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What did you do to your ZJ today?

4M views 55K replies 2K participants last post by  98ZJ 
#1 ·
This thread is to serve as an inspiration to others modifying their ZJ's. Pretty simple, just post what you did to your ZJ today!


Today I shamefully took my Jeep to get the oil changed because it was to hot to change it myself.
 
#34,242 ·
A good solder joint is not brittle. The crap cold joints on all the boards in these things is not an example of a good connection.
Cold joints are even worse, but solder is a brittle thing, make no mistake. I don't have a problem soldering wires together in a car because the wire dampens any vibration, and heat shrink tubing does a lot for structure. But anything that's fixed, like a speaker tab, I run a crimped connector to. It's stabler and is easier to modularize.

:rofl: its not like it takes a genius though .

electrical is the easiest skill there is to master imnho .

but soon on the orvis im replacing all of the 14 g ive wired accessory's with and using 8 g and doing the big 3 with 0 g with a run of 00 to the battery in the rear for the amplifier
If you think electrical work is easy to master, I'd say you're wrong. Especially if you think hammering wires together and taping them is an acceptable joint.

It's going to be painted, but for the cheap price compared to a steal bumper it's gonna work .... Lol. Unless anyone's got a bumper for me!
The Laredo cladding and bumper is textured, unlike the smooth finish Limited plastics. From about 10 feet away it might look normal, but closer than that people will start to talk :rolleyes:
 
#34,243 ·
SchizophrenicMC said:
Cold joints are even worse, but solder is a brittle thing, make no mistake. I don't have a problem soldering wires together in a car because the wire dampens any vibration, and heat shrink tubing does a lot for structure. But anything that's fixed, like a speaker tab, I run a crimped connector to. It's stabler and is easier to modularize. If you think electrical work is easy to master, I'd say you're wrong. Especially if you think hammering wires together and taping them is an acceptable joint. The Laredo cladding and bumper is textured, unlike the smooth finish Limited plastics. From about 10 feet away it might look normal, but closer than that people will start to talk :rolleyes:
It looks a lot better than without a bumper, in the near future an after market bumper will be out on it anyways I plan on painting it a flat black color along with the side and back bottom trim panels too. So it will match as much as I can get.
 

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#34,244 ·
If you think electrical work is easy to master, I'd say you're wrong. Especially if you think hammering wires together and taping them is an acceptable joint.
chrysler trained lemurs to design and install the wiring on zj's so how hard could it be ? +'s & -'s and relays and capacitors and resistors , transistors and some i.c.'s not hard at all if you have over a 90 point i.q.

also you obviously skipped the part where i twist the wires 3 times that makes all the difference you know
 
#34,245 ·
Every jeep is different and unique in it's own way, a temporary bumper from a different year grand cherokee Laredo on a limited grand cherokee is just one of those different looks you don't see every day. As well as the limited Cherokees from that year anyways, I've only seen one other in person around where I live. This is somewhat the look I'm going for when I'm done fixing this project up
 

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#34,246 ·
I have never once had a butt splice come apart on me after I've installed it. I'd venture to say if I took an IR camera from work and checked my car or my ZJ, the connection would be no hotter than any other connection in the vehicle. When done properly, they're a good solution for connecting two wires. But what would I know... I'm just an electrical engineer. According to schizo, that's just a glorified electrician, and neither of which I'm qualified for because I'm colorblind.
 
#34,248 ·
ejschultz said:
I have never once had a butt splice come apart on me after I've installed it. I'd venture to say if I took an IR camera from work and checked my car or my ZJ, the connection would be no hotter than any other connection in the vehicle. When done properly, they're a good solution for connecting two wires. But what would I know... I'm just an electrical engineer. According to schizo, that's just a glorified electrician, and neither of which I'm qualified for because I'm colorblind.
I'm colorblind, too. :cheers: and a (practicing) electrical engineer. If given the option between but splices and solder/heat shrink, I'm still going to solder them, though. I've had to undo and fix enough bad butt splice connections in cars that had ****ty POs that I just don't like them.

And schizo's opinion is about as valuable as Joe Dirt's meteor.

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#34,249 ·
I've seen some pretty bad but splices in the past. I'm not saying I trust everyone's, I just trust my own. What field do you work in? I'm into power distribution (switchgear, transformers, and metering) and motor controls (both MCCs and VFDs). I've dabbled here and there with protective relaying, but that's not my forté. I've also done work with some electric cars as well as solar fields and their inverters. The solar stuff is probably going to be the next subject I learn.
 
#34,250 ·
Crimped connections, done correctly and in spec are solid. I rarely see them done correctly though.

I prefer good solder joints because they're a lot cleaner than bulky crimp connectors, I'm also swimming in solder and heatshrink from the protolab in my kitchen, so it's cheaper.

I've been doing small electronics design and repair for a decade and was taught by somebody who was space certified for soldering and assembled satellites. You think a jeep is a high vibration environment? HA.
 
#34,251 ·
ejschultz said:
I've seen some pretty bad but splices in the past. I'm not saying I trust everyone's, I just trust my own. What field do you work in? I'm into power distribution (switchgear, transformers, and metering) and motor controls (both MCCs and VFDs). I've dabbled here and there with protective relaying, but that's not my forté. I've also done work with some electric cars as well as solar fields and their inverters. The solar stuff is probably going to be the next subject I learn.
Power generation controls systems. Turbine controls for power plants, excitation control systems, and schtuff. Controlling everything that happens between the turbine turning and usable electricity leaving the power plant. Sounds like you do everything downstream of what I do.

Up until now, I've done HW almost exclusively, but (hopefully) I'm going to transfer to a feedback controls software role in the next couple weeks. Anybody who says electricity is easy hasn't had to trouble shoot code for a 1,600,000 kVA generator.

On topic, working on finishing up prepping for the show tomorrow.

Sent from my iPhone 9 using JeepForum
 
#34,252 ·
Power generation controls systems. Turbine controls for power plants, excitation control systems, and schtuff. Controlling everything that happens between the turbine turning and usable electricity leaving the power plant. Sounds like you do everything downstream of what I do.

Up until now, I've done HW almost exclusively, but (hopefully) I'm going to transfer to a feedback controls software role in the next couple weeks. Anybody who says electricity is easy hasn't had to trouble shoot code for a 1,600,000 kVA generator.

On topic, working on finishing up prepping for the show tomorrow.

Sent from my iPhone 9 using JeepForum
I hear ya. Try going out and figuring out why a 4160 V soft start keeps tripping when starting a compressor. Hooking stuff up? Easy. Engineering/troubleshooting/testing, not so easy. There's a reason companies want you to have a degree before they hire you for a position like that. Whether or not you're utilizing what you've learned with your degree doesn't matter. The company looks at you as able and willing to learn with your degree as proof.

On topic for me, not a damn thing. I had hopes of driving it yesterday after I got home from my long day at work (troubleshooting communications for a medium voltage vacuum breaker lineup at a waste water treatment plant). I thought to myself, " Maybe this time the starter will engage without any input from me." Nope. I was going to drive it over to my parents' to see my mom on her birthday; I went to bed instead. Lol. My wife was already over there with our JKU and I really didn't want to get back in my truck after sitting in it for 2.5 hours for my drive home. My ZJ, in it's current condition, can't be moved from the driveway so my car is also out of the question as it's stuck in the garage, blocked in by my ZJ.
 
#34,255 ·
I'm missing the old girl more and more.. Broke down in the Burban yesterday 105 miles from home on the return leg of another 600+mi trek. Bloody generator crapped out. Asshats of AAA apparently are useless. We have just below their best plan they offer and they said sure we can tow you but your other 3 passengers are SOL, they gotta find their own way back, never mind the fact two toddlers were involved. pretty ****ty for a loyal customer of an upper tier plan..
 
#34,256 ·
Went to tear apart my starter today to clean it up and get it working again. Everything inside was corroded and the starter was starting to rust from the inside out. Needless to say, I'm going to have an Advance Auto starter in there as soon as my wife is done with her client.
 
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