rgs80074

hello everyone,

i have a 1996 jeep grand cherokee and i have an issue whit the power windows and locks. originally all worked (except maybe the auto locking but it still sounds like it tries) then gradually the passenger sides stopped working, then here and there they'd work. i've had this issue for a while but working on vehicles for me seems to take forever to get around to it, partially due to not able ot handle the heat outside odd work hours and sleeping schedule.

anyways i had another post about a work around for the switch window lock button failing and causing the windows not to work but it seems on my year 1996 where the videos tell you to look and color of wires are not the same so i did what any sane person one i didn't start cutting wires, i did however take the door panel off to see if there was a broken wire (could not see any in the door jam but can't really see it that well). it felt like the connections to the switch was not in right so when i put it all back together i make sure they was nice and tight in there and the windows worked.

i did other work on the jeep around the same time thats kept me from driving it so its sat there, every so often i'd start it up and the windows continued to work.

today i was trying to get stuff situated with all my vehicles and decided to start the jeep sine it had not been started in two or three weeks. opened the doors started it up and the windows worked.

had i left it at that i would have thought the problem was fixed but it seem (and now i am leaning towards 2 issues) but before shutting it off i tried the windows one more time, this time the only window that worked was the drivers side rear, this had never happened before the drivers windows had always worked, but i also noticed when any button was pushed the light in the door dimmed.

so i have two theories on whats wrong. my problem is electrical work is beyond me i just don't get it.

theory one:
the master switch is failing or more or less has failed but every other year the switch is cheap mine is like 200 bucks which is money i dont have.


theory two:
i have a short in the overhead console that kills the dash the windows worked just fine before i messed with it. i got the dahs to come back on but when the dash went out so did all the windows usage on the door along with the light, when i got it back on the dash lights from messing ith the over head console my drivers window did not work still but the back one did and the light was back on. so its got me wondering if its a short in the over head console thats the issue for everything since that seems to be able to start and stop stuff from working.

not sure when i can get back to it but any thoughts and idea's?

thanks

ryan

Noah911

I hope someone helps with this.. I am starting to read up on all the electical issues that plague the Jeep. The ZJ years appear to have it the worst! I want to have a heads-up on all of the electrical quirks ahead of time. I have a 1997, and its got some strange stuff electrically. My drivers side window going up or down seems to have a dual purpose, as it also controls the interior lighting!

rgs80074

i would like to know more about doing electrical but i swear anytime i tried i get a headache.

Noah911

Working on the electrical can definitely cause headaches! Once I got used to the inevitable HA, and started to try and learn how it all does its thing to work, it became satisfying. It is kind of interesting to know it some to be able to rely on it for testing things out, and be able to figure out better where the problems start and end for parts failing to work correctly, or at all. It can become totally frustrating when trying to trace down an electrical problem when you don't even have any idea on where to start looking!

rgs80074

yes its frustrating cause it seems its the switch but when it was working for both the front and rear drivers side i could move that console and not only would it kill the dash but it would kill the doors ability to roll down even those windows.

another mechanic who was going to work on the jeep couldn't think of anything in the console that would cause that but he moved and all the ones now want to just throw parts at it. had a work around for the common window lock button failure but my jeep is the odd ball year so it don't have the wiring at the same places or the same colors.

but for my purpose i need the windows to work more than ac, although i can't drive during the day without ac without myself getting over heated. why oh why am i still in florida i don't know.

ryan

BlueRidgeMark

Tired, didn't read in detail, so apologies in advance if this has been covered. Both the door switches and the wires to the doors are very common places for these problems. The wires flex every time you open or close the door, so they often break inside the insulation. They may show perfect continuity with a meter!!!

Replacing those wires is probably the firs thing you should do.

Disconnect the battery first!

Basically, you need to open things up, follow each wire (one at a time!) and cut about a foot or more out of it where it passes from the vehicle to the door. Use good quality butt splices and a good quality crimper, and replace each wire.


NOTE: This is NOT a good quality crimper!


Don't buy this!



This is a good quality crimper.


Ratcheting crimper, good! Consistent results. (Ignore those cheap vinyl connectors!)


Also a good crimper:


Simple, effective.


Now, use good quality butt connectors (nylon, not vinyl), like these or these, and you will have a good repair job.


Then, if you still have problems, it's time to look at the switches. Oh, and clean your grounds.

Noah911

I have a good buddy. He is a mechanic did a lot of diesels. Now he primarily rebuilds some sweet engines!

Anyway. He has soo many tools! He was always talking about the importance of having a good quality crimping wire tool.

rgs80074

ok going to try this again for some reason the post didn't go through.

i don't have even a cheap crimper and electrical work on vehicles bothers me (rip 76 duster i killed with my electrical dumbassiery).

i can't do lots of work outside in the heat especially during the summer in florida.

i've checked or tried to check the wires inbetween the door and vehicle from what i could see they all looked good, don't know how to test them.

wires in the door panel looked good for the drivers side, again i don't test only visually inspect.

i tried doing that window lock button failure workaround but my oddball jeep year don't confirm with he videos i found on it (did a post on this before) so that was a no go for me.

at this point i think replacing the switch is the quickest and easiest test, if it don't work after that its something more complicated.

i can kill both the dash panel and door windows by moving the over head console so there definitely is something in there wrong, broken wire, bare wire touching the metal roof i don't know but its on my list of things to look at.

all grounds that i know of look good and tight

when i do push a windows button the light on the door drastically dims, so i think that might indicate something and i am leaning towards the switch for it.

i have other work to do on the jeep so i can get it on the road again (bleeding the brakes) and then a couple of repairs i don't want to mess with to take care of minor oil leak (valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket).

then in order to drive it, i need to have either the ac fixed (ac bearings) or the windows fixed, both fixed to truly be useful at any time of the day and for work.

ryan

dave1123

Your jeep was built around the time manufacturers started being required to use lead free solder. Lead free solder tends to be brittle and crack, causing poor connections, especially in circuit boards. My advise is to take apart both the driver's door module and the overhead console and check every solder connection, heat them and flow in a tiny bit of leaded electronic solder. Use a tiny pencil iron so you don't overheat any components. You can still get leaded solder, but you've got to know where to look for it. Like maybe a foreign country? Online? I'm lucky enough to have gotten a 1 lb spool of 1/16" solid wire solder at a garage sale. All I have to do is wet the tip of the iron with it, then heat the connection until it flows. I clean the tip with paste resin first. Nocorode by name brand.

94zj318

Those switch panels typically go bad, and it'll cause one or more door locks and/or windows to not function properly or at all... that happened in my '94, and I replaced the faulty switch, and it fixed the issue... the problem is figuring out which switch is bad, which entails going around to each window and pressing the switch to see if it's functional or not... once you've found the switch that doesn't work, that's your faulty switch.

-Vince

rgs80074

hello,

if the switch is bad i figure its the master door switch and probably the window lock button thats gone bad, either that or all switches in the jeep went bad at the same time. when its working all windows work from their doors and the master drivers door, when its not none of them work from anywhere.

its typical for wires to be the problem but given that when its working it works just fine so its less likely a wire breakage than the switch itself. the window lock button on the master switch is a known issue and there is a work around unfortunately for my specific year the work around was no help because the wires in the videos was not at that place on my jeep and no other wires had the same color configuration as in the video's so i didn't dare start messing with them.

i will know within a week i've ordered another master switch which this years jeep master switch is expensive, i got it for over 350 bucks cheaper than a new one but more than what i found new ones for other years, go figure.

so its either going to fix it or i'll still have the issue but at this point its the easiest thing to do to rule something out or fix it.

ryan

Noah911

$350.00 whoaly moeleey! Thats a lot of ca-ching for the part... I hope it works

rgs80074

no brand new thats the cheapest i've seen while other years around 50 bucks.

i got a re-certified one for 57 bucks

i should get it friday

but with everything going on i am not sure when i'll get to it

heck i replaced the calipers a few months ago and i've not had a chance to bleed the system yet

but you know how that is, other things take a priority like
home roof leak
home central ac not working
window unit crapping out making the house hot as **** causing lack of good sleep and then when i do its not good and i end up being over heated and tired all the time
leaking toilet
home electrical 60 years old so not really up to date with modern requirements
have a 100 foot power cord running from the new window unit to a newer remodeled area of the house otherwise the breakers keep flipping
the bidget also is leaking when used (i've been spoiled on them)
mother in vehicle accident last week

and the list goes on and on

just throw stuff on the list to get done and when i get stuff done i get it done

ryan

rgs80074

well,

still waiting on the replacement switch, seems the postal service has lost the package.

had to move the vehicle today to mow and for ****s and giggles i tried the windows. all the windows rolled up and down except for the drivers side window.

97grand4.0

Steady the parts cannon, steady now, steady.....