The xj died!

[utahxj]

I need some help. I was driving down the road and my xj (which has 3/4 tank of gas) just died! It acted as if it was running out, or it ran out of gas. I waited a minute and it started up...continued for a minute and then it died again! I have power, it cranks...and on occasion starts but it sputters and then dies again. What's going on? Bad gas? I checked the gas pressure valve and it seems to have plenty of pressure. Any ideas? Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Spork]

clogged filter?

 

[Hickey]

filter.

 

[Caleb]

filter or maybe you have a bad sending unit and you really are out of gas???

 

[bobdog]

If you have gas pressure at the gas pressure valve which I am guessing is after the filter you know that you have gas in the tank and the filter is letting fuel through. First thing I would check is for spark. If you have spark check to see if the injectors are pulsing.

 

[bobdog]

If it starts up and then dies check the CPS. The injectors will pulse when cranking to get the motor running and then the computer needs to see a RPM signal to keep it going.

 

[mbryson]

Originally posted by bobdog
If it starts up and then dies check the CPS. The injectors will pulse when cranking to get the motor running and then the computer needs to see a RPM signal to keep it going.

I'm with Bobdog.......GET A DEALER CPS!!!!!.....save yourself some money by spending an extra $30-40 for the dealer unit........

 

[ace]

My injector wires were corroded where they attach to the computer. Clean these connectors up before replacing anything


Bad Fuel pump?

 

[utahxj]

Turns out to be my fuel pump. Now I get to learn how to replace it!

 

[Herzog]

Originally posted by utahxj
Turns out to be my fuel pump. Now I get to learn how to replace it!

It's not bad at all. Just make sure you have less than half a tank of gas. There is a ring that you have to turn to break the seal. I used a punch and a hammer. Then the whole pump pretty much comes out with a rubber gasket... Becareful not to knock it around too much, you might kick the float sensors out of whack.

 

[utahxj]

Great, that means I have some gas to syphon out of there. It looks like I'll be diving in to it tomorrow night, so I lwt ya'll know how it goes.

 

[utahxj]

O.k., I replaced the fuel pump...not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be...but the problem still exixts! I let it idol for about 10 minutes and it sounded and ran really good, so I took it for a drive and as soon as I hit the road I crossed some train tracks...as soon as I hit the tracks ( not a huge bump) the xj killed again! Could it be something electrical?

 

[Herzog]

Have you tested some of the other sensors? Try the Throttle Position Sensor. Sometimes the ground on the TPS can go bad and cause problems.

I can't really think of anything else right now.

 

[Fuller]

try checking the wire that goes to the crank shaft postistioning sensor. I have had mine touch the exhaust manifold before, and it would start, i would drive and it would get warmed up and i would hit a bump and it would sputter and finaly die.


just a thought.

i had to replace mine thought because the wires got melted.

 

[utahxj]

Alright, I replaced the fuel filter...it ran for about 10 minutes, and then quit again. Finally we decided to put some gas treatment in the tank (bad gas?) and after sitting for a while it fired up and has kept running! So far so good! I can't believe that bad gas was the cause of all my trouble however, so I am still skeptical. I've got a few things that I want to check out including the ideas that you guys gave me. Thanks for all the help!

 

[PBF]

Had the identical problem in my TJ last year. Got a fillup in Reno on the way back from the Rubicon. About 20 miles down the road 'cough, sputter, die) Checked everything I could and it restarted...20 miles later same thing...same thing...

Put a couple of bottle's of techron, gas cleaner...and got better. All in all it took two tanks of gas from SLC area to completely go away.

Ran across two other folks on the way back (stopped on the side of the road) who got gas at the same station in Reno and all had the same problem.

 

[utahxj]

I hope that will solve my problems!

 

[tweakeyjeep]

I work at Hinckley Dodge and we had a guy come in from California, had a problem similar...

He filled it up, and it was pinging like crazy (he puts premium in for some reason) No matter what he did it would ping like crazy... He tried a couple fuel treatments which kinda, helped, but not much. Brought it in, found out it was something wrong with his computer... It was reading everything wrong and sending wrong info to the engine, so the engine was running lean (i think) and causing it to not work correctly, so they re-programmed his computer and it fixed all his problems.

Good luck, I hope it was just the bad gas, not anything serious.

 

[utahxj]

Mike, how much would a computer "overhaul" cost me?

 

[tweakeyjeep]

Mike, how much would a computer "overhaul" cost me?

Sorry it took so long, my internet at my house has been down for a while... I'll check and get back to ya tonight.