• 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.

Engine cut off while driving, possible issues?

xjj33p3r

xjj33p3r

NAXJA Member #1108
Location
garland, tx
As stated, I was driving along today in my neighborhood, and the engine completly shut off. I pulled it over, tried to start it, and it would just never turn over. The battery was fine, it had gas, there were no leaks of any kind, so I'm kinda of stumped as to what it could be. Does anyone have any ideas? My fuel pump and sender unit have been in need of repair, so that might be the problem, but some more input would be appreciated.

johnny
 
Could be your CPS (crank position sensor).

It's mounted on your tranny at about 10 o'clock. Follow the wire to it's plug and unplug/plug it in again, working the contact, if it is the CPS it *should* fire up (sometimes a bad CPS will work again after the vehicle has been sitting awhile too). But this won't keep it from failing again, but at least you'll know it's the CPS. The CPS is about 40-50 bucks at the stealership.

Could be your throttle position sensor also, but I'd try the CPS first.
 
If by "it would just never turn over" you mean that it cranked but wouldn't fire, then the CPS is your most likely culprit. If you mean it wouldn't crank at all, you've got some other more mysterious problem. The only hard part about the CPS is getting to it, so definitely try the disconnect/reconnect trick first. If you do need to replace it, gather every extension, universal and wobble in your neighborhood and lube up your forearms. :laugh3: The CPS is located high up on the leading edge of the tranny where its bellhousing meets the engine, at 10:00 when viewed from behind.
Good luck.
 
What Rd (f.k.a. ArmStrong) said:
If by "it would just never turn over" you mean that it cranked but wouldn't fire, then the CPS is your most likely culprit. If you mean it wouldn't crank at all, you've got some other more mysterious problem.
Good luck.
Click to expand...


I thought if the CPS was bad it wouldn't turn over at all. Are you saying that it will turn over but not fire if the cps is bad? Because this would change the whole theory on what could be wrong with mine.
 
If your only problem is a bad cps it will crank all day and not fire. Did the engine feel like it was running out of gas, was there any grinding, did the tires lock up or did the engine just die without warning and let you coast to a stop?
 
Yea the problem was it would never turn over, but it would fire for a long time. I wouldn't hold it down for 30 seconds or anything, since that really won't do any good, but I did try several times to let it sit and try to start it again, with no success. Thankyou for the replies, and I should be hearing from that mechanic tomorrow.
 
This happened to me after doing new battery cables. Exact same symptoms... ended up that I just hadn't gotten the ground wire on the block re-attached properly. It's worth a look, cheap fix.
 
The radio still turned on, so it shouldn't be a battery problem. I was listening to the radio and charging my phone while waiting, so I've kinda canceled that out.
 
Just ran into the same thing about a week ago on a 92 cuisin down the freeway. It would turn over , but not start. As stated above , check the CPS connection, but don't replace it just yet. Pull the distributor cap and look at the contacts and rotor condition. If the cap and rotor look ok, check for spark by pulling a wire inserting a screwdriver carefully into cap and getting s/d very close to block while someone turns over engine. You are looking for a very good spark. If no spark it could be the ignition module just in front of dist. or the cam sensor in distributor or the CPS or ..... When my ignition module went, it sent very high voltage to the dist. and destroyed the rotor and contacts, along with the cam sensor. It also could be loose battery cables and I'm sure other things not mentioned, but I think these are the most common items.
Good luck!
 
I believe he said something like the "Engine control module" fuse. I might be wrong, but he's not charging me a dime for the fix.
 
I had this happen last month also, fuse blow and all. It turned out to be a short to ground in one of the oxygen sensors circuits. It drove me nuts finding it. When I unplugged and replugged the harness to find out which sensor was shorted, the short never reappeared! I assume a bad connection or moisture in the harness. I am still not 100% sure what the root cause was. I carry a pocket full of spare fuses now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Looking for Wiring Harness for 2.8 to 3.4 conversion
Replies
0
Views
55
CaptainSteve23
C
N
New Engine is hard starting
Replies
0
Views
16
NGThomas
N
J
XJ coolant overflow after engine is shut off
2 3
Replies
45
Views
7K
XJI6191
X
Z
1990 renix electrical issues
Replies
3
Views
69
cruiser54
C
C
Cranking Time
Replies
6
Views
79
CBJeeper
C
Back
Top