92 XJ No power from key - Please Read

Msperlazza

Active Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2010
Location
Clemmons
On my last trip to URE i was driving down the road in my 92 XJ (4.0, auto) when it just shut off. No weird noise or anything like that. Couldnt figure out why it shut down, so i checked my relays/fuses etc., and never figured it out so i just put it on the trailer and took it home. It gets NO power from the key, when i turn it nothing happens at all, but the rod still moves.

I saw that the computer had a mark on it from Pull-a-part so i thought maybe it was that, and changed it with another one from a 91 (that i had, and know it was good), but nothing.

So maybe the ignition switch? Next i am going to just swap the whole steering column with one i have, unless i can think of something else to try.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Mike
 
headlights turn on? Check and clean the battery connections.
 
What happens when you turn the key on? Does your service lights light up, gauges flicker or anything? How about your accessory circuits in the fuse box, any power to them when key is on? Do your wipers work? All these get power from your column. If nothing from anythig with key on then check if you have power going to the column through its plug under dash. Check your fuses as well.
 
Starter isn't getting any power at all, and i mean no power to it. When the key is turned nothing happens, No fuel pump, no service lights, no air, no starter, nothing. I have checked the fuses, and they are fine. How do i check if the column is getting power? (stick a multimeter in the plug?)

Thanks, Mike
 
the column used in XJ I think from the beginning (1984) until airbags (1995?) was a GM column. Should be plenty of info on the net about wiring a GM steering column and the switch. I briefly looked into bypassing the ignition switch, but ended up just getting another column.
 
I guess i am going to try swapping a steering column out of a 95 i have, and hope that it works. Have another trip already planned for the 29th, and i really want to be a driver not a rider. If the steering column doesn't work i am out of ideas.
 
is the 95 a Chrysler airbag column?...it should be. I tired it, but quickly found it didnt swap into my 91..the hole pattern on the firewall was different, can't remember if the steering shaft was the same. The wiring is different too.

Once you start pulling the column off, you should see the rod going into the ignition switch. There is also some sort of lockout cable going from the tranny shifter to the column.
 
It is not an air bag column, so i hope it should work. Maybe the jeep was a 94, but damn it was a 5 speed and this one is an auto. Will that make a difference?
 
sounds like that might work. Its probably a GM column, the key should be square. I'm having trouble picturing how the lockout cable works. I don't think I reconnected mine back up when I put it back together though.
 
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