• Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

temp guage drop then wants to die

T

ThejeepNoob

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Kansas
Once in a while my temp gauge will drop to nothing and my xj will high idle if i try to give it gas it acts like it wants to die and smells very rich any ideas
 
One idea is post what year your XJ is so we can help more. Otherwise it's just a waste of time to speculate.

Sorry to be the "post your year" troll but it gets really old seeing posts daily from people seeking technical information with zero information.
 
The symptoms point to an open in the coolant temperature sensor. 97-up uses a single sensor in the thermostat housing, which is a weak design that can fail easily. I would probably just replace it with a known good unit, either OEM or Standard brand (avoid the house brands).
 
I would also check the connector and the wiring coming off it, but its probably the sensor. I usually buy dealer for sensors that affect how the engine performs.
 
The connector could also just be dirty. Basically its an inline resistor, and infinite resistance (zero degrees) means the circuit is open. Sometimes the sensor fails internally (the filament breaks), sometimes the wire breaks (unusual), sometimes people forget to plug it back in after changing the thermostat, etc. OP has sporadic open so its probably the sensor or the connector
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Running just fine then dies at idle on street
Replies
4
Views
2K
90xj06
9
J
Cranks, Fires, Dies - 1991 Briarwood Restoration
Replies
17
Views
3K
Jam Master Jay
J
M
Coolant Temp Sensor
Replies
3
Views
2K
Unclewolverine
U
J
AW4 Problem shifting first to second when hot
Replies
2
Views
1K
cruiser54
C
I
High idle, smells like gas, running out of things to replace
Replies
2
Views
2K
Inverhyt
I
Back
Top