• 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.

95' sputters, fights and dies when hot.

I've got a 95' XJ I was hoping to never have to work on again...WRONG... My mom wants to drive it this winter while her bmw convertible sits under a car cover... what a pain in the ass. So, it has this problem where after a prolonged driving time such as on the highway... the engine will fight and spudder when given gas. This sometimes will result in it dying if I am stopped or almost stopped in traffic. It seems to be VERY relative to heat, as on a hot night sitting it any kind of traffic you have to fight to keep it alive. Any ideas where to start? If any additional information is needed, please just ask. --Chad--
 
Had a similar problem with my ’91. After replacing almost every sensor, it turned out to be the coolant temp sensor (the one in the thermostat housing). Check the wires also, they sit right next to the valve cover and have a tendency to get burned and frayed.
 
hmmm.. thanks for the information, i'll have to try it out... err, i hoped to never have to drive it again, but for testing sake...lol It's at the mechanic right now getting the gas tank replaced... it sprung a leak at about 3/4 full line, and I'm just too busy to get around to doing that.
 
JeepinAudiophile said:
So, it has this problem where after a prolonged driving time such as on the highway... the engine will fight and spudder when given gas. This sometimes will result in it dying if I am stopped or almost stopped in traffic. It seems to be VERY relative to heat, as on a hot night sitting it any kind of traffic you have to fight to keep it alive. Any ideas where to start? If any additional information is needed, please just ask. --Chad--

This sounds like a fuel vapour lock problem but the vapor lock may be occurring in the injectors rather than the fuel lines or fuel rail. Insulate the underside of the intake manifold like I did with a Thermotec heat blanket and this should take care of heat soak in the injectors and fuel rail. If you also use Thermotec insulation on the fuel lines, that'll take care of the third.

http://www.angelfire.com/my/fan/manifold.html
 
If it's specifically when it's hot, you might also look at wiring defects, such as resistance in the fuel injector harness splices, a problem I've had with a 93. Don't overlook obvious wiring possibilities, such as a CPS wire shorting against the manifold. As a first step, take apart absolutely every electrical connection you can find under the hood, unplug and replug it a few times, and see if there's any change. Check all the wires that might be rubbing against something else, and move them around a little bit. Also check the integrity of vacuum lines, such as the one to the MAP sensor. Also don't overlook such obvious things as spark plugs (easy to do because the ignition system is so strong it will start well even if the plugs are totally worn out), fuel filter, etc. A clogged or inoperative fuel tank vent can also cause bad running when it's been going a while, either from accumulated pressure, or from vacuum. When it starts misbehaving, get out and loosen the gas cap, and see if it makes a hiss or whoosh.

Try to analyze the miss and see if you can figure out whether it's fuel or spark related, and you'll be a lot closer to solving it. Does it seem to be a single cylinder misfiring, or the whole engine? Does it show on a vacuum guage (bad injector won't, ignition probably will, internal engine problem always will)? If it seems like a single cylinder, try pulling injector plugs one at a time. When you pull a good one, the engine will bog a little, then recover idle speed. When you pull a bad one, nothing happens. If you find a bad injector, swap its connection with its nearest neighbor and try the test again. This will tell you whether it's the injector or the harness. Either one could have a defect that appears only when it's hot.
 
There was a Jeep techical bulliten about the vapor lock problem on the injectors. Like DrDyno said, you put a heat shield in there to help.
 
Stick your finger on the side of the coil with the engine running. It shouldn't shock you, but if you come away crying you need to replace the coil.
If it has ANY cracks in the housing it's bad, even if it checks out with a meter. Your's is doing the same thing mine was, the hotter it got, the worse it ran.
 
Back
Top