This '94 XJ6 4.0L is a recent purchase. Car previously sat outside for about 5 years as PO was unable to get her out of Park. That turned out to be just a bad brake light switch but sitting that long in rainy Washington State caused lots of other issues. Fuel tank had a lot of water in it requiring removal and repair as well as a fuel injector cleaning. Now she starts and runs fine BUT, now has NO instruments working. I have cleaned the main "earth/ground" cable connector in the boot, as well as three obvious grounds under the bonnet. All appeared in good shape but I figured it was a good place to start.

I have checked every single fuse in the interior fuse panels (left center, and right). The odd thing is, they were working prior to my removal of the fuel tank. Other oddities, Engine cooling fans do not come on, I do not hear the brake booster come on and the brakes are nearly non-functional. The interior courtesy lights (rear seat) do not extinguish so I pulled that fuse. The battery does not appear to be charging based on my handheld voltage meter readings. Head lights work, window motors and sunroof does not. I know this is a lot but maybe someone has had a similar experience or can suggest a common failure point. Thanks.

 

If it's any consolation, they only come on occasionally (hot day with A/C going for example) and don't run at all when car is cold. I hear them now and again but I don't think I've ever seen them run unless the engine is really hot. Not that really helps with your issue; sounds like you've got something major disconnected or a relay that isn't closing?

 

Lawrence,
Thank you. That is good to know. Although the car has had more than its share of moisture, I have yet to find a connector or ground that appears corroded...I will keep looking. I appreciate your time.

 

I have now located and cleaned 7 of the 16 grounding points. The one just above the left fuse compartment was pretty badly corroded. I took out the fuse box and disassembled and cleaned it as well. The large power lead into the fuse panel also showed corrosion. Once it was reassembled, I have my instrument gauges and lights back Only 9 more grounds to go...

Water temp shows no increase after 5 minutes at idle so I am assuming a bad temperature relay/switch. That may explain no cooling fans coming on.

I also have a flashing ABS light so will be looking at that next (I'll search the forum for procedures). The rear courtesy lights will not shut off without pulling the fuse. Once pulled the battery shows a draw of 0.16 Amps which seems about right. Anybody know what is normal for this car?

Corroded ground point above left fuse panel.

Disassembled fuse panel (fuse side).

Disassembled fuse panel (wiring harness side). Note 13mm power lug.

 

There are 2 temp senders. One for the gauge and one for the ecm. They are next to each other on top front by the thermostat housing. Maybe it's just unplugged. The lights on backs of the seats have individual switches. Someone on here was just dealing with that issue, have a search and see what they found.