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Can A (VSS) Vehicle Speed Sesnor Failure cause engine stall?

N

Non-StopXJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Kansas
I have a 98 XJ Classic (4.0l, AW4, 242J) stock drive train, that will sometime stall when I hit sharp jarring bumps, but will start up just fine afterward on first attempt.

I've noticed that the check engine light will flash, the speedometer will drop to zero, and then sometimes if the bump is hard enough the engine will instantly stall.... and then instantly restart with a single turn of the key.

No codes flash, all gauges will work properly upon restart, and the engine purrs along just fine at all other times.

Is it possible for the VSS to intermittently fail, and stall the engine on hard bumps?
 
If you have a Check Engine Light, download the four digit trouble codes and post them.

You should be looking for loose wires, loose wire connectors, or chafed/melted insulation that is causing a short or open circuit.
 
Check the battery clamps, and ground connections first.
 
x2 on checking the grounds. They can play havoc. We had a guy come in where the vehicle would power up normally but not start it was a cracked battery terminal. Another one was a ZJ that was charging like 15+ volts. Previous shop told her to replace her PCM. Battery terminal looked good, but was slightly lose. A quick tightening and it charger normally.
 
Non-StopXJ said:
I have a 98 XJ Classic (4.0l, AW4, 242J) stock drive train, that will sometime stall when I hit sharp jarring bumps, but will start up just fine afterward on first attempt.

I've noticed that the check engine light will flash, the speedometer will drop to zero, and then sometimes if the bump is hard enough the engine will instantly stall.... and then instantly restart with a single turn of the key.

No codes flash, all gauges will work properly upon restart, and the engine purrs along just fine at all other times.

Is it possible for the VSS to intermittently fail, and stall the engine on hard bumps?
Click to expand...

Last summer I had a similar problem....
I would be driving down the road; the engine would stumble if I hit a bump; this problem did not happen every time....
One day I drove the Jeep into the garage out of the sun and when I tried to start the engine several hours later.... The engine would crank, but not start.
Spent several hours on numerous test procedures with a VOM for the Crank Position Sensor, Cam Position Sensor, Fuel Injectors, Fuel Pump Relay, Anti (something) Relay, cleaned all the grounds in the engine compartment along with the battery terminals. Even measured the resistance of each relays coil and manually actuated each one for 10 minutes or so to ensure they wouldn't disengage due to heat build up.
Everything tested good.... so I decided to put everything back together and try again. VWALA.... the engine started and has been fine since...
Guess the Jeep just wanted to get my attention since I had been spending more time with the Acura RSX Type S.
 
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