looong response
Good thread and fun read. Last year I attempted (the operative word) my seemingly routine drive back to the east coast from Colorado. My pesky check engine light came on the morning I headed out. I didn’t think too much about it until about mid-Missouri when the Jeep sorta just turned off while clipping down the I-70. Miraculously, I coasted up the off-ramp and within spitting distance of the Missouri Jeep dealership. They were closing in 30 minutes so I quickly Googled some options on my iPhone. I presented the internet options / opinions to the Jeep folks & they told me to have the auto parts store order a CPS for starters. They said I could wrench on my Jeep in their parking lot all weekend long, but the beer light was on and they were closing shop.
The next morning the auto parts store tried to sell me the wrong CPS. Luckily I had pulled the CPS during my “free time” and could show them that it was obviously the wrong part. In the afternoon they got in the right part, but after installing it the Jeep would still crank & not fire. Since I had another day of “free time” on my hands I decided to remove the gas tank skid that I installed ten years prior, drop the ½-full tank, pull the fuel filter and stare at it. I won’t go into the myriad of improper and unsafe use of tools, straps & jacks to get it all off. I looked over the fuel filter, not really sure what I was looking for. Heck it took me 30 minutes to figure out how to get the dang filter out of the tank in the first place.
Three hours, busted knuckles and smoked forearms later the tank and skid plate were back in/on. That night I got cleaned up, found a local karaoke joint and got hammered. I was running out of options because I had to be in North Carolina on Monday, so my best option was to catch a ride back to Kansas City and fly the rest of the way. But before I left, I wrote a detailed letter to the dealership with a business manager of a business which was located nearby. Below are the pertinent parts of the letter:
… I was travelling eastbound on Interstate 70 when my Jeep Cherokee suddenly died. I thought the cruise control kicked off, so I applied more throttle, then the idiot lights came on, and all power stopped. I coasted off the Interstate onto the frontage road where some of your staff helped tow it to its present location. At first, I thought it got hot on just turned off for whatever reason. I let the Cherokee cool for an hour before and tried a few times to get it going.
Presently, the Cherokee will turn-over but not fire. If I bump the ignition a few times, it will sputter once or twice and die. Spraying starting fluid into the throttle body does not do any good either. That is when I was officially stumped; I figured it would at least fire a few times. Since the CPS I had ordered from O-Riley Auto Parts wouldn’t be here until 11am on May 31st, I figured I would at least go through some of the troubleshooting steps since I had plenty of time on my hands.
I performed the following troubleshooting/maintenance on the Cherokee on May 29th & 30st:
• Pulled the codes using the on-off technique with the ignition:
Codes:
12 Start
25 automatic idle / speed motor circuits
11 ignition reference signal
55 Finish
• Ensured the engine ground block was clean
• Checked all fuses & relays, just ‘cuz
• Replaced the Crank Position Sensor
• Ensured the fuel pump was turning on at ignition
• Double-checked the fuel pump relay
• Pulled the to-the-engine fuel line to make sure it was pumping fuel
• Checked the fuel pressure at the fuel rail: 35psi (ruining an air pressure gauge)
• Pulled the fuel tank off, to ensure all of the connections and fuel lines were in good order (I was once told that there is a fuel line/hose inside the gas tank, which if broken, would cause the system to lose pressure or vacuum. I did not fish around in the fuel since my hands were dirty, but I did not observe a fuel line or hose inside the tank.)
• Pulled the distributor to look at it. Didn’t see significant burn anywhere.
I know my air cleaner is dirty, but I did not think that it would matter too much or kill the Cherokee while flying down the road. I also tried the clear flood procedure several times with zero success. I did not check the plugs or wires… did not really think they would be to blame right away. I know the radiator could use a good flushing, but did not think that it would kill the Cherokee either. Finally, I didn't order a new computer because I did not want to throw that big of a chunk of money at a problem that may not exist without having had a diagnostic test.
Please do not get rid of my Optima yellow top or Green air filter. The battery should not be too drained from the attempted turn-overs and the air cleaner just needs to be cleaned. I will be leaving all of my tools and some personal effects that I will not be able to take with me on the airplane. I do not know if it matters, but my Cherokee has current registration and insurance. Additionally, I am prepared to make payment over the phone with a credit card…
The dealership called me a week later and told me they got it running: plugs, cap, rotor, wires & injection cleaning. I wasn’t able to pick it up for another two weeks. But once I flew back I drove a rental car to the nearest town to Odessa and had the rental agency drive me to the dealership so I could pay for the services and get back on the road.
Everything was fine… for fifteen miles. However, when the Jeep broke down this time it broke down on a back road. I was taking the back roads to avoid interstate construction. This time fuel poured out from the top of the fuel tank. I won’t go into the details of the freaking weird Deliverance-esque experiences of that evening getting a tow truck, guarding my Jeep while armed, or random meth-lab discovery. The next morning the "tow service" that picked me up a few hours earlier fit me into their busy weekend schedule (yes, the dealer was closed) and with a literally a couple extra hose clamps managed to control the somehow over-pressurized fuel system (******?) and got me headed back west. 14 hrs later I made it all the way back to Colorado. Of course I had a huge knot in my stomach then entire way back thinking I was gonna get stranded in the middle nowhere again. This could easily be a B-movie mellow-horror (is that a genre?).
I got back, pulled the codes again and it directed me to change the O2 sensor. I must have changed the wrong one because the light is still on, the Jeeps smells burnt after I start it, and my gas mileage still sucks.
Soooo… since I’m here in Africa for a few more weeks I’ll plan on changing the other O2 sensor, possibly getting a new cat when I get back. I think I’ll take a look at the fuel system too, because the fuel pressure thing has me really confused.
Sorry to ramble on and on, but it actually feels quite therapeutic! :wings: