Hi,

I bought a Jeep Cherokee yesterday. I've never had a 4x4 before, I always
had hot hatches, but I woke up the other day and fancied a 4x4 - it must be
middle-age creeping up on me! Next I'll be wearing uni---- jeans and having
a bonfire on a Sunday afternoon.

Anyway. I was after some advice as I am pretty clueless about Jeeps and also
know hardly anything about the mechanics of a car. The Jeep is a 1995 model
and has done 118,000 miles. It is the 2.5 petrol model. The engine sounds
pretty smooth and performs well enough and the gear change feels nice. There
is no service history with the Jeep and I am wanting to take some
precautionary steps in order to hopefully lengthen the life of it. I am
going to change the oil and oil filter for starters, but what other things
should I be doing or inspecting?

There are a few faults I have already found:

1) The lights dont't come on when set in the first setting (sidelights.)
Also none of the bulbs behind the rev counter and speedo are lighting up
even when on main beam (which does work.) Is this likely to be a fuse that
has blown?

2) The oil pressure gauge is mental - it goes up and down all the time and
at high revs goes wildly off the scale.

3) This may not be a fault but seems bizarre - the higher I rev the engine
the slower the blower fan runs which is odd as it's usually the other way
around.

Any help would be greatfully received.

Jay

 

Jay wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I bought a Jeep Cherokee yesterday. I've never had a 4x4 before, I
> always had hot hatches, but I woke up the other day and fancied a 4x4
> - it must be middle-age creeping up on me! Next I'll be wearing
> uni---- jeans and having a bonfire on a Sunday afternoon.
>
> Anyway. I was after some advice as I am pretty clueless about Jeeps
> and also know hardly anything about the mechanics of a car. The Jeep
> is a 1995 model and has done 118,000 miles. It is the 2.5 petrol
> model. The engine sounds pretty smooth and performs well enough and
> the gear change feels nice. There is no service history with the Jeep
> and I am wanting to take some precautionary steps in order to
> hopefully lengthen the life of it. I am going to change the oil and
> oil filter for starters, but what other things should I be doing or
> inspecting?
> There are a few faults I have already found:
>
> 1) The lights dont't come on when set in the first setting
> (sidelights.) Also none of the bulbs behind the rev counter and
> speedo are lighting up even when on main beam (which does work.) Is
> this likely to be a fuse that has blown?

Fuse.

> 2) The oil pressure gauge is mental - it goes up and down all the
> time and at high revs goes wildly off the scale.

Oil pressure sender failing or the wire running to it is loose.
On the 4.0 it's right by the oil filter. There is only one wire
that runs to it.
piccy. http://revbeergoggles.com/Fixes/sensor-oil-pressure.jpg


> 3) This may not be a fault but seems bizarre - the higher I rev the
> engine the slower the blower fan runs which is odd as it's usually
> the other way around.

Your talking about the fan on the engine? If so, that's normal
because it has a clutch. At high RPMs the clutch is designed to
relax. Usually the jeep is at speed and there is enough air just
from forward motion.

--
DougW

 

Jay wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I bought a Jeep Cherokee yesterday. I've never had a 4x4 before, I
> always had hot hatches, but I woke up the other day and fancied a 4x4
> - it must be middle-age creeping up on me! Next I'll be wearing
> uni---- jeans and having a bonfire on a Sunday afternoon.
>
> Anyway. I was after some advice as I am pretty clueless about Jeeps
> and also know hardly anything about the mechanics of a car. The Jeep
> is a 1995 model and has done 118,000 miles. It is the 2.5 petrol
> model. The engine sounds pretty smooth and performs well enough and
> the gear change feels nice. There is no service history with the Jeep
> and I am wanting to take some precautionary steps in order to
> hopefully lengthen the life of it. I am going to change the oil and
> oil filter for starters, but what other things should I be doing or
> inspecting?
> There are a few faults I have already found:
>
> 1) The lights dont't come on when set in the first setting
> (sidelights.) Also none of the bulbs behind the rev counter and
> speedo are lighting up even when on main beam (which does work.) Is
> this likely to be a fuse that has blown?

Fuse.

> 2) The oil pressure gauge is mental - it goes up and down all the
> time and at high revs goes wildly off the scale.

Oil pressure sender failing or the wire running to it is loose.
On the 4.0 it's right by the oil filter. There is only one wire
that runs to it.
piccy. http://revbeergoggles.com/Fixes/sensor-oil-pressure.jpg


> 3) This may not be a fault but seems bizarre - the higher I rev the
> engine the slower the blower fan runs which is odd as it's usually
> the other way around.

Your talking about the fan on the engine? If so, that's normal
because it has a clutch. At high RPMs the clutch is designed to
relax. Usually the jeep is at speed and there is enough air just
from forward motion.

--
DougW

 

Jay wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I bought a Jeep Cherokee yesterday. I've never had a 4x4 before, I
> always had hot hatches, but I woke up the other day and fancied a 4x4
> - it must be middle-age creeping up on me! Next I'll be wearing
> uni---- jeans and having a bonfire on a Sunday afternoon.
>
> Anyway. I was after some advice as I am pretty clueless about Jeeps
> and also know hardly anything about the mechanics of a car. The Jeep
> is a 1995 model and has done 118,000 miles. It is the 2.5 petrol
> model. The engine sounds pretty smooth and performs well enough and
> the gear change feels nice. There is no service history with the Jeep
> and I am wanting to take some precautionary steps in order to
> hopefully lengthen the life of it. I am going to change the oil and
> oil filter for starters, but what other things should I be doing or
> inspecting?
> There are a few faults I have already found:
>
> 1) The lights dont't come on when set in the first setting
> (sidelights.) Also none of the bulbs behind the rev counter and
> speedo are lighting up even when on main beam (which does work.) Is
> this likely to be a fuse that has blown?

Fuse.

> 2) The oil pressure gauge is mental - it goes up and down all the
> time and at high revs goes wildly off the scale.

Oil pressure sender failing or the wire running to it is loose.
On the 4.0 it's right by the oil filter. There is only one wire
that runs to it.
piccy. http://revbeergoggles.com/Fixes/sensor-oil-pressure.jpg


> 3) This may not be a fault but seems bizarre - the higher I rev the
> engine the slower the blower fan runs which is odd as it's usually
> the other way around.

Your talking about the fan on the engine? If so, that's normal
because it has a clutch. At high RPMs the clutch is designed to
relax. Usually the jeep is at speed and there is enough air just
from forward motion.

--
DougW

 

Jay wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I bought a Jeep Cherokee yesterday. I've never had a 4x4 before, I
> always had hot hatches, but I woke up the other day and fancied a 4x4
> - it must be middle-age creeping up on me! Next I'll be wearing
> uni---- jeans and having a bonfire on a Sunday afternoon.
>
> Anyway. I was after some advice as I am pretty clueless about Jeeps
> and also know hardly anything about the mechanics of a car. The Jeep
> is a 1995 model and has done 118,000 miles. It is the 2.5 petrol
> model. The engine sounds pretty smooth and performs well enough and
> the gear change feels nice. There is no service history with the Jeep
> and I am wanting to take some precautionary steps in order to
> hopefully lengthen the life of it. I am going to change the oil and
> oil filter for starters, but what other things should I be doing or
> inspecting?
> There are a few faults I have already found:
>
> 1) The lights dont't come on when set in the first setting
> (sidelights.) Also none of the bulbs behind the rev counter and
> speedo are lighting up even when on main beam (which does work.) Is
> this likely to be a fuse that has blown?

Fuse.

> 2) The oil pressure gauge is mental - it goes up and down all the
> time and at high revs goes wildly off the scale.

Oil pressure sender failing or the wire running to it is loose.
On the 4.0 it's right by the oil filter. There is only one wire
that runs to it.
piccy. http://revbeergoggles.com/Fixes/sensor-oil-pressure.jpg


> 3) This may not be a fault but seems bizarre - the higher I rev the
> engine the slower the blower fan runs which is odd as it's usually
> the other way around.

Your talking about the fan on the engine? If so, that's normal
because it has a clutch. At high RPMs the clutch is designed to
relax. Usually the jeep is at speed and there is enough air just
from forward motion.

--
DougW

 

> Your talking about the fan on the engine? If so, that's normal
> because it has a clutch. At high RPMs the clutch is designed to
> relax. Usually the jeep is at speed and there is enough air just
> from forward motion.
>


Thanks for the speedy answer Doug. I was talking about the heater/blower
fan. It slows down as the engine revs but in every other car I have had it
has always stayed the same or increased in speed slightly. I am bewildered
as to why it would slow down as the engine is producing more electric.

 

> Your talking about the fan on the engine? If so, that's normal
> because it has a clutch. At high RPMs the clutch is designed to
> relax. Usually the jeep is at speed and there is enough air just
> from forward motion.
>


Thanks for the speedy answer Doug. I was talking about the heater/blower
fan. It slows down as the engine revs but in every other car I have had it
has always stayed the same or increased in speed slightly. I am bewildered
as to why it would slow down as the engine is producing more electric.

 

> Your talking about the fan on the engine? If so, that's normal
> because it has a clutch. At high RPMs the clutch is designed to
> relax. Usually the jeep is at speed and there is enough air just
> from forward motion.
>


Thanks for the speedy answer Doug. I was talking about the heater/blower
fan. It slows down as the engine revs but in every other car I have had it
has always stayed the same or increased in speed slightly. I am bewildered
as to why it would slow down as the engine is producing more electric.

 

> Your talking about the fan on the engine? If so, that's normal
> because it has a clutch. At high RPMs the clutch is designed to
> relax. Usually the jeep is at speed and there is enough air just
> from forward motion.
>


Thanks for the speedy answer Doug. I was talking about the heater/blower
fan. It slows down as the engine revs but in every other car I have had it
has always stayed the same or increased in speed slightly. I am bewildered
as to why it would slow down as the engine is producing more electric.

 

Jay wrote:

> Thanks for the speedy answer Doug. I was talking about the
> heater/blower fan. It slows down as the engine revs but in every
> other car I have had it has always stayed the same or increased in
> speed slightly. I am bewildered as to why it would slow down as the
> engine is producing more electric.

Ah, then I dunno. :/ Voltage is reguated quite a bit better in newer
vehicles so there isn't the old swing up to +18V anymore. Could also
be the battery is tired or low on water. Check your local auto parts
stores, the ones over on this side of the pond will check batteries for free.

--
DougW