• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • 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.

CPS/CKS why does it just die

AaronsJeep

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Hemet
Hi Guys,,, Just another blazing hot :flame: Sunday afternoon so I thought I'd take some time to research :geek: this problem of ours. In the past year I've replaced mine 5 times,, in 2' of snow and 115 degrees. Oh we all know what happens,,, were just wheeling along and it just dies. Plenty of fuel, crank and all the relays are good, just no spark. I do the o'l 10 min switcharoo and I'm back running again. But WTF why? Is it the POS sensor or the store we buy them from? Will a dealer sensor be better? I have a 95 4.0 with over 320,000 miles on the original motor ( heads new) is it just tired so it spits em out? Any thoughts?
 
The CPS and TPS are pretty vital to finishing either a 4x4 trail or a road trip. They are some of the very few parts that I would consider a dealership only item. Cheap parts are cheap for a good reason. My time is worth good money and a CPS is something I only want to replace once every 150,000 miles.
 
With that kind of luck, I'd be collecting them from junkyards. Maybe the old ones are better than the new ?Chinese? ones. I doubt that the new ones from the dealer are any better unless they are from old stock. Usually there will be a date code on parts for warranty purposes.
 
And maybe thats the answer,,, The parts that I buy are 90$ parts but regardless of the money spent or where they're purchased. Or how or why they just die for no reason. If its not from the dealer, then keeping 2 in the back is the only other option. It's just frustrating not being able to figure this problem out. Thanks for your insight,,
 
I am going to go the junkyard and pull a few from the lowest mileage XJ's (of a similar year) that I can.

my AutoZone crank sensor only lasted 3 years. And guess what it only has a 2 year warranty.
 
I worked in Test Engineering for Honeywell for 22 years where we produced some OEM sensors for the automotive industry. There can be a pretty big difference in quality/longevity of sensors. I've seen and tested some total crap parts.

I buy plenty of aftermarket stuff, but I buy my sensors for my XJ from JEEP, where the extra money is generally well spent IMHO.
 
BirchBlake, I applaude your honesty :yelclap:! We all know for the most part when we have a symptom we know how to correct it. But our jeeps are only as good as the parts! We all have horror stories from the Autozones,, 1 afternoon because of the BS lifetime warranty I went through 7 power steering pumps. 2 came out of the new boxs still dirty not even rebuilt! There are some things only the dealer should supply like previously mentioned like the cam sensor/TPS/CKS etc. If these sensors fail because of the "remanufacturer" were dead on the side of the road. Now am I understanding correctly for these specific parts the dealer is the best option? Or do you have other unknown sources? So I have 3 of these CKS and they all test good, but the jeep is dead. Put a new one in and it fires right up for an unknown amount of time :firedevilREALLY!? Thats all these parts have to offer?

LOL! Any body want to but a slighly used POS of a sensor?
 
I must say, I had a bad experience with a plastic/metal AutoZone radiator, thermostat, crank sensor, and power steering pump which lasted about 2.5 years before the bearings for the pully were totally gone.

However I am going on probably about 3 years on an AutoZone water pump and it is still tight and holding. I usually go to Advance Auto now so would I replace this stuff with AutoZone stuff again? No....but I used to shop there. I am suprised the water pump is holding up!
 
Are you sure it hasnt just been a connection problem, and when you unplug the old CKS and plug in the new, the connection is restored?
 
Thanks for the reply, yeah I was even thinking the same thing. I even changed that connector on the TB side for a new one. And yes, when I take out the 1-6 month old sensor, and put in a new one, it fires right up. No codes, and no spark until the sensor gets changed.
 
Back
Top