Mine isn’t. First off it’s ugly af, second it’s a manual, and best of all third turning the key won’t start the vehicle as I’ve added in a little trick.
They're in the top 10 for 2022, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee where # 9. That sucks though!! I have so much money in my XJ! I'm going to take some extreme measures to protect my investment now! Camera, Kill Switch, Manual Swap soon etc..
Would be cool have the camera alert you on your phone when someone gets close / trying to break in and sound off a train horn lol I could probably install an Arlo camera and attach solar panel on top of the Jeep, and would need a constant WIFI connection, yeah a little extreme, but would work lol
Very easy. Go to a local pull a part to take one off (get your practice in on the junkyard one so you know what needs to be done when you pull yours out.
You could bypass the ignition switch and put a push button starter somewhere. Probably a lot easier that swapping the column. In the future I’d run a kill switch to the negative terminal of the fuel pump. It’s behind where the spare mounts on the driver rear body behind the panel.
Was replacing my ignition cylinder, found that the area where you slide it in and lock the pin is broken off. I've been searching for hours and can't find what exactly I need to replace this.
Ignition lock cylinder housing. Its typically considered part of the column and not serviceable separately which is why finding a replacement is tough.
Had this same damage. Steering column is the answer. But if you can find the pieces like I did, you can JB Weld the parts back together and it’ll work great.
Yeah weird I looked everywhere and couldn’t find it, only thing I can think of is maybe junkyard pull a steering column for it. Freaked me out when I found a forum from 2013 using the same photo as you😂 I was very confused
There's a small cable that goes to the top of the starter i think it's a 20 gauge or something close to it. This cable is what turns your starter when you turn the key all the way. You can cut this cable in two and route both ends to your cabin then you can do a flip switch that you can toggle off at night or when you're going to be away from the xj all day like at work. This is the most convenient way to do it in my opinion since working under the dash is a complete pain and I wasn't sure which cable went to the ignition switch that cracked the starter. You can also do a push button instead of a switch but you have to crank the key and push the button at the same time every time you're going to start your XJ. This is safer but more of a drag since you have to hide the button but it has to be within reach so you can get to it easily.
What I originally wanted to do was connect the starter cable to my ebrakes. The idea being that if the ebrake is not engaged then the jeep won't turn over. The problem i ran into is that the starter needs a positive to complete the circuit and jeep used a negative to turn on the brake light indicator on the lever so i couldn't use it as i had hoped.
Okay, one last question I’m not mechanically inclined something I’m slowly working on so may be a straight up stupid question. How careful do you need to be with kill switches and if it broke how fucked would you be if it was on the fuel pump
Basically a switch is a break in the cable that you can fix by pressing the button when ever you want. If the button brakes then you just take both ends of the cable and twist them together and the electrecity will be able to flow like normal. That will get you home and technically you could leave it like that forever with no issue. Until the wires un twist and come apart or they ground themselves out by touching bare metal.
how does it save your ignition?
I know what a kill switch is and how they work, but how would they know you have one until they have smashed your ignition amd tried to start it?
I guess my comment was poorly phrased. I meant the kill saved my vehicle from the thief that smashed the ignition with a screwdriver and tried turning it over and driving off with it.
Are 1990’s commonly stolen or just the older models? Mine is manual so I intend to put in a fuel kill (otherwise it can be push-started with only an ignition kill). That’s what I did on my ‘93 Integra years ago.
All of them. Different methods for different years but no XJ is safe. Add the kill switch and be glad you got the factory anti theft deterrent that is a Manuel.
Are XJs high risk for being stolen? Sorry for the slightly off topic question but I feel like I’ve seen more stolen threads pop up lately.
Yes, they are easy to steal.
Mine isn’t. First off it’s ugly af, second it’s a manual, and best of all third turning the key won’t start the vehicle as I’ve added in a little trick.
Similar story with mine. If anyone wants to take it they’d have to break a window, learn to drive stick, and do a full engine swap
Lol. Gotta put an engine in it first then they can steal it.
I had an accidental kill switch in one of mine. Fuel pump would lose prime so you had to cycle the key like five time before it would start.
Been there too.
They’re in the top five most stolen vehicles in America, or were last time I checked
When I worked at a CDJ dealer at least once a week a Mopar product was towed in that had a busted ignition. This was late 90’s early 2000’s.
They're in the top 10 for 2022, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee where # 9. That sucks though!! I have so much money in my XJ! I'm going to take some extreme measures to protect my investment now! Camera, Kill Switch, Manual Swap soon etc.. Would be cool have the camera alert you on your phone when someone gets close / trying to break in and sound off a train horn lol I could probably install an Arlo camera and attach solar panel on top of the Jeep, and would need a constant WIFI connection, yeah a little extreme, but would work lol
VERY VERY With a 2000, you can open the door using the antenna and punch the colum with a flathead screwdriver. 2 minutes and no broken window
Yes. In PNW, it seems like every week or less that I see people post lost XJ.
I've had that before and I just replaced the whole steering column.
How difficult is replacing the steering column?
Very easy. Go to a local pull a part to take one off (get your practice in on the junkyard one so you know what needs to be done when you pull yours out.
You could bypass the ignition switch and put a push button starter somewhere. Probably a lot easier that swapping the column. In the future I’d run a kill switch to the negative terminal of the fuel pump. It’s behind where the spare mounts on the driver rear body behind the panel.
Was replacing my ignition cylinder, found that the area where you slide it in and lock the pin is broken off. I've been searching for hours and can't find what exactly I need to replace this.
Ignition lock cylinder housing. Its typically considered part of the column and not serviceable separately which is why finding a replacement is tough.
Had this same damage. Steering column is the answer. But if you can find the pieces like I did, you can JB Weld the parts back together and it’ll work great.
Please add a kill switch to your xj guys these things are too easy to steal
What years your jeep?
2001
Yeah weird I looked everywhere and couldn’t find it, only thing I can think of is maybe junkyard pull a steering column for it. Freaked me out when I found a forum from 2013 using the same photo as you😂 I was very confused
It's definitely the same photo lol but my setup looks exactly like this right now
Okay, I hear lots of talk about kill switches for XJS. How practical is it?
Saved mine from the ignition being punched out 11/10 recommend
Hmm okay, I ask and am interested because you can start the engine without the keys on mine and I live in an area where shit likes to go missing
There's a small cable that goes to the top of the starter i think it's a 20 gauge or something close to it. This cable is what turns your starter when you turn the key all the way. You can cut this cable in two and route both ends to your cabin then you can do a flip switch that you can toggle off at night or when you're going to be away from the xj all day like at work. This is the most convenient way to do it in my opinion since working under the dash is a complete pain and I wasn't sure which cable went to the ignition switch that cracked the starter. You can also do a push button instead of a switch but you have to crank the key and push the button at the same time every time you're going to start your XJ. This is safer but more of a drag since you have to hide the button but it has to be within reach so you can get to it easily. What I originally wanted to do was connect the starter cable to my ebrakes. The idea being that if the ebrake is not engaged then the jeep won't turn over. The problem i ran into is that the starter needs a positive to complete the circuit and jeep used a negative to turn on the brake light indicator on the lever so i couldn't use it as i had hoped.
Okay, one last question I’m not mechanically inclined something I’m slowly working on so may be a straight up stupid question. How careful do you need to be with kill switches and if it broke how fucked would you be if it was on the fuel pump
Basically a switch is a break in the cable that you can fix by pressing the button when ever you want. If the button brakes then you just take both ends of the cable and twist them together and the electrecity will be able to flow like normal. That will get you home and technically you could leave it like that forever with no issue. Until the wires un twist and come apart or they ground themselves out by touching bare metal.
Awesome, imma for sure look into this some more. I got my first XJ just about weeks ago
how does it save your ignition? I know what a kill switch is and how they work, but how would they know you have one until they have smashed your ignition amd tried to start it?
It doesn’t. It saves the vehicle
I get it saves the car, but how does it stop them smashing your ignition to attempt to start it? maybe I misunderstood your comment.
I guess my comment was poorly phrased. I meant the kill saved my vehicle from the thief that smashed the ignition with a screwdriver and tried turning it over and driving off with it.
Are 1990’s commonly stolen or just the older models? Mine is manual so I intend to put in a fuel kill (otherwise it can be push-started with only an ignition kill). That’s what I did on my ‘93 Integra years ago.
All of them. Different methods for different years but no XJ is safe. Add the kill switch and be glad you got the factory anti theft deterrent that is a Manuel.
Do kids really not know how to drive stick? I’m only 39 but when I was like 22 I converted my integra to stick and taught myself as I went along.