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XJ died on me while driving to work...

8

88XJowner

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Long valley, NJ
97 XJ died while driving to work this morning without warning and would not start back up... I have a 90% highway commute and at 75 mph it died. No CEL, no nothing. I got a ride and replaced the CPS and it did not fix the issue. The fuel pump whines and all the fuses and relays are good. BUT....... When I checked the fuel rail pressure it spit a little fuel out and that was it. I understand these are supposed to have 40-45 psi behind them when not running and spray a solid stream when tested. Hmmmm. HELP!
 
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Re: SOB died on me while driving to work...

Not sure from your description--engine cranks but won't start OR no cranking?

A**uming "cranks, no start" do you have spark from the coil through the distributor and to the spark plugs? If so, the crank sensor/coil/PCM are functioning.

Yes, you should have 49 psi (give or take a little) at the Schrader valve. Put a fuel gauge on it.
 
Re: SOB died on me while driving to work...

Yes, it is a crank and no start. I just put plugs in it yesterday too but I know what I'm doing just these wacky electrical issues get me sometimes. So I'm going to assume it's got a no fuel bug... I'll be dropping the tank tomorrow and will post the results...
 
Re: SOB died on me while driving to work...

WHOA--rent a pressure gauge and read it at the rail.

Have you confirmed spark?
 
Re: SOB died on me while driving to work...

This happened to me.. died onroad and no spark. Like 90% of most of us i threw a CPS in and no dice. It turned out to be my ignition coil.
 
Re: SOB died on me while driving to work...

Yeah, need to confirm the missing element--fuel, air, fire, compression, and that everything is at the right place at the right time.

You could get low pressure when you push in the Schrader valve because the check valve in the fuel pump assembly is bad--a very common occurance.

Your rotor could be broken, so no spark is getting distributed to the plugs.

Check, test, confirm.
 
Re: SOB died on me while driving to work...

mine always only does a little squirt from the schrader valve not much gas and mine runs fine. dont assume its the fuel so quick check spark and all that
 
Re: SOB died on me while driving to work...

Simple test. Spray a small amount of starting fluid into the intake. If it starts and runs momentarily, you have confirmed that spark is okay and you have a fuel delivery problem. With no pressure at the rail, there is a good chance that the engine will start this way but I'd want to be sure before dropping the tank.

If it doesn't fire with above technique, pull a plug and check for spark.

Test your way to a solution.
 
Re: SOB died on me while driving to work...

I chased the same symptoms for two years and it was the coil/asd relay "going" bad....sometimes they still worked
 
Okay time for an update NO SPARK AT ALL... Tried all six cylinders to be absolutely sure NADA all the plugs had the smell of fresh gas on them too. Like 1990heepXJ reported that's exactly what I'm getting a little spray and the fuel pump kicks in every time I turn the key. I checked the rotor, dist. pickup and the cap (wires are new). No cracks in anything so It seems everyone is pointing toward the coil so it's relatively cheap I'm going to replace that first...
 
Yeah, don't test anything!

Seriously, do you own a multimeter? If you don't, buy one now or sell the XJ. You can check the crank sensor with the ohm function of your multimeter--cost? Well, the multimeter from Harbor Freight can cost about $3.99 on sale, may be $20 at the parts store. See Tim_Mn's post here: http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1025391

Hell, you could try unplugging and plugging the crank sensor connector three or four times to see if it is just a little corroded.

Or throw parts at it.
 
This is a good day, I replaced the coil and now she's alive again. Stupid "made in Japan" electronics... I don't have a multimeter nor can I read one lol. But I replaced my CPS and returned the old one. So in total I spent $32 on the coil and got a free CPS... :roflmao:
 
So let me get this straight....you throw parts at a problem without testing anything and then blame the electronics??? Not knowing how to use a multi-meter is not an excuse when you could easily learn right? If you can program a modern cell phone you can learn to use a multi-meter. Also, you bought a new CPS and when that wasn't the problem (no testing) you took the old one and returned it as new???? That's just bad car karma....so some fellow, local Jeeper may actually test their CPS and go buy one only to find they're getting your used one??? Dude, not cool. You got lucky with a cheap fix this time but your strategies sound half-assed and shady.
 
congrats on gettin it fixed.
have to agree with 98NWCherokee on the bad car karma. returnin a used product as the new one ya bought is never a good thing... in the long run. (unless there is a core charge like on a starter or alternator).
 
88XJowner said:
This is a good day, I replaced the coil and now she's alive again. Stupid "made in Japan" electronics... I don't have a multimeter nor can I read one lol. But I replaced my CPS and returned the old one. So in total I spent $32 on the coil and got a free CPS... :roflmao:
Click to expand...
nominated, that's just a douchebag move.

Also, you're doing really good at the whole "ignore advice and don't learn to test things, just throw parts and be a dishonest sleazebag" thing. If you were gonna just throw parts at it, why'd you ask how to figure it out?

EDIT: vvv not as far as I know, electronics get saved and returned to the manufacturer for failure analysis. Pretty sure winterbeater and a few other guys on here do that kind of thing for a living. vvv
 
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technically if you return the old one and say it was bad it gets trashed so no one else gets it. although im not sure how you got them to take the old one as one you just bought...
 
88XJowner said:
This is a good day, I replaced the coil and now she's alive again. Stupid "made in Japan" electronics... I don't have a multimeter nor can I read one lol. But I replaced my CPS and returned the old one. So in total I spent $32 on the coil and got a free CPS... :roflmao:
Click to expand...

You're a scumbag.
 
88XJowner said:
This is a good day, I replaced the coil and now she's alive again. Stupid "made in Japan" electronics... I don't have a multimeter nor can I read one lol. But I replaced my CPS and returned the old one. So in total I spent $32 on the coil and got a free CPS... :roflmao:
Click to expand...

what are you talking about Doc, all the best stuff is made in Japan.
 
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