Another project for my 1990 Wrangler YJ

Oct 18, 2006 6 Replies
N

Well I've got my 4wd Posi-Lok installed and seems to work decent but will not know more for awhile since I've got other projects to go through before going onto some good offroad trips. One thing I've noticed while working on my jeep in the engine compartment is that when I touch certain wires my buzzer inside the jeep goes off and its corresponding with the seat belt light.... and sometimes I can even turn my stereo system on...



I know that the wiring is probably hosed because there are a lot of cut wires that I have no clue where they would have gone or what they are for on the firewall and I'm looking for some suggestions. If I decide to replace the wiring harness (which seems to be a good idea), other than being a pain in the butt is it something a Newbie can do? Are there complete kits out there that I could purchase with great instructions to follow on where this wire goes and all that good stuff specifically made for my Jeep? I've got the 4.2l 258 Engine and looking for some ideas. Hopefully not breaking to many pennies out of my piggy bank but have seen they can be spendy...



Thanks again to all in advance.



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B

Clean and grease all your engine compartment grounds and battery cables. Remember that cables have 2 ends.

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N

So your saying when I change the wires make sure the grounds are nice and clean and connected good. I understand the concept of having 2 ends to the cables and appreciate the reminder. I guess after looking at it more last night after the post I'm sure that I will install a new wiring harness because the one in place is messy with so many cut wires on it and I think that might be where my problem is. Instead of dealing with each cut wire a new harness seems easier but if anyone has experience with them and an idea on a not overly expensive solution I would appreciate it.

Thanks again.

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M

The harness comes apart into sections at the back of the fuse panel. You undo the center bolt and the section plugs come out. One will be for the engine harness, one for the front clip light harness inside the engine bay. The other harness pieces come off inside at the same time. Again one piece for the dash and one piece for the body and it's lights.

Places like painless wiring sell kits:

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They only list up to the 86 CJ wiring, but the underhood harness for an

86 CJ7 is 'really' close to the under hood wiring of a 1990 YJ with the 258 in it.

Other places sell them also.

You might want to get a Haynes CJ manual also. It's wiring diagrams are right on for the later CJ's and I have used it to rewire a couple YJ's after fires caused by shorts also. The YJ book is crap for the 258 or

4.2 engine bay setup.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >
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N

Mike,

Thanks again for the input. I've noticed the yj info isn't the greatest and will look into the cj stuff if its close and will work. I'm hoping to find some wiring harnesses for the yj from someone or a junkyard instead of having to purchase a full new one or ones. If I understand correctly there is the main wiring harness, the light harness and the radio/dash harness. Is that correct or am I missing one?

Thanks again and I am sorry to sound stupid.

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M

The body tub has it's own harness chunk, same as the engine.

The CJ book is the best one for the pre 91 YJ's because they are close to the CJ design. After that, DC started messing with them.

The wiring under the hood is almost identical except some of the pollution crap and that depends on where the Jeep was sold.

Mike

NewbieJeepGuy wrote:

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