Myron

So I'm driving my truck to work this morning. Everything seems fine. Just cruising along, and BOOM! CLANK CLANK CLANK CLHRRRRRRRRRRRDTTTHH. Truck starts smoking so bad no one behind me can see. Pull over, and everything under the drivers side of the head is covered in oil. :soap box: I'm reasonably sure I know what happened, my truck was mad because I moved it behind the shop while I was mowing. It sat there for a couple days because of the lights and oil pressure gauge not working. And decided it didn't want to run anymore. (or it lost oil pressure and slung a rod.) Something like this always happens when I try to DD a Comanche. No matter how good of shape it seems like it's in., or how careful I am when something isn't right, something breaks and as soon as it's fixed another problem comes up. I don't know what I'm going to do with this thing now. Oddly enough my Wrangler is down too, and I'm driving the 98 XJ I bought for parts. Looks like my wrangler will be up for grabs as soon as I get it fixed. I'm starting to debate whether or not to put another 4.0 in it and try to drive it everyday, or to just drive something else and have another toy.

I have redone the ground behind the driver's taillight. Also checked continuity between it and the the sockets. Is there another ground thst would be relevant to my problem? Or could that one still be bad?

Ok so now my rear lights quit working on the driver's side. No running light, brake, or signal. This is strange considering that, with my old harness, I could not get the drivers side to work no matter what I tried. I assumed the sockets were bad, or the wires were corroded somewhere else down the line. I'm starting to think the wires running to that side may be grounded out somewhere? Does anyone know a way to check for this? I don't know much about wiring, but seeing as I'm constantly running into wiring problems, I need to understand it clearly if I'm going to get anywhere.

I paid $1000 for a clean, rust free 88 4cylinder without any option but 4x4. Didn't even get power steering. Also have about $2700 in an 88 6cylinder with 4x4, 6 cylinder, A/C (not working, but it's there), and an ugly little wrecked spot in the back. It's all in how bad you want one and how long you're willing to wait for a good deal. I imagine you could get a good truck $2-3K.

Long post ahead. I took my bulbs out and with a meter I get 12v at the plug. Put a bulb in and it won't light up. Redo the ground and still nothing. If I have a bulb in the socket I lose my voltage reading at C156 if it's plugged in. So what's the issue? I'm no electrician but I'm guessing it's ohms or amps? I run a hot straight from the battery to the taillight harness and viola, my lights are burning. Well, some of them anyways. Ok, so my taillight harness was trash. Someone had stuck it with a test light so many times I could see light through it. I fixed it the best I could and still nothing. The copper inside the wires was so corroded that they had turned a nasty shade of greenish-black. I pulled the taillight harness from one of my other trucks and now everything's fine back there. I plugged my hot in C156 and my lights burn, then the brake switch, then the fusebox. All good? I've got a glorified redneck connector fused in my fusebox making it work for now. Blinkers don't work anymore, but I'll look into that later. Whatever my ohm/amp drop is, it's before the fusebox. I'll update when I find the problem.

I had a similar problem with my 4 cylinder. It ended up being the vacuum line that runs to the tank was burnt in two. Fuel tanks not getting proper vacuum can do some strange things. The seal on your sender may be to blame, letting your vacuum escape from there. Just a thought.

While trying to figure all this out today I unplugged the taillight harness and now I have 12v at C156 connectors P and N :banana: . I'm guessing I have a socket or two burnt up back there. Ellman605, unplug your taillight harness and see if it still grounds out when you hit the brakes. If so, your problem is in the harness somewhere. If not, your problem is either in the switch or the wiring leading from it to the harness plug.

I've got a 9" and a D44 with Yukon chromolys under my Wrangler. It also has a broke outer and a busted Warn premium hub from my stock 4.0 on some 38's from a little escapade I got into over the weekend. If you're a fan of the skinny pedal like me, you're going to need to ditch that running gear altogether to play on 37's.

So this has me stumped now. I started thinking since I checked the voltage without the connector plugged in it may not have completed the circuit. Thus explaining why I'm not seeing voltage on the other side of the turn/hazard switch assembly. Checking voltage at C156: Terminal P has 12v IF IT IS NOT PLUGGED IN, 0v otherwise. Terminal N has 0v regardless. I stumbled upon this trying to figure out why I couldn't get a reading from the back side of the connector. I plugged in my other steering column, it has a known good switch, and it does the same thing. I've seen some strange things before. But this makes no sense. Any thoughts?

I use a breaker bar on all 6 until they're free and then an air ratchet to buzz them off. I've seen too many Comanche's go off to scrapyards and junkyards already. I would rather help someone keep one going than see another one go off to that dreadful place.

Are your control arms moving like your bushings are wore out?

Both of mine came off easily. If you need a hand I'm not far away.

My apologies if I was unclear. I have checked voltage at the fuse, voltage at the pedal switch, and continuity at the switch when the pedal was depressed. All checked fine. I downloaded the 1988 MJ Electrical Troubleshooting manual and by following it's suggestions have came to this conclusion. My turn/hazard switch assembly is defective. I have a donor from my other 88 Comanche (that's getting the 97+ swap) and am currently working on getting it out. Has anyone had to replace this on account of the brake lights not working before? Also, Ellman605, have you downloaded this manual or checked this part?

Should work fine especially if you don't get in a bind. You may need a crossmember drop. If it comes down to it most machine shops can build you a driveshaft pretty cheap. Just bring them your old one and tell them how long it needs to be.

If you need a hand I'm in Alabama City. Wouldn't mind helping a fellow Comanche enthusiast :thumbsup:

IDK, but that T-case shifter is highly suspicious. Wonder if it's AWD????

Yes, but the 1157 and 2057 are different dual element bulbs. I don't know exactly what the difference is seeing as they both were in a socket designed for a 2057? My guess is the hotter prong is opposite on them. Like if you put the wrong one in the running light would be brighter than the turn signal? I cleaned the fuse panel the best I could and put lithium grease on the fuses to help them get a better connection in that corroded mess. Still no brake lights. I checked the pedal sensor, voltage at the sensor, and voltage at the fuse panel. All checked out fine. I'm going to check voltage at the taillight harness next chance I get unless someone has a better idea. Also looks like I'm driving my Wrangler until this gets sorted out. I haven't checked the gas mileage on it because it rarely sees the street. I'm guessing under 10MPG and unnecessary wear on my 38"TSL's doesn't have me jumping for joy to say the least.

My truck had an 1157 in one socket and a 2057 in the other on the passenger side. I replaced both with 2057 since one came apart when I took it out and the other had a burnt filament. Now the flashers all work properly... at least for a few minutes. Now my brake lights don't work at all. Neither do my hazards. But, my turn signals work fine??? I took apart the socket that had a burnt bulb in it and cleaned it as it appeared to be the culprit. Nope. Unplugged the tail light harness altogether and still nothing. I'm still thinking the fuse box is to blame. About halfway through cleaning it rain started pouring on me. I guess it'll wait until tomorrow.

Machinist. Make anything and everything that comes through the door. :thumbsup:

I have a Taurus TCP .380 that never leaves my side. It's been through it all with me the past couple years unless it legally couldn't go. I used to carry a S&W SIgma Series .40 and before that a Taurus Judge Public Defender. That Judge is the only firearm I've ever let go. It was fun with the 410, but as a .45 it couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from 25 yards.

I can't believe no one has mentioned Pantera! What is wrong with this world?

I dug into it tonight and made it worse. The only thing that makes sense is that one or more of my sockets are bad on my passenger side. The taillight on that side is a glob of "redneckitry". The truck was either wrecked or got a little too close to something in the woods now has a conglomeration of things that make up the lens. With my flashers on, the top and bottom lights flash opposite on that side. Also, one flashes bright and the other dim. On top of that when I press my brakes the lights quit flashing??? Maybe by the end of this we will have figured out the answer to the ellman605's original problem lol.

I put another new socket in and now my lights work :banana: . I checked with my flashers on and noticed something odd tho. My passenger side flashers opposite my driver side. To clarify, rather than flashing together, it comes on when the rest go out. It looks strange with my flashers on lol. It isn't really an issue. However, I see it being looked into a little closer before long.

Looks like I'm about to be doing some (more) wiring on this truck. When I disconnect the wire from the sender it zeros out. I took the old mount out and it didn't have a single bolt holding it to the transmission. Why is it every one of my Comanches have been missing important bolts? My white one only had 9 lug nuts on it when I drove it home. :hmm: My old mount may be ripped, but it functions much better bolted in. That will hopefully get me by until I can fork over $80 for another one, or find an AX-15. Thanks guys for your help. Maybe this thing will turn out to be a decent machine?

I'm with Eagle on this one. Also look at your wheels and if they have excessive weights on them, the tires may be to blame for being out of round.