89 windshield washer issues

[Sean778]

My '89 Cherokee front washers don't work.The wipers will work with the pump harness unplugged, but when I plug it in, there's no spray, and they'll either wipe once or not at all.  The front pump works, because when I attach the harness from the rear pump I can get a spray on the windshield.  There's power at the harness to the pump when it's unplugged and I actuate the wiper switch, but when it's connected to the pump it's a big no-go.  When I attach the front washer pump harness to the pump for the rear, I get no juice out back, but the rear pump is brand new and works great with its own harness attached.  I tried disconnecting the intermittent wiper module and bypassing it, but there was no change.  The 4.8A circuit breaker appears to work, but it seems like that I'm getting too much draw with the pump and wipers running, and it trips the breaker.  Obviously I can't replace the breaker with a higher amperage one, unless I'm trying to burn the Jeep down, but I'm still not sure what my results mean.  Is there a short somewhere?  I'm not the most skilled guy with wiring or electronics, and I'm not sure what else to try besides throwing a ton of parts and money at it.  Please advise me as to what the obvious thing that I'm missing is. 
Thanks,
Sean

[jkrubi]

Have you checked the ground? It sounds like it might be dirty or broken. 

[Sean778]

Yeah I guess that's still a possibility.  I had it in my head that if I was completing the circuit, then the ground wasn't faulty, but it could be that it's just dirty enough to provide too much resistance with everything running together. 
I have to sit down with my multimeter and get to know it again, we used to be friends but that was nearly a decade ago  and I think we may have grown apart over time 

I'll try making a new temporary ground just to see if that sorts out the problem, I should have time for it this weekend. 
Thanks.

[Sean778]

After spending a few hours eliminating every possibility, and talking with some of the fine folks on NAXJA, I've come to the conclusion that the washer switch in the steering column is causing too much resistance.  I think I'll either try and wire up a relay, so I can maintain the existing switch on the stalk, or else Jerry-rig another rear washer/wiper switch and use that in place of the switch on the stalk.  I don't like the idea of ripping apart the steering column, and with my luck I'd spend hours grabbing a switch from PNP, only to get it home and have the same issue.

[Sean778]

After fighting with a couple of steering columns at PNP, I decided to skip replacing the wiper switch, and opted to wire in a relay instead. That sorted out my problem. Thanks for the advice jkrubi.

[JackstandJohnny]

did i hear correctly?

the XJ is almost roadable?   

[Sean778]

Yes sir, we're nearing the finish line. I need to bleed the brakes (which are going to work better I hope), change a couple of bulbs, and then tighten up the suspension hardware.  After that it should be good to go.

[JackstandJohnny]

haul that thing down here thursday and we'll fix her good