AZJeff

Good points. I have not checked to see if there are any intermittent shorts to either ground or power on the lines I have tested. I will do that.

Yeah, I realize that, and that’s why these intermittent issues are bugging me, since I checked continuity of ALL. Circuits except the CCD bus.

I cannot remember if I bypassed this particular wire (I did SO MANY), but I DID ohm-out EVERY wire in the system (except the CCD bus), with no sign of issues.🙁

I don’t have the upgrade, based on my dash wiring harness. So this improvement was never introduced during production, and all connector upgrades/fixes were dealer installed?

I assume the DRB3 is a dealer diagnostic tool. What do you think the odds are of a Jeep dealer having this tool as it applies to anXJ? Where does this tool tap into the instrument cluster and the cruise functions? Is it put in line in the cluster-to-dash interface? I ask because my thought is to strip all the trim off the dash, thus exposing the cluster directly, and then go to one of the large Jeep dealers here in the PHX area, and convince the shop to pay them just to run diagnostics using theDRB3. (Showing up with a 1989 Comanche and telling them to run diagnostics on the dash like it was a 2000XJ would be amusing.) I always prided myself on being able to fix all of my XJ’s I have owned, but I admit I am between a rock and hard place here. On the other hand, I am cheap and poor, so I don’t want to write a blank check to a dealer so a young tech. can learn about the primitive electronics of a 20 year old Jeep🤨

The XJ brake light switch for the later models has a set of contacts dedicated to the cruise control circuit that are "normally closed" when the brake pedal is NOT depressed. I not only temporarily bypassed this switch (with no effect), but also replaced the switch since it was acting a big flakey for the brake lights anyhow. Still no change.

The cruise won’t work. The light does not stay on long enough to see if it works when it’s illuminated. i bypassed the brake light switch temporarily to see if that was the issue. No joy.

Yeah, I bypassed the (new) CS, and it had no effect. I ran wires directly from my second (functionally identical) CC switches to the PCM. No effect. This one has me really puzzled.

Oh, I replaced that too, because the horn was not functional. I forgot to mention that. It did nothing for the cruise.

OK, so here is my problem: I press the cruise control power "on" switch on the steering wheel, and about 1/3 of the time, the light saying "cruise" illuminates in the cluster, indicating the cruise is ready to accept commands. In anywhere between 2 and 10 seconds thereafter, the "cruise" light shuts off, and cannot be turned on again until the vehicle is shut off and restarted. The issue "may" be connected to bumps and jars in the road surface, since I am always moving when I attempt to turn the cruise control on. So far, I have, with the aid of the factory shop manual for a 2000XJ, checked continuity for all wires between the steering column and the PCM, and from the PCM to the cruise control servo. I even temporarily bypassed ALL the wires between the PCM and servo, and between the PCM and the steering column switches. None of that did anything. I also replaced the cruise control servo with new OEM since the connector on it looked "nasty" but there was not change. I installed a different set of cruise control buttons (used) in the steering wheel, but they ohm out with the same impedances as the original set, and thus there was no change there. I even sent the PCM out to the shop that had previously "remanfactured" the PCM before I owned the vehicle, and asked them to confirm if the PCM cruise control functions are normal. They reported no trouble found. I also ran the instrument cluster through it's self-diagnostic tests, and it passes them all per the shop manual. I am convinced the issue is some sort of intermittent connection in the cruise control circuit(s), and I have tested all circuits except ONE. The ONLY part of the system I cannot test is the twisted pair CCD wiring between the instrument cluster and the PCM. Apparently there is a diagnostic tool dealers used to verify the function of this communication bus, but I, of course, do not have that tool. Do you have any suggestions?

Were you a tech at a Jeep dealer back when this issue was going on? If so, I have some questions about the CCD bus, if you know anything about the details of it's operation. Please advise and, if so, we can take this to private message to avoid a topic that is not really pertinent to "regular" MJ's.

As my sig lines shows, my MJ has a dashboard from a 97+ XJ in it. I am trying to track down intermittent cruise control light function on the instrument cluster, and I suspect the issue may be a CCD bus communication issue. The CCD bus runs thru the two blind mate connectors on the back of the instrument cluster, and I know there was some sort of TSB related to these connectors having erratic operation. I think the TSB involved changing these connectors to a more reliable design. how can I determine if my connectors are of the older (flakey) design, or the new improved variant!

Thanks!!

I agree, and even with a ball joint/u-joint press, it’s a pain. I have gotten more careful over the years, after trashing a few yokes the one in the photo from the OP. I also always clean the bores of the yokes with sandpaper or emery cloth before a press in the new cups.

Depending on the environment where the donor vehicle resided, it may be questionable to use junkyard seatbelts. Fo example, a belt from a vehicle here in AZ where the belt has had sun beating on it steadily for years with the window down or door open/missing would probably have belt webbing quite sun-weakened.

Perhaps. I have detailed photos of a disassembled 97+ XJ heater box. If someone has photos os a disassembled pre-97 XJ/MJ heater box, I would be glad to compare them.

I got replacements from "Seat Belts Plus" , but they were not perfect. Very good construction, but they have a small flaw: Because the MJ retractor is mounted higher up than the XJ, the end of the belt when it's fully retracted (stowed), the belt flopped around enough to fall out the door. I needed to shorten the belt to get rid of the excess slack. To do this, I ended up cutting off some of the belt and having someone resew the end where the belt attaches to the metal cleat that bolts to the inside of the rocker panel adjacent to the seat. I think I wound up taking off about 12 inches. I cut the belt and heat sealed the end of the webbing, and then took the metal cleat with the cut-off webbing to get it sewn. A regular seamstress wouldn't touch my request, since her sewing machine wasn't strong enough to run the heavy thread through the three layers of webbing to match the original factory stitching method. I wound up going to a saddle shop, and told the guy to fold/stitch the webbing exactly like it was done with the factory pattern. He had no problem doing so, because he had a sewing machine that would stitch through up to TWO INCHES of leather The end result it about as close as you can get to OEM belts. (Actually, they are better, since the inboard end of the belt uses one of those stiff plastic coated cables instead of a flat type stiffener.)

Interesting. What's most notable is that, for the most part, I cannot think of any modern cars that have a water shutoff valve for the heater core. It's like the auto manufacturers figure it's not worth the hassle (probably more likely the cost) of adding in that device for the small difference. I kinda wonder if my old 2000 XJ (or my current MJ with 2001 dash) had sported a heater valve if it would have been more efficient. I guess if I REALLY want to get motivated, I can temporarily bypass the core and do some measuring. Maybe this summer.....

The later XJ’s were plumbed from the factory without the heater control valve, and I never noticed poor AC performance because of it, and I live in Phoenix. if I had an XJ or MJ with a leaky valve, I would delete it.

To make sure the nuts don’t come loose, beat the free end of the threads to distort them. It’s like hillbilly nut staking. I hope you realize I am kidding, of course.

Actually, I have both driving lights and fogs on my MJ. The fogs are for illuminating the sides of trails and the large rocks on them. The driving lights are more for the rural highways. I suspect that AZ law enforcement are a bit more lenient on aux. lighting as opposed to back East, as long as one is not a complete jerk about when/where one uses that added illumination.

I know that many people reuse u-bolts all the time, but all the spring shops I know of say it’s not a wise practice, for reasons Dzimm noted. reusing nuts should not be an issue, since it’s the bolt that yields, and not the nut, when the torque is applied.

I will have to consult my shop manual to see what are the possible causes of no reverse gear. in the meantime, if I was swapping in a replacement AW-4, I would put un a new front pump seal, a new filter, and a new pan gasket before I installed it.

Here is a pro tip—NEVER use a screw extractor on a threaded fastener that has broken off due to corrosion. Those devices are intended for use on screws are are still relatively easy to remove, but broken at or below flush. for bolts such as those the OP encountered, drilling in successively larger increments until you get to the proper size for the tap to chase/recut the threads is the way to restore the threads with lowest risk.

That's a pretty neat setup. Since my MJ didnt have any of the factory parts, I wound up cobbling together my own setup from XJ pieces and other stuff. My jack setup has to add some pieces that the factory never needed. Since my MJ has a 3.5 inch lift, I have to carry a section of 4x4 wood as a spacer to put under the jack to get the proper lift height. Another thing I need here in AZ is a small piece of plywood (about 12 x 18") to put under the jack when it's being used in soft gravel/sand/dirt. Otherwise the jack just buries itself in the dirt. I wound up modifying the jack setup so the plywood goes against the cab wall, and the jack sits on top of the 4x4 block, and the whole thing is attached with a velcro strap to keep it in place. My lug wrench is an MJ/XJ type, but since I don't have the original spare tire winch, I made my own spare tire carrier using the winch from a Ford Explorer, and that required I come up with another way to engage the winch. I used a 1/4 drive socket welded to the crank shaft of the Explorer winch, and a long 1/4 drive extension and a "speeder" handle allows me to crank the spare up and down. The lug wrench, socket extension, and speeder handle are in a pouch my wife sewed for me under the drivers seat. It does the trick, but it's certainly not even CLOSE to OEM.