GrandBoost98 Posted July 5, 2023 Share Posted July 5, 2023 My first comanche was great but it needed a lot of love. I found a great deal on another MJ near by that needed similar work but was more worthy of my time and money. It's a 1987 Laredo with lots of factory goodies. It was supposedly a farm truck for most of its life. Then a body shop teacher bought it in 2021 and had it for about a year. Then the kid I bought it from had it for a couple years. The body work isn't the best but it's still in better overall condition than my other MJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 5, 2023 Author Share Posted July 5, 2023 I started cleaning it up over the weekend. The interior really wasnt bad but did have some stains here and there and smelt like mice were in there at some point. I vacuumed, stain removed, vacuumed some more and threw an air freshener in there. Looks and smells much better than before. I also swapped some stuff over from the other comanche like; ebrake release handle, factory jack and accessories, some vacuum lines, radiator cap, wood grain dash and some small misc things. At some point the driver door was replaced so it doesnt have the matching vent wing window, chrome window trim and they removed the driver side chrome drip rail. Also missing the driver side under seat trim. And The original tow mirrors rotted off and they replaced them with these after market ones. Not sure how I feel about them yet Pulling it off the trailer, the high pressure steering hose sprung a leak which put a damper on things. I also noticed the rear brake reservoir was empty so I'm sure theres a rusted line back there somewhere. And it does this thing where it won't start on the first try. You have to catch it while its winding down and crank it again then it fires right up. The PO told me about the starting issue and that he tried a CPS but it didnt change anything. So I started ordering a bunch of stuff for it. Full tune up; plugs, wires, cap, rotor, oil/gas/air filter, high pressure steering hose. Took a bunch of pictures but its always such a struggle to get pictures to upload here Seems the only way it works is if I screenshot and crop the pics which gets old fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 5, 2023 Author Share Posted July 5, 2023 Started a battle with the power steering hose after work. The fitting on the box was a royal PITA. But after much cursing and busted knuckles, I got the new one in! Tried uploading more pics at home on wifi but still no luck @Pete M Is my picture problem the same issue I was having in my other build thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 nothing changed here, so it's likely the same issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 On 5/30/2023 at 6:13 PM, Pete M said: ok, so it appears your personal allotment was full, which explains why you can't upload the big things. but our site has a feature that is supposed to be auto-shrinking the files and it wasn't doing that for you. so it's fixed right now, but I gotta dig deeper to see why it ever happened in the first place. 9 hours ago, Pete M said: nothing changed here, so it's likely the same issue. When you get a chance, would you be able to fix it again? Is there like a paid membership here that would give me a larger personal allotment? Id love to give back to this community and also share my pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 oh, I was thinking of another guy's uploading issues. your photos are having the same problem as before though, but it's systemic of a problem with our software. the photos should be auto-shrinking and they aren't. still working on that. software isn't my forte. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 10, 2023 Author Share Posted July 10, 2023 This weekend I got to spend more time on the comanche. Started off with a good engine bay cleaning. Then I did spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor. The plugs that were in there werent old but didnt look great and were all hand tight! Replaced some dry rotted vacuum lines while I was in there, still some odd sizes I need to pick up. I also cleaned up the engine block grounds, the ground on the driver fender and added a ground from the battery to the passenger fender. The starter cranked so much faster! But still will only start on the second try. I noticed one of the hoses coming out of the heater core was leaking so I just replaced all the heater hoses and got a new radiator cap for good measure. The guy before just replaced the valve going to the heater core otherwise I would have bypassed it. He also replaced the waterpump and thermostat but I havent seen the temp go above about 180 so I may need to look into that. There was a CB or HAM radio installed at some point and the wires were just coiled up inside and unhooked in the engine bay. So I took some of the interior apart to get all that out of there. Got everything back together with my wood grain dash and it wouldnt start! So I pulled most the dash apart to get better access to everything. Found some random plugs and wires that look factory Id love to see if anyone can ID. But in the end it ended up being the wire on the starter relay. The connector was crusty looking and just unplugging and plugging it back in got it running again. I think I'm going to order a new relay and refresh all the connections there The original owner had a garage install a toggle switch on the dash for the fuel pump. Its scary and sad that someone got paid to install this, the wiring is atrocious. I need to figure out why/what exactly they did and see if I can undo it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 11, 2023 Author Share Posted July 11, 2023 Cleaned up the wires on the starter relay and got most of the dash back together last night. Before I went inside for dinner, I made sure it still started Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 Picked up some brake fluid after work. Filled up the rear brake reservoir expecting to find a leak but I couldnt find one. Took it up and down my road a few times slamming the brakes and the rears actually locked up a couple times! One weird thing though is that if you press the brake pedal hard enough in reverse, it will stall. Luckily doesnt do that going forward lol but something else I need to address. I'm guessing brake booster maybe? I still have to properly bleed the brakes too when I get another person to help And while doing that, I noticed that I couldnt just start the jeep after it stalled. I had to turn the ignition off and then do the two crank sequence. Theres gotta be something this two crank start scenario. I feel like its sensor related I also did a little digging and found where they tapped into a wire for the fuel pump kill switch. I'm going to try to upload some pics and see if anyone could help ID some wires for me as I am colorblind and it makes wiring a little more difficult Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 These are the fuel pump switch pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 And here are some random interior plugs and wires I was wondering what they were for. Especially the ones sticking out by the turn signal lever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 13, 2023 Author Share Posted July 13, 2023 Its been pretty gross outside and even worse in the garage so Ive been taking it easy. Yesterday I confirmed my sensor grounds were good. I also did the CPS test and modification which was beneficial. The CPS was only reading .3v before enlarging one of the holes to 3/8". After it read .5v like it should. Unfortunately it didnt change my two crank start. While I was underneath getting the CPS out, I'm pretty sure I found where the rear brake line is leaking, right at the bend by the firewall going under/back. It was damp looking but it was too hot to mess with that, probably get to it this weekend. Also stole the gas door spring from the other MJ. Good thing my buddy hasnt picked it up yet lol its came in handy several times already So for @cruiser54 s check list these have been done; 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 27. I have done part of 3 but not everything yet and I still have to do 8, 9 and probably 11 to get a good starting point. Just have to do a little research to see if the TPS adjustment is the same from a 4.0 to 2.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 Fixed the rear brake line and got them bled with the help of my wife. Used parts I had in the garage which made life a little harder. Had to cut off one of the fittings under the jeep because it stripped the union out. Upon reflaring, noticed I forgot to put the fitting on but third times a charm and got it sealed up. Another nice thing I noticed is how clean the underside seems to be. Still lots of factory paint and/or undercoating. The only rust I can see from underneath is a hole in either floor pan which I knew about I also did cruisers tips 9 and 18. The ECU connections seemed perfectly fine but at least it gives me peace of mind. I wanted to continue on with tip 3 so I started to take the driver side headlight bezel and blinker housing out but stripped a couple screws. Looks like those are kind of a PITA fix too. I looked up and found people extract the screw by whatever means necessary and then fill it in with epoxy and redrill the hole. I'm sure Ill have several to do. Any and all comments, criticism, suggestions or thoughts are welcome! I don't bite and I have thick skin! Id love some help with the two crank start and identifying the random wires/connectors. Its difficult for me to post pictures on this forum so to have to do that in multiple threads doesnt make sense. And I think it makes more sense to keep everything in one place rather than spread out all over the forum to avoid asking/answering the same questions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ωhm Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Looks like the connector callout location is wrong. Other connector w/bulb should be instrument lighting, headlight dimmer switch circuit. Don't know why it has a bulb in it. Is that a clutch pedal I see? Could be why C261 goes nowhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 8 minutes ago, Ωhm said: Looks like the connector callout location is wrong. Other connector w/bulb should be instrument lighting, headlight dimmer switch circuit. Don't know why it has a bulb in it. Is that a clutch pedal I see? Could be why C261 goes nowhere. Yes, this has an AX5 so makes sense that C261 goes no where. Thank you! I got another picture of where the wires by the turn signal stalk go to as well. Ill try to upload them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 Never seen a connector like that before and don't even have a guess as to what it could've been for lol but it looks like it's part of the factory harness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 21 minutes ago, GrandBoost98 said: Never seen a connector like that before and don't even have a guess as to what it could've been for lol but it looks like it's part of the factory harness Cruise control Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 16 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said: Cruise control Hmm, I have a cruise control stalk (that I assumed was wired in since the rest of the functions on the stalk work) and the parts under the hood. I wonder why they would have cut the wires and stuck them out there? And I wonder if itll be as easy as connecting the wires together again or possibly just replace the stalk and there be no underlying issues. Thanks for the help! I guess thatll be another thing to add to the list of things to figure out why the PO did xxx lol I just downloaded an 88 MJ electrical manual, hoping it should be pretty close to my 87. Trying to figure out some of the other wires/connectors now. Some I should be able to find on my own by matching up the connector like ohm did for me but other things like wires I need help with because I'm colorblind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 On 7/12/2023 at 6:37 AM, GrandBoost98 said: These are the fuel pump switch pics Here is where the other side of the toggle switch goes. In the "R R WIPE". My neighbor said the wire tap is on a red or maybe pink wire, maybe he's colorblind too lol I'm guessing they tapped into it because it wasn't getting power from where it was supposed to? And now they're getting power from the fuse box and put it through a toggle for, safety? I would like to do a more proper fix and eliminate the toggle switch if possible. The yellow label says " fuel interrupt circuit, fuse link" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 31 minutes ago, GrandBoost98 said: And I wonder if itll be as easy as connecting the wires together again or possibly just replace the stalk and there be no underlying issues. Thanks for the help! Just get a new one...connecting those wires back together via solder is not worth it, theyre too small to work with...unless youre good at working with wires of that gauge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 22 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said: Just get a new one...connecting those wires back together via solder is not worth it, theyre too small to work with...unless youre good at working with wires of that gauge. That does sound a lot easier lol just found one on amazon for $20 bucks At work, we make solenoid valves, some using 48awg but most between 38-43awg. None of which are fun to work with. I'm actually an automation tech and went through tech high school and college for electro mech and low voltage elec. I guess you could say I'm a glutton for punishment So I have a good understanding of electrical stuff, its just these damn eyes lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ωhm Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Does the KILL SW work? Does it KILL the fuel pump only? Is that 'fusible link wire' coming out of the fuse panel to Scotchlok? That Scotchlok show PINK wires and its location show it could be for the B+Latch Relay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 1 hour ago, Ωhm said: Does the KILL SW work? Does it KILL the fuel pump only? Is that 'fusible link wire' coming out of the fuse panel to Scotchlok? That Scotchlok show PINK wires and its location show it could be for the B+Latch Relay. Yes, the toggle switch kills power to the fuel pump. The guy I bought it from actually told me how he thought the fuel pump was bad, changed the fuel pump out just to find out the switch was off. It goes from the scotchlok to toggle switch then toggle switch to the "RR Wipe" spot in the fuse block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ωhm Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 The reason I asked about the Fuel Pump is because I'm wondering if that SW kills the ECU. Those PINK wires seem to be B+Latch Relay and I don't know how that affects the ECU (with or without power). I don't think your killing the fuel pump motor circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 9 minutes ago, Ωhm said: The reason I asked about the Fuel Pump is because I'm wondering if that SW kills the ECU. Those PINK wires seem to be B+Latch Relay and I don't know how that affects the ECU (with or without power). I don't think your killing the fuel pump motor circuit. What else do you think is on that circuit that I can test for power? For what it's worth, this is a 2.5L, not a 4.0L. I know some stuff is different between the two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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