Any help/comments will be appreciated for my 2003 3.7L Liberty Sport that is now seeing electrical issues after mechanical repairs. All 3 of these issues are new after replacing the starter and the actuator pin to resolve the jeep not starting. The rest of the vehicle seems to operate as expected including windows, radio, lights (high/low), power locks, fog lights, brake lights, parking lights, interior lights, front and rear power outlets. This is a lot of detail so thanks for your time reading and responding.
My current symptoms/issues to resolve:
1. Airbag indicator remains on. The light will turn on during initial startup, turn off and then within about 5 seconds come on and remain on.
2. Turn signal indicators do not turn on. The chalk will function mechanically and switch up and down, but there are no indicators interior or exterior that come on when the car is running or just in accessory mode. The turn signal lights will all work normally when the hazard indicator is turned on as they all flash.
3 Blower motor is not turning on. Regardless of the position of the blower motor switch there is no airflow from the vents.
Investigation:
1. Interior fuses. Using the owners manual fuse list, 3-5 fuses that were checked relating to turn signals and blower on the interior side panel and they all looked good and measured positive for continuity.
2. Steering column connectors. All electrical connectors that were taken off during the actuator pin replacement were reseated.
3. Relays/fuses engine compartment. The relay for the blower was swapped with the one next to it of the same P/N and no change in function noticed.
4. Attempt to measure voltage at blower fuse. When measuring for 12V at the blower fuse no voltage was measured across any leads. Moving the blower switch to all positions and all measuring across all 5 pins did not result in any voltage being measured.
Recent symptom (Saturday - 2 days ago) that was resolved
1. After driving the Jeep twice in the morning, on the 3rd stop the Jeep would not start or show signs of starting at all but there was power to the basics like lights, radio, locks, windows, etc.
2. After measuring and finding 12V at the battery, trying to tap on the starter, jumping the vehicle, the first repair was the starter.
3. After completing the extremely painful process of replacing the starter, the jeep showed the exact same symptoms and would not start.
4. The starter relay ((under the hood) was swapped with another relay that was the same PN from the engine fuses, the exact same symptoms.
5. The steering column was opened up and after taking off the ignition switch it was noticed small pieces of the actuator pin had broken off. To test the ignition switch a flatblade screwdriver was used to turn the switch and start the car. This seemed to confirm the actuator pin, and when a new one was put in, the car started well each time with the new starter and pin.
6. NOTE: during the testing of the ignition switch at one point I think the switch was in the on position when the negative cable was put on, or something else but smoke was seen coming out of the ignition switch briefly. This is currently operating fine and showed no signs of issues or burn.
7. The jeep is starting good and other than the 3 issues above does not seem to have anything else wrong.
My current symptoms/issues to resolve:
1. Airbag indicator remains on. The light will turn on during initial startup, turn off and then within about 5 seconds come on and remain on.
2. Turn signal indicators do not turn on. The chalk will function mechanically and switch up and down, but there are no indicators interior or exterior that come on when the car is running or just in accessory mode. The turn signal lights will all work normally when the hazard indicator is turned on as they all flash.
3 Blower motor is not turning on. Regardless of the position of the blower motor switch there is no airflow from the vents.
Investigation:
1. Interior fuses. Using the owners manual fuse list, 3-5 fuses that were checked relating to turn signals and blower on the interior side panel and they all looked good and measured positive for continuity.
2. Steering column connectors. All electrical connectors that were taken off during the actuator pin replacement were reseated.
3. Relays/fuses engine compartment. The relay for the blower was swapped with the one next to it of the same P/N and no change in function noticed.
4. Attempt to measure voltage at blower fuse. When measuring for 12V at the blower fuse no voltage was measured across any leads. Moving the blower switch to all positions and all measuring across all 5 pins did not result in any voltage being measured.
Recent symptom (Saturday - 2 days ago) that was resolved
1. After driving the Jeep twice in the morning, on the 3rd stop the Jeep would not start or show signs of starting at all but there was power to the basics like lights, radio, locks, windows, etc.
2. After measuring and finding 12V at the battery, trying to tap on the starter, jumping the vehicle, the first repair was the starter.
3. After completing the extremely painful process of replacing the starter, the jeep showed the exact same symptoms and would not start.
4. The starter relay ((under the hood) was swapped with another relay that was the same PN from the engine fuses, the exact same symptoms.
5. The steering column was opened up and after taking off the ignition switch it was noticed small pieces of the actuator pin had broken off. To test the ignition switch a flatblade screwdriver was used to turn the switch and start the car. This seemed to confirm the actuator pin, and when a new one was put in, the car started well each time with the new starter and pin.
6. NOTE: during the testing of the ignition switch at one point I think the switch was in the on position when the negative cable was put on, or something else but smoke was seen coming out of the ignition switch briefly. This is currently operating fine and showed no signs of issues or burn.
7. The jeep is starting good and other than the 3 issues above does not seem to have anything else wrong.