Weird horn beeping / dying out problems

[rokes]

ok so to be a little bit more clear, my 98 Wrangler Sahara 4.0L 6cyl. jeep is doing some pretty strange things within the past couple days.

first off, the horn stopped working a couple weeks ago, of so when i need to beep people i just give'em the finger and it seems to work as good if not better haha, all of a sudden now when i turn the steering wheel almost all the way, the horn starts going crazy :???:

then the check engine light came on 2 days ago, and my gf who was driving the jeep at the time says it just dies out when she stopped a couple times, so i drive it to work to see if i can experience it and notice it starts sputtering like misfiring on the highway going about 50-60mph. when i hooked up an OBD II code reader it said something about the throttle pedal and nothing really more.

anybody experienced this before and have a few tips to help me out ?? i'm gonna try and find it on my own as well in the meantime. thanks in advance guys

as for the misfiring, i'm gonna give it a full tune up with new spark plugs, cap & rotor, wires, and fuel filter and see what happens. gonna clean and try and lube the throttle cable and check the TPS and see if i can find anything wrong.

 

[SteelHeadz]

The horn issue is likely to be a bad clockspring. When the ribbon cable wears out, it creates an open short and or a short to ground. Check the TPS for flat spots with a multimeter.

 

[rokes]

i tried finding diagrams with no luck so i could locate the TPS plug. i worked on the jeep today with a tune up changing the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, and the rotor as well. i removed all 4 plugs plugged into the intake manifold as i didn't know which was the TPS and cleaned them and reconnected them, it actually runs a little better when it wants to, doesn't stall out as much, but when i sit it in park for a while running, it'll start running rough and the idle will bounce up and down and the motor runs out of whack :roll:. i was hoping the tune up would help the issue, like i said it kinda did and then it throws temper tantrums and starts acting crazy again. i'm running out of ideas and really don't wanna take it in to the shop cause it'll probably cost way too much to even deal with there

 

[rokes]

i'm positive i got the wires correct as i followed a spark plug wiring diagram and it runs and drives smooth, just every so often it gets that really rough idle

 

[bobcat481]

Hey...had the same problem with my horn. Couldn't figure it out forever. I ended up shooting some WD-40 down where the "push-rod" to the switch is. True story, 2 days later and it has worked fine ever since. I'm guessing just a bad contact "deep with-in"...just a thought, later

 

[SteelHeadz]

Does the RPM become erratic in certain positions when you accelerate?.

 

[rokes]

Hey...had the same problem with my horn. Couldn't figure it out forever. I ended up shooting some WD-40 down where the "push-rod" to the switch is. True story, 2 days later and it has worked fine ever since. I'm guessing just a bad contact "deep with-in"...just a thought, later

i've been trying to find directions or tips on how to get into the steering wheel column with no luck yet. i don't wanna just pry anything open, i have a tendency to break a lot of stuff cause i just try and force it then it becomes more costl than it should be where exactly did you spray wd-40???

Does the RPM become erratic in certain positions when you accelerate?.

not particularly in one spot. it'll run smooth and throttle fine, then just start idling all over the place. i tried starting it up again and letting it run, it'll bounce up and down sporatically and when i give it gas, it'll die out on the way down :x. i read somewhere on another forum that to test which sensor it is, just unplug the sensors on the intake manifold and throttle body one by one and test each. the thing is, i can't find any diagram's with pics to show what sensor is for what cause i don't wanna just unplug sensors not knowing what it's for :-|

 

[bobcat481]

Pull the horn button off, This is where it's ok to be forcefull. You will see a little 1/4" or so plunger just below the button. That's where I sprayed. Can't gaurantee anything, just worked for me.

 

[rokes]

Pull the horn button off, This is where it's ok to be forcefull. You will see a little 1/4" or so plunger just below the button. That's where I sprayed. Can't gaurantee anything, just worked for me.

lol, man right now i'm wiling to try anything. i really love this thing and wanna fix it as much as possible. i'll give it a shot and see what happens

 

[SteelHeadz]

Look behind the steering wheel cover. There should be 2 retainers that secures the airbag module onto the steering wheel , one on each side through the hole of the cover. It's a 10mm bolt. Disconnect the - battery terminal first and wait 15mins. prior to servicing the airbag module. Remove the 2 bolts, gently pull out the airbag and disconnect the squibb connector on the back of the module. Install a steering wheel puller and remove the steering wheel. Remove the upper and lower steering column covers and then disconnect the clockspring connectors from the column, it's on the bottom of the clock spring. One connector is yellow(airbag), the other one should be white . then remove the retainers that secures the clockspring and remove it from the column.
NOTE: Make sure the wheels are in a straight ahead position when you service the clock spring to prevent damage when installing the new one.

Sensor locations and descriptions.

 

[bobcat481]

Sorry Rokes, I didn't pay attention to what year you had. Yes, Steelheadz is right, be carefull of the airbag. Sorry dude.

 

[rokes]

ok so i tried unplugging the TPS module and running it like that, seems like the problem is almost gone, still sputters like it's misfiring rarely now, not all the time so i'm assuming part of the problem is that and there's something else involved as well. i'm just afraid to spend the money on the sensor to find out it's still something else. steel thanks as well for the detailed pics, it helps a lot

 

[SteelHeadz]

Check the wirings on the TPS sensor and all the other sensor wirings for a rub through or chaffed insulation. It's possible that the 5volt or the signal circuit is partially grounding itself. You can test the TPS with a DMM(Digital multimeter) by measuring resistance from the lowest to the highest reading. Go slow while turning the TPS actuator to see if the resistance change is smooth, not erratic.