Electrical issues makin' anyone else stabby?

Joined
Oct 14, 2018
Messages
71
Location
SW Michigan
Sooo ... I got my little 97 manual 2.5L TJ back in like ... August. ish, and it's been cruising along pretty well, happy little jeep, until around mid-November.

Had the check Gauges light pop on for me out of the blue - and the battery gauge dropped entirely. After cleaning the terminals, and then eventually replacing the battery and alternator (just in case. Plus, it was at 104K, and had never had much maintenance done to it) ... the silly gauges are still doing it.

The new alternator isn't charging the battery either, so I checked the cables ... no troubles. Then, after fiddling with things, the battery gauge dropped to nothing and by the time I was home, the battery was nearly dead with the added bonus of the airbag light flicking on.

I'm at a loss. My next step is to try a new ECM to see where that takes me, but before I toss that money in, I figured I'd ask the board of gurus here with FAR more experience than me ...

So. Am I missin' something, guys?
 
Check all the heavy-gauge battery connections, those going to ground too. Look where the connectors are crimped onto the cable, any corrosion? Your problem definitely sounds like it could be nothing more than a bad/loose/corroded connection somewhere. Check at the alternator connections, check the grounds at the firewall and on the engine block.
 
Yeah, it looked good but I’ll definitely double check before I make the plunge.

It was a sporadic thing to start but since the alternator change it’s definitely more reliable to drop.
 
alright. Ran down the wires and all looks good, tight, and in decent shape. Self diagnosis gave it a code 47, which ... I was getting before I changed the battery (which was bad) and the alternator (which was just old, but still working). Damn.
 
So. Ordered a new (to me, I'm sure) ECM from flagship one ... on the 12th. got confirmed on the 14th from the company that I had the wrong part for my VIN number, so I'm hoping that helps matters. which ... great. But ... no part, no confirmation number until I called to ask for it.

Was told on Friday that the part was going out that afternoon/Sat morning on a two-day ship ... but nothing has updated, so I called again. Still hasn't shipped. I wouldn't CARE if this was just my party car, but this is supposed to be my daily and I've been out of wheels of my own for over two weeks now.

Just the update for the day. *Joy* ... but not really.
 
Did you ever get the ECM from Flagship1? If so, how'd it work?

I ordered from them last month and after several inquiries they said the initial ECM did not pass final tests and they had to pull another from stock. Received an email on Fri. saying the new unit would ship monday yet tracking shows pre-shipment information exchanged on the 15th. Other than that, nothing...

I ordered from them being they are only a couple hours away from me so I "could" make a drive out to them as a last resort.
 
Oooh, sorry, RussK14 - I updated on another thread, but I absolutely should have done so here too.

I did get the part from FS1, and though the shipping was wonky and I was told a few times different dates of shipping, the part came in just as they said it was - plug and play.

Unfortunately, in my case, it didn't end up being the ECM being the trouble. There was a broken wire somewhere in the wiring harness and I ended up taking it to a local mechanic to chase it down. I got lucky and he found it in the first couple hours on a fluke, but now I guess I got a spare ECM as the old one probably was fine.

I got a lot of great help from Wrangler6035 though, who works at FS1. He was amazing to chat with and answered my questions fast. I'd go so far as to say skip the call ins. I don't think the girls working the phones have clue one, but this guy was great.

Good luck!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Allstar424