1996 Jeep Cherokee 4.0L all gauges not working and no start

Car wiring question:

Hi, I am a new member and my jeep quit on me the other day. I know it going to cost me big bucks and towing to the garage that is why I subscribe to ATS. During no start, all the gauges lights in my dash quit and my neighbour mechanic tried disconnecting the battery to reset the computer. After resetting, nothing changed and we are stuck. He suspects the ecm is bad but we don’t want to guess because it is a little bit pricey. Please help.

Vehicle wiring advice:

From your description, it does seem to point to a computer failure but on this system, you have 2 types of computers, the engine computer and the body computer. The body computer (bcm) usually controls your dash panel. To test, try unplugging the engine computer (ecm) and see if the dash lights returns. If not, try unplugging each of the modules or components of the bcm. If the light returns this time, the last module you touched is the culprit.

These are some of the bcm modules: power doors, power windows, audio, anti-theft alarm or any options your vehicles have. You should see them in the wiring diagram or I can give you a complete list if you give me the VIN number.

Notes:

The bcm terminals pins can be tested individually just like the ecm. Please refer to ats past newsletters. Make sure the voltage to the power and ground wires are OK. Instead of using the reference voltage pin, use the bcm BUS connector to monitor how the bcm works. (The bus connector testing is discussed extensively in other articles shown here).

Finally make sure all the fuses are OK.