased vehicle. Not all of the pins are used in the connector, so no worries there.

Anyway, if scrounging for a used one from eBay, look for a 1992 to 1996 TCU which will have a green connector. A grey connector would be for the older 1987-1990 jeeps that used different diagnostic lines, and TPS inputs. I think the 1997 connector was black as it was an oddball year being ODBII and still having the older connector. 1998+ is different and has a different connector altogether. If you find a red connector, that would be from a ZJ grand cherokee.

boxburn

Didn't know that. Good info

Ayden Smith 2006

Yeah I’m planning on fixing that and my dad is a welder and he said he would weld in a new floor pan for me and that’s really the only rust on that thing is except for the small little spots on the paint that have rusted (I’m planning on spray painting it) and I recently did Bedliner undercoating and the only thing that was under the old undercoating was paint so that’s really the only spot that has rust and I’ve checked evrey spot on the jeep and that’s the only spot besides the backseat

Ayden Smith 2006