Intermittent cut out ?

[cal8544]

Hey guys I have a 2000 xj petrol and as of late while driving every now and then it is cutting out. Only for a second or two then is back online but I fear it is getting worse? Any ideas on what this could be as I fear it is going to be difficult to pin point the exact cause?

Cheers

Cal

[murray]

could be bad connection at back of guage cluster

[ApacheResistance]

could be bad connection at back of guage cluster

I'd try this first, then i'd check all the grounds.

Are you saying the jeep is cutting out and losing power, or is the power flickering? What is "cutting out"? Is the engine dying and coming back?

Most of the instrument cluster functions on '98 + XJ's get their ground from ground G108, which is located under the instrument panel near the headlamp switch.

Grounds are known to cause weird problems when they're acting up. Make sure the ground is actually working.

Just because it "looks good" doesn't mean it is good.

[rainman]

Does it do it when cold as well as when it is hot?

[Roler]

Like stated above. The approach to this needs to be somewhat systematic, since several things can be in play. Checking the electrical part first, with grounds, connections, tight batt clamps and clean batt terminals, clean wiring et is a good start and good reference for future issues. Battery good? (yes it can be good enough to get it started but bad enough to give trouble after this)
more info is hand: shutting off, stalling or misfiring badly? cold as well as warm? cutting out while cornering or going uphill etc etc. starting otherwise ok?
Let us now how you go with this and go from there.

[cal8544]

Thanks for the quick response guys appreciate it. It is cutting out as in the car is literally turning off while driving (engine stops firing gauges stop working ) by the time I find a safe spot to pull up it fires up again and away we go won't do it again till next time I need to drive it? It seems to be happening while cornering????? More so than straight line driving. The cluster issue maybe a good place to start as I recently had evaporator replaced and dash was removed at the workshop so possibly a connection may not have been refitted correctly.

[Roler]

do all the above mentioned things too. If I recall correctly, the cutting off while cornering could be related to fuel pressure issue, so once the electrical part of things has been checked, that might be a next step to go with. once again, systematic approach will reveal the culprit eventually. We'll get it.

[CheapJeep]

My 2001 XJ had an extremely similar problem, perhaps its contagious. I spent hours researching it and now have a spare genuine CPS (incidentally, I got it for $93 delivered from the US) for sometime in the future.

This is worth doing before you go playing with anything else, it only takes about 15 mins or so:

1. Find a big (preferably electrically insulated) 'stick' - I used my biggest screwdriver
2. Start engine
3. Open bonnet
4. Use 'stick' to go around the engine bay and tap/jiggle every loom, harness, connector, cable etc you can find to try and identify something dodgy.

I had success when I tried the main loom between the ECU and where the injector electrics branch off just past the throttle body.

Went and got the car muddy yesterday and after 2+ months of issues the car is now running beautifully! Present 'fix' cost me about $5.

[ApacheResistance]

I could be totally wrong, but it kind of sounds like a CPS issue.

My jeep had the same problem, except my gauges wouldn't die out. I'd just be driving and the jeep would randomly stall. I ended up changing out the ignition coil, which i thought was the fix, but it came back shortly.

I would be driving, and the jeep would literally stall and i'd lose my power steering and everything. I'd get it to the side of the road, and it would normally crank right back over. Other times i would have to depress the gas pedal while cranking and then it would crank back over, and other times it wouldn't crank over at all and i'd have to let it sit until the engine cooled and then crank it over.

I'd recommend buying all sensors from the dealership as aftermarket ones are known for hit and miss with a lot of them being miss. Here's the testing procedure for a CPS, but it's not always accurate. Sometimes the CPS is fine when the engine is cold, and bad when it's hot. It's a hard one to tell if bad when you test it.

If you have any problems that feels like the transmission is slipping or missing a gear or something, i'd check the TPS for that. The TPS is a lot easier to check and is more accurate than testing the CPS.

Oh, and if you think it's a fuel issue it could also be the CPS. The CPS is directly related to the fuel. Here's a quote from another website explaining it.

The CPS, Crank Position Sensor, is also called a CKS, CranK Sensor or CAS, Crank Angled Sensor to save it getting confused with a Cam Position Sensor! No matter what people call it, it is still the same sensor. Its job is to tell the ECU the position of the crank in its rotation. Another function is that if it detects no signal from it but the ignition is turned on, it will assume something has happened like a car accident and shut off the fuel and spark for safety reasons. The problem is that when the sensor starts to fail, you get no spark or fuel so it will either not start, or suddenly without warning, stop the engine while it is running! Replacing this sensor will cure this problem easily with two bolts and one plug. Takes less than 1/2 hr and only that long as can be fiddly some times. I find that most sensors start to play up with hard starting or shutting down after around 100,00 km or 60,000 miles. Most break down services wont even know what is causing these problems and have even seen Jeeps get sold as no one could find the cause. Those that live in an area that salt the roads during winter time can also just get corrosion in the plug itself. Pulling the plug and cleaning the contacts can often fix the problem if corrosion is present.

Here's another guy talking about how he fixed his no start issues.

The most common crank but not start issue with the XJ Cherokee is the Crankshaft Position Sensor (CPS/CPK). I would test the CPS.

I have had 4 1997+ Cherokees with no start issues. Two were the CPS/CPK. (The CPS/CPK is one of the few repair parts that I always get from Mopar. Too many of the auto parts store replacements are bad right out of the box or fail after a short period of time.) One of the no-starts was a mini fuse in the PDC next to the battery. Another was a loose or corroded relay socket above the fuse box in the passenger foot well. I had to remove the plastic trim panel to access the relays.

Start at the very beginning, check fuses and swap relays. If any of the 5volt sensors are failed the CCD Bus will not communicate with the PCM. A simple test procedure is to hook up a CEL trouble code reader. If the code reader errors out and cannot make contact with the CCD Bus, unplug it, one at a time unplug a 5 volt sensor and re-try the code reader. When you unplug the failed 5 volt sensor, the CEL code reader will connect and function, and you have found a bad semsor.

Check the wires to the O2 sensors for a short or open.


Crankshaft Position Sensor Connector (CPS/CKP)

http://i.imgur.com/22GhkJw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/SCWwBSf.jpg

TESTING PROCEDURE 1991 – 2001 4.0L H.O. engines

1. Near the rear of intake manifold, disconnect sensor pigtail harness connector from main wiring harness.
2. Place an ohmmeter across terminals B and C (See Image). Ohmmeter should be set to 1K-to-1OK scale for this test.
3. The meter reading should be open (infinite resistance). Replace sensor if a low resistance is indicated.

[cal8544]

Cheers again guys should be able to nut it out with all that info. I am away for work at the moment and my missus is persisting with it till I get back next weekend will keep yous posted on how I go!

[darksidecustoms]

If it is consistent with a stall when turning left with the fuel level below 1/4 tank then it will likely be fuel pressure. Something I have personally come across - fuel pump on the left and fuel washes to the right side of the tank and starves. Happens on my update xj as I believe the fuel pump has lost it's 'sock' filter.

[Roler]

Agree. OP, does it cut out in a specific cornering direction?
Yes, CPS could def be involved in random starting/stalling/bucking issues, had those myself and CPS replacement solved it. But it should not cause loss of power/gauges. if it stalls cornering and would be the CPS, it should almost be dangling on one bolt or something.

[murray]

i said guage cluster coz mine is a deisel and did it so that rules out cps and fuel senario
do it when it likes and on a curve coz dash flexs in its firewall holder
the cheep pricks didnt make a posite conection at the back of the cluster ot harness it just sits in the multi pin plug rescepticle at this point

[Billnick]

I'd recommend buying all sensors from the dealership .

FYI.... dealership quoted me $500 for a CPS. Jeep place quoted $400. Got one from a local parts place for just over $100. Not called stealership for nothing.

[ApacheResistance]

FYI.... dealership quoted me $500 for a CPS. Jeep place quoted $400. Got one from a local parts place for just over $100. Not called stealership for nothing.

Holy Bajesus.

Dealerships here in the states charged me right around 80$ for my CPS. Local parts stores charged about 45$. I paid the extra 35$ and it was totally worth it.

If you ever need a CPS or any other sensor private message me. I can ship one over for whatever it costs to buy + shipping. Same goes for other parts as well. If you want to pay for shipping, i'll ship em.

[Roler]

yep, Jeep here asked $1024.00 for a cps!!!, yes, over a grand!
eventually did get one for $45 in US.
Apache, ur offer of shipping is ongoing? Always jealous I'm not in the US, when it comes to prices for parts...

[cal8544]

Ok so finally got stuck into it and found it was the fuel pump! Removed the pump to find it full of mud and grit! What a dirty job. Put the new pump in last week and was good for a week now the pump seems noisy and is not cutting out but missing around corners mainly when turning left or up hills even with a full tank! So who knows maybe a dodgy pump or it's full of grit again! Bloody thing.

[anthonygubbin]

Ok so finally got stuck into it and found it was the fuel pump! Removed the pump to find it full of mud and grit! What a dirty job. Put the new pump in last week and was good for a week now the pump seems noisy and is not cutting out but missing around corners mainly when turning left or up hills even with a full tank! So who knows maybe a dodgy pump or it's full of grit again! Bloody thing.

Does your XJ have the steel tank as they rust and cause pump and filter issues.

Regards A

[cal8544]

Yeah has plastic gunna have to pull it out again!!!!

[Escapable]

The tank sounds like it has gunk in it, maybe needs a good flush.
This is a huge problem if you fill from steel cans, esp if they have been sitting without any contents - they are usually interior coated and this comes away and then the inside can gather rust which all goes into the tank.. always use a funnel with filter!