I've been working on some stalling issues and figured that it was most likely the CPS, so I replaced it with a new BWD brand part. (And new rotors/pads as well.)
The day it was installed, it ran fine.
The next day, about 10 hwy miles down the road, it stalls out. (Wife had it that time)
The next day, again about 10 miles out, it stalls again.
Acts like it's not getting fuel. It cranks up but no start.
I shut it off completely and try again. The service light comes up. Listening, I hear the fuel pump and it starts up like there was no problem at all.
I drive 20 miles and no problems.
The last time my mechanic was looking at it, he said that one of the codes indicated that the gas cap may not have been on tight. Said that my locking gas cap may be faulty.
It's about 1 year old and looks like the seal is fine. Still looks like new. Is this possible, or is there something else that I should be checking?
Or might there be something going on with the new CPS?
The only common thing about the 2 times it has stalled is that the Jeep had been sitting overnight.
I should also add that when it stalled, the speedometer and RPM gauges were bouncing up and down before going back to normal.
Don't know the code yet. I don't have a reader and my mechanic didn't feel like opening shop today.
Well I got the original part in as it was working well enough to get around locally while I exchanged the bad part.
Wife takes the Jeep today (super hot out today!) since the A/C in her car died out (of course). On her way home, it stalls out. When it does start, it runs about 15 seconds and stalls again. I get over there with the new part and swap it out. No change at all.
I run it as fast as I can during those 15 seconds to get as much distance as I can before having to wait for it to cool down. I have to wait a good 10 seconds before trying to start again. No codes or lights. I do notice a bad smell coming from it.
I'm totally stumped as to what is going on . Got it to the garage for them to try to figure it out, but they don't really know what's going on either.
Mechanic decided to replace the idle sensor as the most likely issue.
Still stalling out.
Figured out that you can run it for half an hour or more and it's fine. But after it's warmed up and you park it for about an hour, then the problem component gets hot from the engine (no more air circulating) and overheats. So when you try driving again, you get the stalling. It has to cool down for at least 2 hours before you can go again.
Is the bad smell rotten eggs? Even though you've swapped it twice, the symptoms really still sound like bad CPS. If you smell rotten eggs, it could be a partially clogged cat overheating, or a still bad CPS failing to trigger spark and dumping unburned fuel through the cat.
There was the thought of a clogged cat. Only got the smell the one time when I kept pushing it to get to the garage. Hard to ID the smell, could have been the smell of burning electronics.
If the new one is really bad, it would have to be equally bad. When it was last acting up, I replaced the old with the new one on the spot and it didn't have time to overheat. So I'm pretty sure that something else is overheating. I'm afraid the PCM is the culprit.
I've just ordered another CPS just in case, just to be sure. A new sure PCM isn't cheap.
I just went through a NASTY time with my Firebird. Stupid code 42. This after replacing a TON of parts, from TPS, EGR, several sensors, fuel injectors, new distributor on and on. Traced out several vacuum leaks, even rebuilt the top haft of the plenum on the TPI intake. The short of it? ECM! I finally got it to run with no code 42, and rapped on the ECM, knocked on it, up came the code.
See if you can get it running with no issues, then knock on it with a knuckle from you hand. If the idle changes, or the codes come up, there is your culprit.
I know its not the same kind of car for sure, but man I was SO happy to figure it out. Now I am driving my bird all over after 13 years.
So I moved on to my TJ, new painted fenders, new flares and touching up the bumpers and body. Considering a 2 Din radio install for it. Going to do one in my firebird first.
OK, so here's where I am right now:
I got a different brand CPS. Still have to find some time to do a longer drive to really test it out.
I checked around the ECM. There are 3 plugs into it and 2 of them have broken tabs that secure the cover over the plug. Also the red tabs were pulled out that secure the plugs. However these plugs are in very tight, so I don't think that would have any impact. Checked the wires and they all looked good. Someone else must have previously done some checking here. This problem may have been going on before I got this Jeep last year.
I also removed the dash and cleaned the contacts since it was randomly going out.
Anyone know why the outside temp in the mirror would go high or even max out? Where is the actual temperature read under the hood? The TJ is black and we're in the middle of a heat wave. Temps show higher than actual. They do cool down after driving a couple miles. But sometimes (like the dash) it will just keep going up until it hits 140.
The temp sensor is just behind the grill. Just look down near the bottom of the grill from the front of the Jeep. There are 2 of them. One for the ECM and one for the mirror. I forget which is which. I believe they are the same part though.
I had the same random stalls about 2 years ago. Car would die, let it sit for 30 - 60 minutes and then it would run fine again for a while. Sometimes a day, sometimes a few weeks. I bought a new cps, a new mass air sensor, and an idle position sensor. I think I put in the cps first and it kept happening. Then in frustration I put in both the mass air sensor and the idle position sensor and the problem went away. I didn't have the patience to remove one of them to determine the actual culprit whether it was the mas or the ips.
Gave it a test run last evening.
Went on a long run with a couple of stops. Didn't stall at the previous 10 miles, 30+ minute waits were fine. On the 3rd leg, the SEL went out on it's own!
Waited an hour, and ran it again. No problems at all.
So a good first test! Will have to continue to check it out before I can say it's in good shape. May have to try the mass air sensor if it continues to give me troubles.
A note on when I replaced the CPS. When I plugged the new one in, slid the red tab, I tried pulling it back out to see if it was secure. It wasn't. It felt like I had it in all the way, but after 3 tries and a very firm push, it went in all the way and locked in. That may have been half of the issue there.
I also sprayed in some contact cleaner just to cover that possibility as well. The original sensor was covered in grease.
No dash or temp issues. But I will look into moving the temp sensors now that I know where to find them. Temps are around 10 degrees higher than actual temps.
Thanks for the info guys!
Did some more testing over the long weekend.
Did a 65 mile drive with 2 30 min stops. No problems of any kind.
Next day I did another 30 mile drive with another 30 min stop halfway. No problem.
So everything is looking good!
There are discussions about what brand sensor can be used in a Jeep. Some say BWD is perfectly fine and others say only Mopar. I'll have to cast my vote for Mopar.
Still having troubles, but I have discovered a bit more.
A recurring common denominator is that running the Jeep at a stop for several minutes. Has to be more time than a traffic stop.
While stopped, running idle, the dash goes dead. It's always been a warning sign that things are about to go bad - 2-3 minute warning.
I've already eliminated poor connection to the dash.
No CEL or codes.
I turn off completely, power on but no start engine, wait a minute, I go right back to unable to start. So this tells me that the shutting off is not engine related. Whatever is going bad is doing so w/o even running the motor. It's too hot and needs a good hour to cool down in order to get anywhere.
I've dropped it off at the dealership. Should have a diagnosis in a day or 2.
Any guesses as to what is going on before I get the call?
Just got the call from the dealership: The problem is with the ignition switch. Fortunately they have one in stock and I can have my baby back home tomorrow morning!
HI Larry, I know this is an old post, but I'm having same issues.. (gauges go wacky - tach, speedo, fuel, etc.. randomly sometimes).. CEL.. sometimes.. SKIM light.. sometimes (after running.. solid.. not blinking).. then engine dies.. ONLY way to restart is key to off.. the start. If I don't turn off key, no way it starts. ALSO.. interestingly. the outside temp gauge read 100 degrees when only 80 outside. I'm discarding CPS adn realted items since that should not affect gauges. I was thinking at one point it was the SKIM.. but towards the end, that light never came on but all other problems persisted. The engine also would most often die if I hit a bump implying a connection.. My battery terminals were loose. so fixed that.. but I'm wondering if an intermittent on/off/on/off from a bad connection might whack the PCM. I also suspected the ignition key. Sometimes all my gauges would fail (go to zero) but I could still drive for like 20-30 mins before engine would die. So in short.. did the ignition key fix everything?
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