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No start after new tank and bed reinstall


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Got my truck re-assembled last night after removing bed, replacing fuel tank, coating body with Monstaliner and reassembling bed.  Looks great!  Added an additional ground for fuel sender/fuel pump at wiring harness as recommended by Cruiser54.  Reinstalled a freshen-up stock ground at rear tail lamp.   Finally all back together and I went to start it and....nothing.  I ran out of time to crawl around to troubleshoot more and with the symptoms, I'm wondering if I may had missed something MJ-related that I'm perhaps not aware of.  Therefore I ask for your thoughts, fellas.

 

1.  Upon turning key to start, I hear a low hum of the fuel pump.  Happily, my fuel gauge is registering correctly.

2.  As I make my final turn to engage starter, I hear only a very light (and slightly delayed) click in the engine bay- but the engine does not turn over at all.  There is simply nothing there.  I assume the click is maybe starter solenoid.   

3.  The only work I'd done in the engine bay was to remove my air box.  Reinstall was uneventful.

4.  Another weird thing going on is my front driver's turn signal flashes when I apply brakes.  That didn't happen before. 

5.  I have a fully-charged battery.

 

The bed had been jostled around quite a bit with bed wiring flopping around, so maybe the brake light issue has something to do with that.  I will remove a piss-poor trailer light wiring install and I hope that has something to do with it.

 

One of the first things I plan to do is to remove my newly added ground wire at the fuel tank harness connector--just to see if this has anything to do with the no start (doesn't seem likely to me) or the weird front signal/brake issue.  Perhaps I chose the wrong wire as ground (it was black as instructed by Cruiser54).  But I wouldn't think it would have anything to do with the engine not turning over. 

 

I guess the big question is in fact this:  Is there something I've done over the last few weeks that would affect the engine not cranking over?

 

 

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try cleaning the battery terminals and cable clamps mating surfaces.  my MJ was notorious for getting a thin film of buildup between the 2. 

 

or try gently smacking the starter with a hammer.  it's possible it's just stuck.  :thumbsup: 

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3 hours ago, cruiser54 said:

Probably a coincidence.

 

check the starter relay's connections.

 

1 hour ago, Pete M said:

try cleaning the battery terminals and cable clamps mating surfaces.  my MJ was notorious for getting a thin film of buildup between the 2. 

 

or try gently smacking the starter with a hammer.  it's possible it's just stuck.  :thumbsup: 

 

Sounds along the lines of what I have been thinking.  Cable clamps are pretty fresh and clean, with some OxyGuard lubeing the two mating surfaces.  I figured that the tail lamp wiring and the wiring going to the fuel tank probably wouldn't effect the actual cranking of the engine, but hey I'm still a MJ newby. 

 

Thanks a milllion, Pete M and Cruiser54!!  'll take a close look at the starter and starter relay connections tonight.  Just weird that it may be coincidental.  Sure hope that's the case. 

 

Any thoughts on the front turn signal lighting up when I press the brakes?  The brakes do operate normally, but the left turn signal wasn't working properly, unlike the right side.

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how old/cold is the battery?  soon as it got cold my old optima finally showed it's true age. :(  showed that it had charged, but had no balls behind the voltage.  

 

check all bulb sockets for corrosion.  

 

and it's not weird at all for a truck that's been sitting to fail to start.  :thumbsup: 

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2 hours ago, Pete M said:

how old/cold is the battery?  soon as it got cold my old optima finally showed it's true age. :(  showed that it had charged, but had no balls behind the voltage.  

 

check all bulb sockets for corrosion.  

 

and it's not weird at all for a truck that's been sitting to fail to start.  :thumbsup: 

It's cold here in Southern Indiana, below freezing point the last few days, but I've got the truck in a heated garage.  I have all new sockets up front and will give the rears a good cleaning and relube tonight when I get home. 

 

Battery is less than a year old. 

 

I just remembered that I crushed a rear bulb over the last couple of weeks.  I replaced a backup bulb and possibly a brake/turn signal bulb since I had it running last.  I'll go back and recheck that i put the correct replacements back in.  Maybe that has something with the funky front turn signal lighting up during braking..  

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I Had this exact problem... dummy me!! turns out it was one of the connections on the drivers side under the dash was pluged in a bit crooked and not all the way in, only making contact with a few wires, also when I pushed my brake pedal in my rear lights acted up instead of the fronts while this happened. 

 

 

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20 hours ago, coolwind57 said:

 

 

Any thoughts on the front turn signal lighting up when I press the brakes?  The brakes do operate normally, but the left turn signal wasn't working properly, unlike the right side.

 

Check for a set of bullet connectors under the tailgate area, they are there for a license plate light if the truck came without a rear bumper (it was an option). If they are plugged together the circuit will back feed itself when the brake lights are applied. Simply unplug them and cover them up from the elements.

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50 minutes ago, ComancheKid45 said:

 

Check for a set of bullet connectors under the tailgate area, they are there for a license plate light if the truck came without a rear bumper (it was an option). If they are plugged together the circuit will back feed itself when the brake lights are applied. Simply unplug them and cover them up from the elements.

 

I removed my license plate harness lights.  They do have bullet connectors.  I also have a second set of bullet connectors and I'm not sure what they were for, as nothing is plugged into them.  Anyhow, removing the light harness didn't solve my problem.

 

I drove the truck last night for the first time in weeks.  Here's more info on what's going on with my screwy lights:

1.  Pull on headlight switch and headlights work as designed.  Rear brake lights not illuminated.  No dash lights.

2.  When I press brake pedal, rear brake lights activate and driver's front turn signal activate.  And dash lights come on.  As soon as I let off pedal, these lights deactivate.

3.  Driver's side turn signals do not work.  Passenger side does.

 

I remember that I had accidentally pulled my ground wire from my new relay-driven headlight harness on the driver's side.  I did this when I was pulling my air box.  I reinstalled it ok.  Since my problems seem to be focused on the driver's side, I think I'll inspect my harness closely tonight at that location.  

 

I'll also check the connection of the main wiring harness going to the rear end.  This terminates to a connector that isn't far from the rear tail lamps.  I disconnect this to remove the bed.  Perhaps I don't have it connected well.  

 

I also need to check the aftermarket trailer harness connections, as a PO had spliced into the rear harness section.  I have a feeling it wasn't done so well.

 

Absolutely worst case scenario is that I smashed the wiring behind the fuel tank or something.  I had to pull the new tank twice as I struggled to get the rubber hoses connected and aligned well at the gas cap.  Good Lord above, I cringe at the thought of having to remove that tank to access possibly damaged wiring.  

 

So that's my plan of attack tonight.  I certainly welcome more troubleshooting ideas, friends.  I am dying to have this thing back on the road!  

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22 hours ago, coolwind57 said:
On 12/11/2017 at 7:08 AM, cruiser54 said:

Probably a coincidence.

 

check the starter relay's connections.

 

23 hours ago, Pete M said:

try cleaning the battery terminals and cable clamps mating surfaces.  my MJ was notorious for getting a thin film of buildup between the 2. 

 

or try gently smacking the starter with a hammer.  it's possible it's just stuck.  :thumbsup: 

 

Sounds along the lines of what I have been thinking.  Cable clamps are pretty fresh and clean, with some OxyGuard lubeing the two mating surfaces.  I figured that the tail lamp wiring and the wiring going to the fuel tank probably wouldn't effect the actual cranking of the engine, but hey I'm still a MJ newby. 

 

Thanks a milllion, Pete M and Cruiser54!!  'll take a close look at the starter and starter relay connections tonight.  Just weird that it may be coincidental.  Sure hope that's the case. 

 

Thanks to you guys, I got her cranking over last night.  Removed, cleaned and oxyguarded  starter relay connections.  Removed, fiddled-with and reinstalled my negative battery cable at battery.  She cranked over just fine and EVENTUALLY started.  Took about an hour of off-and-on cranking to purge air after that brand new fuel tank install.  Engine finally fired and now she runs like a scolded dog.  

 

Noticed that the negative engine ground cable is in really quite bad condition.  I need to replace that entire cable soon.

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13 hours ago, coolwind57 said:
14 hours ago, ComancheKid45 said:

Check for a set of bullet connectors under the tailgate area, they are there for a license plate light if the truck came without a rear bumper (it was an option). If they are plugged together the circuit will back feed itself when the brake lights are applied. Simply unplug them and cover them up from the elements.

 

I removed my license plate harness lights.  They do have bullet connectors.  I also have a second set of bullet connectors and I'm not sure what they were for, as nothing is plugged into them.  Anyhow, removing the light harness didn't solve my problem.

 

I drove the truck last night for the first time in weeks.  Here's more info on what's going on with my screwy lights:

1.  Pull on headlight switch and headlights work as designed.  Rear brake lights not illuminated.  No dash lights.

2.  When I press brake pedal, rear brake lights activate and driver's front turn signal activate.  And dash lights come on.  As soon as I let off pedal, these lights deactivate.

3.  Driver's side turn signals do not work.  Passenger side does.

 

I remember that I had accidentally pulled my ground wire from my new relay-driven headlight harness on the driver's side.  I did this when I was pulling my air box.  I reinstalled it ok.  Since my problems seem to be focused on the driver's side, I think I'll inspect my harness closely tonight at that location.  

 

I'll also check the connection of the main wiring harness going to the rear end.  This terminates to a connector that isn't far from the rear tail lamps.  I disconnect this to remove the bed.  Perhaps I don't have it connected well.  

 

I also need to check the aftermarket trailer harness connections, as a PO had spliced into the rear harness section.  I have a feeling it wasn't done so well.

 

Absolutely worst case scenario is that I smashed the wiring behind the fuel tank or something.  I had to pull the new tank twice as I struggled to get the rubber hoses connected and aligned well at the gas cap.  Good Lord above, I cringe at the thought of having to remove that tank to access possibly damaged wiring.  

 

So that's my plan of attack tonight.  I certainly welcome more troubleshooting ideas, friends.  I am dying to have this thing back on the road!  

 

Ok, got her figured out.

 

As I was going through my troubleshooting steps, I found that a 2057 bulb had seized (looked partially melted) inside it's socket.  Driver's side rear.  Had to break the bulb and removed the metal housing with pliers.  It was seized in there really good.

 

Cleaned out all the hardened goop from all rear sockets --my fronts are all new.  Checked fuses under the dash.  Sure enough, Running Lights fuse was blown.   Put a new one in there, and she's totally back to life!  I almost shed a tear of joy.    Just so strange that this all caused the weird dash and front-signal-lights-coming-on-when-the-brakes-were-applied.  Perhaps I'll never know why this happened.  Just thrilled to have her completely back to life.

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If you had one crusty, gooey light socket...you likely have more.  I did all my sockets (lots of rust and corrosion) and disconnected and re-wired my trailer light mess when I was re-assembling my truck and all the lights are now surpisingly bright, much brighter than my XJ ever was.  You can clean out the old sockets with a dremel type tool or just replace the sockets altogether.  Now that I also  have the headlight harness upgrade all my lights are putting out very bright lighting. 

Next projects are eliminating the C101 and replacing the fuse box.  I know those are the reasons that my gauges are wonky and my radio is intermittent. 

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