Mongo

I'm sorry. I know enough to be a danger to myself and others when it comes to electrical troubleshooting :dunce: My background is mechanical, and specifically turbine engine technology. We only ring out wires for electrical continuity, if they are bad, there is a whole differenct class of folks who work them for me. The good news is I have been able to somewhat follow the suggestions to get me to the point that I believe the truck will be fixed today. What you guys are saying about current draw makes perfect sense and something that I had forgotten about. Will check that when I get back out of work today and update what I find. Thanks!! :bowdown:

Okay, did what was suggested, plus a couple of other things, have two questions for electrical gurus before I officially call it fixed. question 1. I removed the negative cable from the battery and set up the multimeter between the post and the cable. I then started to remove the fuse links from the starter relay as I was showing a 12v draw. when I removed the one for the alternator, it went away. Should this show voltage with the key off? question 2. I could not get power after the warm up until I put a jumper to ground. Everything worked great including voltage from alternator at 13.5. I checked all grounds for security but did not find one that looked bad, but did not ring them out. I guess I will put one in permanently from the post to the frame. Will this cause any issues that anyone can think of?

Front turn signal socket. My 87's socket eventually rusted out where the bulb contacts are supposed to be, snipped off the wires and installed a $5 GM replacement socket from the Help section of the auto parts store. I had to both of them eventually since the long copper piece on the side of the socket is what left the building. Check that if your internal dash lamp turn indicator is on when the lights are on.

Try this:

Also check the ballast resistor on the drivers side fender wall (has two orange wires hooked to a ceramic thingy). If it is broke the truck will stall after it starts. Mine was broke in half and stalled out after it would start. You can jumper between the wires as a quick check.

Will try that this afternoon. I also purchased a new negative cable and will utilize the ground strap that it comes with today. Barring that I will hook up a light in between the post and cable and start disconnecting items from the start solenoid until (or if) I find something draining the power. Thanks. Will definitely post up the "cure" when I find it.

Well replaced all the fusible links today, checked all fuses. It started, ran well. Had the lights on while running around the truck looking at things. Let it idle and rev for about ten minutes. Decided I might test drive, stepped on the brake and truck died. lights did there crazy thing and.... Guess I will pull the rear light and check the ground there. Alternator was charging, and it is the weekend, so no chance on an ECU. If the ECU was bad, would it run at all?

Towed it home today, too windy and cold to do anything. supposed to warm up tomorrow. Did locate an 87 ECU at the junkyard (not pick n pull) for $60. Will pick that up monday. Truck will run okay cold, long enough to get it on the trailer. but dies as soon as the coolant warms up. Tomorrow, will pull ECU, alternator, check all fuses and start looking at wires. Will let you know what I find.

Might just be the rubber plunger in the slave cylinder. I had the same issue and bought a rebuild kit for about $30.

Well, went to the store, tested battery (toast) replaced it, the starter relay, fuel pump relay,latch relay. Checked the wires and fusible links physically today, but with 23 yr old wires they all kinda felt rubbery, especially the orange one with the blade connector. I am headed back out tomorrow morning with a multimeter and wire diagram to test the power wires for a short to ground. will also crawl underneath to check the ground at the starter. The ground from the battery to the block and from same post on block to the frame appear solid. I did hit the key after replacing all the parts, it did fire up. I let it idle for a bit and got the fluids up to temperature when it started to run intermittantly like something was shorting to ground. crazy dimming lights and 360 sweep on the tach. while watching this for a bit, i spent some time wiggling the fusible links and relay bank, but it didnt appear to make a difference. Eventually, the truck died. I could get it started again, but it runs like poo when warm. Disconnected the battery when I left, as I did not need to drain the new one down. I need to get a photo account up to post pictures, may do that tomorrow if I find something. Otherwise I will tow it home.

Thanks! looking up the interchange parts now, also going to replace the pump relay, latch and what ever that third one is for as soon as i can locate the parts.

So... foggy in denver this morning, left my lights on all day. :doh: Asked one of the guys at work to give me a jump. Didn't pay much attention to his side of the cables.....and he reversed them on his truck. Long story short, smoke escaped from some lucky component and I am stuck waiting for a ride. Currently looking up a list of items that might be hard to get from Checker. Anybody ever have this and what did you need to replace? I did notice that the fuse link "A" is missing insulation now to the starter relay. I can get the truck to run if I am patient but guages are sweeping funny and the park brake and seat belt lights illuminate when I open the door. Looking through manuals now, certainly don't have the tools to do anything until the weekend. Other symtoms: Intermittant electical power to maintain a running truck, tach does 360's, battery guage goes to discharge. Where is Mr. Hornbrod when you need him?

I bought mine new in 1987

Ditto, mine cracked in half, they are pretty cheap. If it you have that start issue again, you can jumper the two wires to see if that takes care of the problem, but you still want to replace it after that test.

Gotta be those way cool steel rims!

http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/cto/1576970735.html I know Colorado was getting liberal with medicinal marijuana clinics, just didnt know how prolific it was getting until this!

That is just crazy crap. I wish these people would just take their frustrations out on themselves instead of others. Hope your daughter is safe and well.

I will get a transmission as soon as this one completely dies, but don't want to hasten the death because of a worn out rubber mount. Still working on other issues that are higher priority, like hanging the rust free door that I just purchased as well as installation of some remanned fuel injectors. I could not find a thread on our website to a conversion, and the XJ site will not allow you to search unless you open your wallet a little.

I need a new mount after 250k miles. Has anyone modified an ax15 mount (way cheaper) to work? or is there an aftermarket one that is cost less than any I have found on the internet.

6'5". bought the truck in 1987 'cause it was the only midsize that didn't put the chair on the floor for head room like toyota, chevy luv/S10 and ranger. Head room is good!

Mine has 230,000 miles on it. leaks a little, doesnt like 2nd in the cold. PS. hate reading about resurfacing :( . Unfortunately, mine was resurfaced at 110,000 mile mark. havent noticed any issues though :dunno:

I will have to give it another shot. It only drips right now, but I have every other leak fixed, this one seems a little tougher to get stopped. I do always remove the belt when working on this housing.

I had it installed in the recess, held it in place with a thin bead of sealant, but it is possible that it may have slipped.

Yes, gasket scraped off and even sanded the surface slightly before running a thin bead of Blue RTV around that section of the block. I also used dental floss to ensure the gasket stayed aligned in the holes on the housing before mating it to the block.

Okay, put in a new thermostat. bought the gasket from Autozone or checker (can't remember they are across the street from each other), anyway the gasket seemed awful thin. Bolted together, and it leaked from the housing. Tried to tighten up the housing and cracked it in half :fs1: Went to the yard and picked up another for a buck. Bought two gaskets, gooped and reinstalled. Dang thing still leaks. Anyone else had this issue? I've done this a couple of times on this truck and seem to remember the gasket being ALOT thicker. Should I just buy some bulk cork and make one?