New to me 97 Jeep Wrangler TJ with lots of problems

BrunoPizz97

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Messages
408
Location
Long Island
Hey guys! My name is Bruno I own a 97 wrangler that I bought about 4 months ago and its got lots of issues so I figured I would join the forum and hopefully get some help from here.
So as I said I just bought this jeep, It is super clean frame and body wise that was the selling point, but then I slowly began to discover some not so nice things about this jeep so I am just going to jump right into it.
1. the speakers were completely trash
- every time I wanted to raise the volume a little the bass would cut out and I would have just the speakers out putting volume. So I figured the amps were trash so I swapped out the old amps with a newer one, every thing was connected properly, I started the car and began to play some tunes and i have absolutely no bass going to the sub. I have no idea whats going on with that so i just left it alone and when i have time i would get to it. It wasn't a big problem but i figured id throw it on in here maybe someone knows where im going wrong.
2. Ever since I had this car the fuel gauge was always off, I couldn't tell you by how much but its definitely off. For empty it would read half a tank and for full its full. now recently the fuel gauge has been starting to go crazy every time I am driving the fuel gauge goes back and forth to and from empty to half, as if someone is pulling the plug out and putting it back in its super weird. I have not dropped the fuel tank to see whats going on in there I just simply have no time just figured if someone has ever had this happen to them it would save me time.
3. Now I know lots of people have had this problem but it doesn't seem like a clear cut answer as so what causes this, So every time I depress on the brake pedal my running lights come on and my dash lights go dim like I have my running lights on. And when I use my left turn signal both rear signals flash and is flickers the dash lights and running lights like turning lights on and off in your house. I have read up on a post saying that the problem would be in the tail lights, something about the filament and the bulb but the problem is that I do not have stock taillights I have LED taillights so I wouldn't even know what to do at that point.
so as you can see these are some of the concerning problems
was hoping someone could help me out.
 
ok that is another issue where are all these grounds?
where are all the locations for me to check that way I am not searching in the wrong area.
I have a 97 with a 4.0L
 
ok that is another issue where are all these grounds?
where are all the locations for me to check that way I am not searching in the wrong area.
I have a 97 with a 4.0L
Here is the link to the service manuals that are posted in the Resources. Chris has done a great job putting glots of info in there.
Manuals
 
I'll leave the stereo questions for someone smarter than me. For the other electrical questions, you say the the frame is clean. Like in freshly painted clean?
I would start chasing grounds. Especially on the tail light circuit. I just noticed that you're from L.I.. Make sure your light sockets are not corroded.
Electricity is lazy, it will find the easiest way to ground, even if that is thru an unintended circuit.
 
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I'll leave the stereo questions for someone smarter than me. For the other electrical questions, you say the the frame is clean. Like in freshly painted clean?
I would start chasing grounds. Especially on the tail light circuit. I just noticed that you're from L.I.. Make sure your light sockets are not corroded.
Electricity is lazy, it will find the easiest way to ground, even if that is thru an unintended circuit.
frame is clean meaning that yes it is painted but also has minimal surface rust, as far as light sockets go I don't have any they are LED taillights so its all on a motherboard, I am thinking of replacing them back to the stock taillights and putting in LED bulbs. Maybe that will fix the problem.
 
I know that when I went to the led bulbs, I also changed the tail light bulb to LED. That gave me the fast blinker, so I went back to the old bulbs. I know it's not what you are dealing with, but if you go to the stock style and change to LED, that's what you may deal with.
 
frame is clean meaning that yes it is painted but also has minimal surface rust, as far as light sockets go I don't have any they are LED taillights so its all on a motherboard, I am thinking of replacing them back to the stock taillights and putting in LED bulbs. Maybe that will fix the problem.
No, the LED tail lights are not the cause of the problem. They are an item that is using the power from the battery routed through whatever wiring and ground path that it takes to make them function. Regardless of what light you install, it will have similar requirements and in those requirements is where you will find the issue.
 
Did you get it inspected before you bought it?
of course I did the car was running great when I first picked it up, it was garage kept the previous owner had it for 3 years and put 3000 miles on it. my guess is that its just been sitting and hasn't been used enough to catch the problems that are happening now.
 
No, the LED tail lights are not the cause of the problem. They are an item that is using the power from the battery routed through whatever wiring and ground path that it takes to make them function. Regardless of what light you install, it will have similar requirements and in those requirements is where you will find the issue.
also another thing I forgot to mention is that some of the LED may have blew or they just simply aren't getting power ill post a photo to show what I am talking about.
 
I know that when I went to the led bulbs, I also changed the tail light bulb to LED. That gave me the fast blinker, so I went back to the old bulbs. I know it's not what you are dealing with, but if you go to the stock style and change to LED, that's what you may deal with.
the fast flash doesn't concern me as long as the lights work and people can see that I am merging then I am golden. NYS has the worst drivers
 
also another thing I forgot to mention is that some of the LED may have blew or they just simply aren't getting power ill post a photo to show what I am talking about.

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