2000 XJ (work in progress)

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Thu Jan 05, 2012 1:16 am

I've found myself needing someway to convert DC to AC power. In this electronic day and age, there seems to be more and more reasons to need a power convertor. For this reason, it makes sense that many new vehicles come with OE built-in convertors. Anyway, I bought this Schumacher 410 Watt Power Inverter. It comes with a cigarette lighter adapter and alligator clips.

Maximum Continuous Output 410W
Surge Capacity 820W

ABQKJ · **Posted:** Thu Jan 05, 2012 12:23 pm

I always keep an inverter in the Jeep. Nice XJ by the way.

Jaber · **Joined:** Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:37 am **Posts:** 102

Have that same inverter mounted in the back of the KJ. Works great so far!

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Thu Jan 05, 2012 2:29 pm

ABQKJ wrote:

Nice XJ by the way.

Thanks! Have you talked yourself into an XJ yet?

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Thu Jan 05, 2012 2:38 pm

Jaber wrote:

Have that same inverter mounted in the back of the KJ. Works great so far!

I'm really excited about having it "in the Jeep". I bought a Coleman Power Convertor years ago, I believe it was a 750W, but it only uses the alligator clamps which can be extremely inconvenient. I primarily use it with my camper when we boondock.

Jaber · **Joined:** Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:37 am **Posts:** 102

Only problem I ran into with mine, was when the Jeep was moving and hit bumps (Chicago potholes), it would beep and turn off. I had to tighten the terminals with pliers, as I guess hand tightening them didn't work well. Now it stays on the entire time

Love the XJ BTW. Would be awesome to own one, one day. Too many toys, not enough money. :JEEPIN:

ABQKJ · **Posted:** Thu Jan 05, 2012 5:02 pm

dieselenthusiast wrote:

Thanks! Have you talked yourself into an XJ yet?

Two more payments on the KJ and then it is decision time.......

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Fri Jan 06, 2012 12:46 am

Jaber wrote:

Love the XJ BTW. Would be awesome to own one, one day. Too many toys, not enough money. :JEEPIN:

Thanks!........ Like mentioned above, it's a "work in progress". We needed a work vehicle, so I justified the expense of this Jeep for that purpose. I drive it to work everyday and we use it as a weekend warrior to haul firewood, limbs, transport our beehives and tow trailers.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Fri Jan 06, 2012 1:33 am

ABQKJ wrote:

dieselenthusiast wrote:

Thanks! Have you talked yourself into an XJ yet?

Two more payments on the KJ and then it is decision time.......

Keep us posted. :pepper:

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sun Jan 15, 2012 2:51 am

I haven’t had any cooling problems, but my OE radiator has developed a slow leak. After doing lots of research, I decided to go with the FF Dynamics all aluminum radiator and triple electric fan conversion kit.

The Radiator features:
Twin Wide Core Design out cools three core radiators by allowing much more airflow through core
100% Full Aluminum Core and Extra Thick Tig Welded End Caps
100% Billet Aluminum CNC Machined Filler Neck with Billet Overflow Outlet
Stainless Steel 16 lb Radiator Cap with Silicone Seals and Mounting Chain
100% Aluminum Furnace Brazed Core (CAB Brazed, No Epoxy)
Ultra High Efficiency Micro Vented Cooling Fins
Monster Hand TIG Welds
The fan feature:
Fully adjustable fan controller
Sealed weatherproof motors with ball bearings
Custom, reinforced, torch red cages with precision pitched curved S blades for maximum CFM.
Blade assemblies are fully balanced.
The control module will allow you to adjust your fans to turn on at any temperature between 150 and 220 degrees with the turn of a dial. You decide the temp you want the fans to turn on at. This controller will also allow the fans to be turned on automatically when the air conditioning is turned on. This is fully fused and short circuit protected.
Temperature hook up has a slide through radiator probe to make the install fast and clean. All wires are color coded so the directions are as simple as possible.

The Benefits:
Low AMP draw cooling fans
Removing the OE belt driven fan will free up to 7-12 horse power.
No more worries from the auxiliary fan, fan clutches
Gets rid of the noisy OE electric fan
Les stress on engine parts and increase engine life
10% - 15% better gas mileage
Extend your water pump life
AC will blow colder

“The fans have sealed ball bearing 100w motors, ten leg curved blade design that is fully balanced with weights to insure perfect operation, heavy gauge wires to carry the current, super strong red molded nylaglass cages (not your cheap plastic like others out there), high efficiency sealed ball bearing motors and ultra light blades make this the lowest amp draw electric fan kit out there for Cherokees. This entire system pulls under 15 amps. That's less amps then a set of offroad lights. Fans are also the lightest fans available for the Cherokee, each fan weighs in at under 2lbs a piece, making the entire system weigh in at 6 lbs. Factory Cherokee fan setup weighs in at a mighty 24lbs. Once the Cherokees stock clutch fan and clutch assembly, AC fan, shroud and brackets are remove you will have 18lbs of weight savings off the front end. CFM rating on each fan is 1100cfm for a total of 3300cfm for the system. The curved blade and nylaglass cage design makes these fans much quieter (you won't hear them when they are running, almost silent) then our other straight blade design."

You will receive everything needed to do this conversion:
Three heavy duty cooling fan installation kits to mount the fans to the radiator and keep them there even in heavy off roading conditions
One waterproof fully adjustable electronic thermostatic cooling fan control module with air conditioning circuit (this feature can also be hooked to a toggle switch to turn fans on full force with the flip of a switch which most rock crawlers and off roaders will love) that will control all THREE fans and allow you to set turn on temp where you want it giving you total control of your system

kskj · **Posted:** Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:12 am

You should be able to run Moab in august with the ac on with that setup.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:27 pm

kskj wrote:

You should be able to run Moab in august with the ac on with that setup.

Only time will tell. I’ve been assured and reassured that this is a very reliable setup with substantial cooling capabilities over stock. You know that abandoning the mechanical fan is not my philosophy. I won’t do it on my Dodge and I didn’t do it on my Jeep Liberty. With that being said, it appears that FF Dynamics has done their homework and produced a really nice custom radiator and cooling fans for the XJ, so I’m willing to give ‘em a chance. :2cents:

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:31 pm

Not too long after I had bought the XJ, the factory upper hose sprung a pinhole leak. I went to the Jeep dealership and bought a new replacement upper hose. It was a Gates hose sold by Mopar. I noticed that the Gates replacement hose was routed differently from the OE factory hose. Even though the inlet/outlet fit perfectly, the replacement hose rested against the battery in which overtime has caused rubbing. Plus, the replacement hose didn’t come with the protective sleeve like what came on the factory hose. I did a little research and discovered that Car Quest sold a replacement hose that was routed much like the OE hose and came with a protective sleeve. What’s funny is that the Car Quest hose is also made by Gates. Why Gates would make two different hoses for the same application is beyond me.

Here's the hose that rubs against the battery:

Upper Hose:
Car Quest Part # 23283 (Made by Gates)

Lower Hose:
Gates Part # 21615

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:28 pm

Since our XJ didn’t come with the tow package, I’ve had to be somewhat mindful while planning upgrades to include the extra cooling, wiring, and hitch requirements. I’ve been looking at different types of wiring harnesses and adaptors. I decided to go with a plug-n-play 4-pole harness from etrailer.com

etrailer.com
Part# 118354
$27.95

Now that the necessary wiring is in place, I ordered the adapter that converts the 4 pole to 7 pole round plug. This particular plug also has the 4 pole flat combo. The kit comes with additional wire leads for a brake controller. A mounting bracket is also included.

etrailer.com
Part # 37185
$22.95

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:49 am

I’ve been looking for a multiple towing adaptor. Cabela’s had this really neat 7 RV blade to 6 pin round, 5 flat and 4 flat. It also includes two 12V power receptacles which would really come in handy. This adaptor is very well made, heavy duty, and well constructed. etrailer.com also carries this product under a different name, but Cabela's had the best price. It was the winner of 5 International SEMA best new products award plus runner-up in best engineered.

Cabela’s
7-WAY COMBO Wiring Adaptor
Part # IK-62-3021
$19.99

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sun Jan 22, 2012 6:58 pm

Due to the relocation of the license plate, I needed a way to add a license plate light. As with any swing out tire carrier, there needs to be a method to connect and disconnect the light wires. For this reason, I like the Poison Spyder kit because it includes an electrical weatherpak connector and 6’ feet of wire. The kit uses LED bulbs for the license plate light and has three more LED's as a third brake light. It mounts to the two upper or lower bolt holes in the license plate. I also like the fact that LED's provide a bright light with a low power draw.

LED License Plate & 3rd Brake Light with 6' Extension Harness
Part # 41-04-LP6
Cost: 49.00
poisonspyder.com

In this photo, you can see the 3 LED license plate lights:

In this photo, you can see the 3 brake lights:

And here's the electrical weatherpak connector:

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Mon Jan 23, 2012 8:45 pm

This nice LED flashlight plus battery came free with the kit

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:52 pm

The 4-pole wiring harness install was very straight forward. The drivers side rear panel needed to be removed to get to the wiring port.

The connector on the far left (towards the rear of the jeep) is the one that you plug into.

The harness has a converter box that needs to be mounted.

It mounts by using double sided tape.

Here's the converter mounted

The white wire is the ground. You can see that I used an existing ground.

The only dilemma was in deciding how to route the 4-pole wiring. I have a few ideas brewing in my head, but for now I will keep the wiring inside the Jeep and run it out the liftgate when I need it. There’s enough play between the door and weather stripping to safely route the wires. I plugged the 4-pole into our utility trailer and everything checked out good.

DirtyKK · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 8:18 pm

nice xj. i need to get mine up to snuff :oops:

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 12:18 am

DirtyKK wrote:

nice xj. i need to get mine up to snuff :oops:

Thanks! You need to start an "up to snuff" thread. :wink:

2000 XJ (work in progress)

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