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So, what's my problem??

nitrogt101

NAXJA Forum User
Some vehicle info that is usefull: 98 XJ sport, 4.0, AT, 4x4, JET Chip, K&N, Gibson exhaust.

Alright, I'm not sure what is wrong with the engine, but the "check engine" light came on last night. Got up this morning and checked all the normal stuff(found that the oil was low while i was at it..... relation?). Nothing seemed wrong, besides the oil, so i added oil back up to the normal level. But the oil doesnt have anything to do with the "check engine" light, does it? The jeep runs great, always has. I've never had any problems with it, and nothing *sounds* wrong when i drive it.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas or anything else I can check before I go spend money(which I dont have much of, I'm a poor student) to get the OBD-II code pulled from it. Is it safe to drive it? Or should I let it sit in the driveway till I get it figured out?

Thanks!
-nitrogt101
PS: Yes, I searched.
 
I agree with the autozone comment.

On a side note, you said it was low on oil. Did you just buy the vehicle lately or have it changed at one of those quickie places? Alot of those type of places don't know the 4.0 holds 6 quarts, based on the phone calls i've made in the past. If you just had it changed, they might not have filled it back up all the way. Also, did you notice the oil pressure being a little high? or was it not really low?
 
I stopped by autozone because I needed to buy more oil, and checked about the reader, and they said they dont do it for free. Maybe its something to do with Southern California being a rip off, LOL.

I just bought the vehicle in November, and the guy had just had an oil change, dont know where. Then in January(I believe) I had it changed. I check it regularly, and make sure that they fill all the way up. It has been in the "safe" range every time, but today it was BELOW the "add" section. I added a quart to bring it back into the "safe" zone, I still need to add more though.

I did not notice the oil being high or low lately. It normally runs between 30 and 40 normally, is that right? I was just coming out of the riverbed when the light came on, but I couldnt notice anything different than before, and I checked the obvious sensors thinking maybe I knocked on of them off, but they were ok.

Thanks for the help,
nitrogt101
 
just a thought... when is the last time you put gas in it? If it was recent then theres a chance that this coulda done it. What happens is when you go to start the car, it pressurizes the fuel system, making sure there are no leaks. If it detects a leak (loss of pressure) it will trip the light. Most common problem, loose gas cap, or possible not put on straighr. check it out. good luck
 
Hmmm, southern calif, just came out of a river bed, gas cap is one, got something wet crossing the river, overloaded the vehicle with too many illegals or bad mex gas... :D. Sometimes the light can be triggered by a momentary problem, I had mine come on about 4 years ago going down a long grade, panic, was wondering all kinds of things then one of the jeep mechs that used to be on here, rags, said wait for 5 complete cycles, cold, hot, cold equals one cycle. See if it goes out and it did, never to return [knock on wood]....however from then on I started using chevron techron every few thousand miles to keep the fuel system cleaned out...
 
Gas cap was ok. I didnt go through deep water(I'm not that hard core), a few inches at the deepest, it was mostly sand. And the last tank of gas(the day before the light came on) was chevron with techron, so I doubt that would be a problem. I dont know exactly how many cycles its been through so far, but I think its been more than 5. I checked the oil again today after about 30 miles, and it is fine. Any other ideas?
 
Check the seal on the gas cap too. If it went bad that will trigger a CE light, along with filling the tank with the engine, or key in the on position.

EDIT: Also I have heard that topping off the tank can trigger one too, but I have never had it happen to me, and I amost always squease $5-6 dollers more in it when it clicks off the first time.
 
I had mine come on about two months ago for the first time. I was driving at a reasonable speed (about 50mph) and hit about a 50 yard 6 inch deep puddle during a rain storm (got to love the Norfolk drainage system). I put my foot down to keep up my speed, since I drive through those puddles all the way home from work when its raining and its fun to blow by everyone else that is terrified of the wet road. So as soon as I let off of the peddle the ligth came. My heart dripped in my stomach and I throught I must have torn something off in the water or so forth. Everything seemed fine so at the next red light I performed a "Raytheon Re-start" (turned off it and then back on) and the light didn't come back on. I quickly "knocked on my dashboard" and I've been luckily enough that it hasn't come back.

I thinking you might have done something similiar to cause the light.

How much is gas in CA now?
 
My 01 did the same thing ended up replacing the gas cap and disconnecting the battery for about an hour that was a month ago hasnt came back on since.
 
Thanks for the ideas. I did fill up with the key in the on position, but that was about a month ago, a little late for that to be the reason. I top off everytime I get gas, a lot can fit in our filler tubes. I do not think that would do it all the sudden. As for the puddle, I did go through some water(shallow) at about 10mph, I had to go through the water instead of around to get to where a Ford Escape was stuck to pull him out. What might the water do to cause this? I've gone through deeper water before, and mud, with no problems, and I always wash it well underneath after everytime.

The light is still on, but it drives fine, I'm just going easy on it for the time being. BTW, gas was $2.59 three days ago, its around $2.63-2.65. Yeah, not good for a poor student driving a jeep. :mad:
 
Doesn't ON-OFF-ON-OFF spell out a code on the odometer or something like that? Seems like I remember that working on something Jeep with a digital readout.... Give that a shot and see what it says... And by on I mean key in run position but engine not started, just in case you werent sure
 
buffalomatt350 said:
Doesn't ON-OFF-ON-OFF spell out a code on the odometer or something like that? Seems like I remember that working on something Jeep with a digital readout.... Give that a shot and see what it says... And by on I mean key in run position but engine not started, just in case you werent sure
It's On-Off-On-Off-On, but it's not supposed to work for the '98s. The code shows up as a blinking sequence of two-digit numbers on the Check Engine light.
 
buffalomatt350 said:
Doesn't ON-OFF-ON-OFF spell out a code on the odometer or something like that? Seems like I remember that working on something Jeep with a digital readout.... Give that a shot and see what it says... And by on I mean key in run position but engine not started, just in case you werent sure
Not a vehicle with OBD-II. Those can only read codes with a scanner.

The old OBD-I systems could flash codes thru the odometer or "check engine" light.
 
AZ Jeff said:
Not a vehicle with OBD-II. Those can only read codes with a scanner.

The old OBD-I systems could flash codes thru the odometer or "check engine" light.
'96 is OBD-II...and it reads the key sequence. Later years don't from what I understand.
 
Well, went to the 76 station that my buddy owns/runs, he has an OBD-II reader. He looked through all the info that it gave us when we ran it, turns out the rear O2 sensor(the one on the back side of the cat) is not reading right(not reading at all). There really is no way of telling yet if it is the sensor, or if the wire was damaged somewhere, untill I replace the sensor and see if the problem goes away. The reason I say that the wire could be damaged, is that it is pulled VERY tight for some reason, and there is no play in it.

So that is what I'll be replacing next paycheck, its nothing urgent. How much do these things cost anyways?

Thanks for all your guys' help!
 
nitrogt101 said:
rear O2 sensor...How much do these things cost anyways?
Roughly $60 through NAPA; they were actually quite a bit cheaper than Checker Auto when I replaced mine at the beginning of the year but call around a little bit to compare.
 
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