XJ electrical problem

[azranger]

I was wiring up some lights and accidentally grounded the hot wire from the battery to the fender. After I was finished wiring it up, I tried to start it up and it wouldn't start. It turned over but would not fire up. It was acting like it wasn't getting gas or a spark.

I took the keys out of the ignition and there was a beeping noise like the headlights were on.

It is a 1989 XJ 4.0. I hope a fuse would blow before anything expensive would blow. Any ideas of where to start?

[AZJeeps TJ&XJ]

Check to see if you are getting spark, not the safest way but it works: pull one of the spark plug wires and put a screw driver in the end of the wire and set it so it is about a half a inch from the head, then have someone else turn over the motor and watch for a spark (WARNING: it will have a big spark, so don't touch when the ign is on, also make sure there is nothing that will catch fire).

Or check the CPS connector (left hand side of the motor by the firewall), and check the coil connections. That is the best place to start.

You shouldn't have done any harm when the power touched ground. At the most you would blow a fuse if the power wire was coming from the fuseblock. But if the wire that touched was one directly from the battery, then all you did was try to arcweld.

[1tuffxj]

i've had this problem before, it took three days, and alot of headache...
i changed ignition, every fuse i could find,still no start, just a whole lot of cranking... i eventually paid a mechanic $90.00, it took 10 mins he changed a resistor in the black box under the hood, after that it started every time with no hesitation... good luck

[azranger]

Thank you for the suggestions. I have a red top battery and I was going to wire up an extra fuse box from the extra side post on my battery for accessories. While hooking up the extra battery wire is when it accidentally touched the fender. I have accidentally arked the battery with a screwdriver or wrench before and all it did was spark. I had no problems and it started right up. I don't know what the difference was this time.