Anyone good with Car Electrical?

[spikoman69]

Im picking up a 1996 jeep cherokee for very cheap tommorow night, needs a bit of work. The only thing I dont know how to do on it is, the rear running lights, white reverse lights and dash lights dont work, Although the headlights and brake lights and turn signals all work. I dont know where to start, I figure since all 3 of those components dont work, its something common to all of them in the electrical. Possibly just a fuse(s)? I have no clue really. Any help is appreciated.

 

[superdave1984]

Check the fuses first, then the bulbs. Go get a haynes manual ASAP. I have a Cherokee too, trust me you need the book.

 

[spikoman69]

Could I pick the haynes manual up in pdf format anywhere online? Torrents?

 

[ricanflow]

Lol, just go to Autozone and buy one...its way too many pages to print out.

 

[Ronnie]

All the stuff in the haynes manual should be online but i like to keep one in my car just in case im not near a computer.

Plus they are only what 8 bucks?

 

[veedubfreak]

Having a good manual around will save you much more time and money than its worth to try to get around it.

 

[Nagasama]

oooo weeeee electrical on a jeep. have fun with that one, amigo.
agree. get the manual. especially if you do not know anything about cars.
it could be a fuse, a relay, the headlight switch, a bad connection, a shorted connection, the list goes on and on.
i'd wager on the fuse/relay first. then the switch. the bad/shorted wires are the cheapest to fix, hardest to find, and least likely. but its a good place to start. you may want to eliminate that first, so you dont buy uneccesary parts.

 

[hercules_upw]

Purchase the electrical manual online. I bought one for my old ladie's civic for $7.00. It inclded ALL diagrams and troubleshooting. It was about 1500 pages long, but very easy to use. So easy a mechanic can do it...

 

[spikoman69]

It was just a fuse! Didnt feel like having to go through troublshooting the electrical.

 

[Nagasama]

alright! love it when its easy.