Posted on 10/16/2013 9:22:15 PM PDT by Anti-Christ is Hillary
Ok I know we don't have a lot of car questions here but my husband can't figure it out and there is not a lot that he can't figure out. I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler Sport. For the last few weeks it has been dieing its like it just turns off. I'll be traveling down the street or on the freeway and everything is fine and all of the sudden it just dies. He thought that it was the fuel pump and changed that and now he is thinking that it is something in the electrical system. Does anyone have any ideas? He put a code reader on it and got no codes back.
Thanks for any help.
Nikki
My 1991 Wrangler had a similar problem. Turned out to be a bad crank shaft position sensor. Both the camshaft position sensor (stator) and the CSPS must send the computer compatible signals or else the plugs won't fire.
My Jeep Grand Cherokee had the same problem. Finally mechanic identied a bad crank shaft position sensor. Quick and cheap repair once problem is identified. Tell your mechanic to look at that first.
I had the same problem on my 1999 VW Jetta. Cost me $600 to replace an $85 sensor,most of it diagnostics.
There’s a screen on the fuel pump, but there is probably an in- line fuel filter too. My old PU had one on the truck frame underneath the drivers side.
Many times the engine management computer box will go out. I had one that did that and when it cooled down it would start again. I took the engine management box apart and found that the very high power voltage regulator that takes 12V down to 5V had very wide pins that went through large holes in the circuit board. The temperature cycling from the high current caused the solder to get brittle and crack around the voltage regulator pins (the big part, probably with a heat sink radiator and three big fat electrical pins). When it got hot the expansion would cause an open circuit at the solder cracks, but when it cooled it would shrink and make contact again. You can see the crack easily with a magnifying glass if this is the problem. I had cracks all the way around 2 of the 3 pins. I wicked the solder off with the copper braid solder wick. Then I bent the pins over so they touched te copper pads around the thru-hole in the circuit board, but not shorting to another trace. Then I re-soldered. The problem never came back. Your problem could be different, but my problem was on a Porsche and I got many calls from the repair shop to help fix the same problem on other cars including a race car that had the problem in the 12 Hours of Sebring Race. It also had the same problem. I have also heard of this in other models of cars too. A simple fix if it is the problem instead of a $1500 replacement of an engine management ECU.
Often the engine management ECU os under the passenger floor board, but you would need to check for your vehicle.
The crank sensor is a popular choice.
Or, here: Jeep Wrangler suddenly dies (forum)
Have you checked your gas cap? You could be loosing pressure in your fuel system due to faulty gas cap.
If the death is immediate without any sputtering I am thinking it's an electrical short of vacuum hose leak, leaning towards short. Does the problem happen only after reaching max engine temp? That could be a clue.
REMEMBER THE GOLDEN RULE OF TROUBLESHOOTING:
"ALWAYS START WITH THE LEAST EXPENSIVE PROBLEM AREA AND WORK YOUR WAY UP FROM THERE"
I also agree with cableguy, based on what I’ve read that ‘crank sensor’ is common problem with wrangers.
Yup, but on the jeep is a 30-50 dollar sensor held on by 2 10mm head bolts. very easy to replace.
when ever one came in the shop doing what they describe with out codes we always put a crank sensor in first. 99% of the time it’d fix it and the sensor was cheaper than the diagnostics.
Does your Jeep have an evaporative control system that captures the tank vapors, condenses them, and returns them to the tank? Sometimes a bit of crud can plug those lines, or a small check valve in the system can fail, giving the symptoms you describe. A vacuum lock in that system can cause the pump relay to kick. After a minute or two the pressures equalize and everything is hunky-dory until the next time. Don't forget to check the fuel cap.
they pulled the codes - none were present
My 2002 Dodge RAMwagon started having problems with the engine suddenly quitting while driving down the highway or street, and then it would sometimes start up again as if nothing had ever happened. Turned out to be the failure of the master computer. Chrysler-Dodge had no replacements available for a month. The tsunami in Japan had wiped out the manufacturer of the component. afte renting a car for nearly a month, the dealer finally admitted they didn’t know when of if a replacement would be available.
I finally bought a remanufactured part from a company in Florida and had the dealer install it. A year later and the dealers tell me they now have the part in stock again.
Because the master computer wasw responsible for the O2 sensor and many other sensors, its intermittant failures misled the dealer mechanics for awhile.
Sounds like good advice.
Ditto on the crankshaft position sensor others have mentioned. There is also an outside chance that a timing belt pulley has chewed up its bearings and put the engine slightly out of time...but that should have given a code...but devastating enough to merit checking. The fuel system is probably fine...problems with fuel delivery should manifest themselves during hard driving, like accelerating uphill....rail pressure is actually highest at idle.
There are also a host of things dealing with the throttle position sensor and iac solenoid that would be suspect....but these should have given a code.
I had a Ford, fuel injected, that had a similar problem. After many dolllars and time, it was the Main computer that controlled the fuel injection.
I hope that is not the solution.
Good advice. I use a wooden broom handle to avoid shocks or burns.
One time I tapped an unknown sensor at the top of the engine and the engine immediately died. I took the car in to a mechanic and told him, "change that thing. It's defective."
I also have had crankcase sensors fail on two different vehicles. The engine would die while the car was moving. After a few minutes, the car would start right up. Very inconvenient.
This is like the problem I described earlier. If the engine management computer is losing power by losing the voltage regulator then it cannot store a fault code.
Crank Positioning Sensor is likely bad. I had a Dodge van that finally left me sitting. Take it to an Autozone parts store and they may be able to use their diagnositc reader and see if it’s having a fail code.
Crank Positioning Sensor is likely bad. I had a Dodge van that finally left me sitting. Take it to an Autozone parts store and they may be able to use their diagnositc reader and see if it’s having a fail code.
Back in the 70’s we had an Escapade Motor home. We would be driving and it would just quit. Found it was the Module. Same thing happened with a Chevy Malibu we had. It was the Module.
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