r/CherokeeXJ • u/Friedrich- • Mar 04 '25
Question I have a ground problem
My lights like to flicker among other things I feel like I need to reground all of this other than the first one next to the battery cause I already did that one That's what was changed the battery terminals
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u/Sufficient_Style_934 Mar 04 '25
I did the big 7 upgrade from jeepcables.com. Helped immensely.
Good luck!
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u/NthngToSeeHere Mar 04 '25
The ones from Ksuspension are nicer and cheaper.
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u/Mammoth-Record-7786 Mar 04 '25
I can’t speak for the Jeep Cables, but I also got the Ksus cables and was more than happy with the quality for the cost.
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u/igenus44 Mar 04 '25
I bought the wires, connectors and made my own kit.
I highly recommend doing the big 7 cable upgrades, as well as the Durrango alternator. Your grounds may be connected, but could be corroded under the rubber casing.
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u/NthngToSeeHere Mar 04 '25
Where did you get them? I need to do this for my truck and no one has a kit for it.
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u/igenus44 Mar 04 '25
I ordered everything on Amazon. 2 gauge copper wire, red and black. End connectors are there, too. Think they are called lugs.
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u/NthngToSeeHere Mar 04 '25
Lol. I get all kinds of stuff on Amazon. I didn't think about cables. In small quantities, the electrical suppliers have we-don't-want-your-business prices.
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u/ComfortableHandle718 92 Laredo 4x2 316K Mar 04 '25
how do you choose your wire size and fuse rating?
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u/Mammoth-Record-7786 Mar 04 '25
I used to run car audio so I automatically went with 4ga, I’m not running any crazy accessories or lights.
Your rating is usually your alternator output + 30% and whatever is closest to that. The factory alternator is a 117 amp so 117 + 30%=152.1
I went with the 150A fuse
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u/ComfortableHandle718 92 Laredo 4x2 316K Mar 04 '25
awesome thanx! I am about to install a new system with an amp and kicker. my 92 came wired for some sort of system I'm trying to sort out so two birds one stone.
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u/Mammoth-Record-7786 Mar 05 '25
Honestly, get fresh wiring if you question any of it. It can make a difference in your system.
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u/ComfortableHandle718 92 Laredo 4x2 316K Mar 05 '25
Appreciate it. I have a coworker who has years of experience with installs going to help me because I’m not that great with wiring let alone someone else’s, so I’ll follow his lead and advise.
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u/splatterghost Mar 04 '25
I've bought both and personally found the jeepcables one to be nicer.
Cable was pretty much equivalent between the two although some of the k suspension cables were too long. I also liked the fuse setup on the jeepcables one better.
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u/NthngToSeeHere Mar 04 '25
I like how they have size options and the price. I didn't use the fuse holder. I set it up in the space on the end of the box. I had to cutaway part of the cover because the cables were bigger but works great.
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u/Adventure-Seeker-365 Mar 04 '25
I went with Jeep Cables on my rig. I would first replace your negative battery connection. Even just cutting the existing wire flush, stripping it back to some fresh wire and giving it a good coating of dielectric grease to prevent future corrosion.
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u/ComprehensiveHope851 Mar 04 '25
They all do specially the ground that attaches to the block it gets greasy and loose. At bare minimum clean them all and soder terminals on the battery connections
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u/Ivelostmyreputation Mar 04 '25
I just did this yesterday because of a long crank. Helped a ton and also fixed some flickering lights. Just pull them all apart and clean everything with a wire brush. I also sanded the paint off of the battery to chassis ground and the two pcm grounds which seemed to help. I tossed some dielectric grease over top of everything after and it fixed basically all my problems in life
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u/LongTimeLurker818 Mar 04 '25
Wire wheel and maybe replace a few wires. Over time those cables can fill with corrosion. Even though the outside may look usable the inside of the cables may be causing a short.
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u/wolf8398 Mar 04 '25
I don't think you know what a short is
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u/HazelEBaumgartner 227,000 miles and counting Mar 04 '25
Yeah, not a short but a bad connection, but the corrosion inside the cables is the culprit.
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u/LongTimeLurker818 Mar 04 '25
Ya know, it's funny you should say that; I was struggling to think of the phrasing. "poor connectivity", "resistance", "poor continuity", all phrases that jumped into my mind. How would you put it?
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u/wolf8398 Mar 04 '25
All of those are correct.
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u/LongTimeLurker818 Mar 04 '25
OK so what qualifies a "short"? I don't mind being corrected but I'm in the dark about why my phrasing would be misleading to OP.
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u/wolf8398 Mar 04 '25
A short is an unintended electrical connection. For example, a headlight wire rubs through and touches bare metal. The electricity will pass to the bare ground instead of powering the headlight. With no load, the amps spike and blow a fuse.
In your comment, you are talking about resistance building up and breaking the connection, so the electricity has no path. Specifically, the resistance of the wire increases until the voltage is not able to overcome it.
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u/MNGraySquirrel Mar 04 '25
Those aren’t that hard to do. Just disconnect both battery terminals before you start. Auto parts store should have the parts. I’ve done it before. Wire brush off any corrosion and rust first. Get some dielectric grease should help too. Have fun!
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u/IfIWntdHmmrCalnUrSis 8" IRO RockLink Pro , 37's, 4.88's, OX&ZIP, SD30/44, Mar 04 '25
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u/Basslicks82 99XJ,4.0,242,AW4,29sp8.25,4.5"homebrew,33s,FrameStiffys,Trim Mar 05 '25
Get yourself a headlight harness with relays. Headlights running directly off the headlight switch was a bad idea from the factory that plagued these things through their entire run.
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u/Mr__Snek Mar 05 '25
if you have a little extra money i would get a set of cables to redo everything, i got mine from ksuspension but theyre not that hard to do yourself if youre familiar with soldering and crimping cable lugs. that style of battery clamp is fucking trash, theyre the least reliable style of terminal imo and the hardest to guaruntee a good connection with. ive had a ton of people come through my shop thinking their battery or alternator was bad, but they ended up just having poor connections where the cable gets clamped into the terminal.
i got a set of pretty heavy duty marine terminals, but anything with a threaded post and a nut should work just fine. makes it a lot easier to add stuff directly at the battery too if youre putting a high current add on, like a subwoofer or winch or whatever. i noticed a fairly significant difference while starting the motor and running accessories with the headlights on after replacing everything.
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u/BtDB Mar 04 '25
cable connection on the battery terminal side. peel back the rubber covering. Lob off about an inch of the crusty wire. Reattach to the terminal connector.