Jeep won't start

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The code display still works. Just cycle the key on and off three times. If no codes are present, it will either display "no code" or it'll just display the mileage. It's been a Chrysler feature since the late 80s. Still works on my '06 Ram. (Cummins diesel BTW)

Odd. I've tried several times over the years when I've actually had the LIGHT on the dash, and it just shows mileage. Then I take it in and get it read at the CarQuest store and it gives a result.
 
I was busy and never got to messing with it. I think I will try to tow/push it into the garage next day or two so I can work on it out of the weather where there is light and power after 5:00.
 
Homercidal sounds like you are on the right track. Do not over look your battery and cable connections. I have to harp on my guys in the shop all the time on battery voltage before they go chasing electrical issues.
 
It is likely that some where near you there is a place of business that has a large blue oval sign in front of it and a good selection of fine looking and running automobiles in the parking lot. Tow your jeep there and they will take it off your hands and help you find a good vehicle, that runs fine, for a nominal fee! :D
 
It is likely that some where near you there is a place of business that has a large blue oval sign in front of it and a good selection of fine looking and running automobiles in the parking lot. Tow your jeep there and they will take it off your hands and help you find a good vehicle, that runs fine, for a nominal fee! :D

Yeah, we just did that recently. I'm not sure what your idea of "nominal" is, but they didn't have anything like that where we were looking!

I'm driving my wife's old durango around while I work on this. Having a spare vehicle has been nice, but is hasn't exactly lit my ass on fire to get the Jeep fixed.
 
Yeah, we just did that recently. I'm not sure what your idea of "nominal" is, but they didn't have anything like that where we were looking!

I'm driving my wife's old durango around while I work on this. Having a spare vehicle has been nice, but is hasn't exactly lit my ass on fire to get the Jeep fixed.

Definition of Nominal fee at any car dealership: An arm, two legs, your first and third born, and twice as much money as it should be without any of the other stuff!
 
Odd. I've tried several times over the years when I've actually had the LIGHT on the dash, and it just shows mileage. Then I take it in and get it read at the CarQuest store and it gives a result.

Maybe Jeep's are different? I remember when Chrysler bought Jeep from AMC. It took a few years to incorporate Chrysler's computers into the Jeep line, but I thought they would have done that by 1999. I left Chrysler in 1992, so maybe they didn't.

Try it on the Durango, it should work on that. What year is the Durango?

Oh, and stay away from the blue oval, they're Found On the Road, Dead...
 
Maybe Jeep's are different? I remember when Chrysler bought Jeep from AMC. It took a few years to incorporate Chrysler's computers into the Jeep line, but I thought they would have done that by 1999. I left Chrysler in 1992, so maybe they didn't.

Try it on the Durango, it should work on that. What year is the Durango?

Oh, and stay away from the blue oval, they're Found On the Road, Dead...

I have had vehicles from each of the Big 3 over the years and all you get are different headaches. I am becoming a believer in the less bells and whistles you have increases your vehicle reliability. :mug:
 
Maybe Jeep's are different? I remember when Chrysler bought Jeep from AMC. It took a few years to incorporate Chrysler's computers into the Jeep line, but I thought they would have done that by 1999. I left Chrysler in 1992, so maybe they didn't.

Try it on the Durango, it should work on that. What year is the Durango?

Oh, and stay away from the blue oval, they're Found On the Road, Dead...

My friend had a 1996 that he could get the code from. I checked into it when I couldn't get mine to work and it looked like they ended that ability at 1998 for the Cherokee.

I haven't tried with the Durango. I did just have a light on for the system that recirculates gas fumes back into the engine. Must have had a leak from the cold. It went away a few days ago.
 
For what it's worth, I had a '96 Cherokee that the wife drove most of the time (I'm on my motorcycle 99% of the time) and she would park in the driveway and the next morning it wouldn't start for her. Changed the cam sensor after reading the code. I think I ended up changing the crank sensor at one point too. It had 130,000 miles on it and other than normal maintenance and a water pump those were the only sensors that I changed.
If I recall those were cheap and I think someone already stated they are high fail items.
That 4.0L motor is almost bullet proof in my experience, they should be putting that motor in more jeeps.

Now if I could get a window regulator to work on my Liberty I would be happy.

Good luck, I know it can be frustrating at times.
 
I had replaced the cam and crank sensors at one point not that long ago due to a rough run condition and error code. That didn't actually fix the problem. It was reseating a computer plug that fixed it.

You should be able to find a regulator for the Liberty. I've replaced them on the Jeep and Durango a few times. Pretty easy. They cost about $60 IIRC.
 
Just make sure your wife knows what's bothering you ;)

meme_body.jpg
 
I didn't spend as much time with it as I wanted. I did a check on one or two cylinders and the spark would not show on my test at the 20KV gap. I set for 10KV and it sparked ok, but I noticed a lot of arcing around the distributor. I removed the ground strap and cleaned and replaced (Connections all looked good) and even added a ground from teh head to the body and then to the negative battery terminal and it still arced across the distributor through the wire boots.

I'm leaning towards the plug wires, but I have not actually measured the voltage going to the coil while cranking yet. I'd consider a fuel problem but it didn't even fire when I sprayed starting fluid into the manifold. Generally you will get SOME fire condition with that stuff if there is any spark in the cylinder under compression.

Also verified distributor is pointing to 1 when cylinder 1 is TDC, so timing should not be a problem.
 
I had replaced the cam and crank sensors at one point not that long ago due to a rough run condition and error code. That didn't actually fix the problem. It was reseating a computer plug that fixed it.

You should be able to find a regulator for the Liberty. I've replaced them on the Jeep and Durango a few times. Pretty easy. They cost about $60 IIRC.

yeah, I replaced the right rear one this past summer, now the left rear is out and the cable must have knocked the handle linkage out of wack cuz the door wont open now. My oldest has been taking it to college so I never have it long enough to look at it. Maybe if the temp is okay this weekend and if it's not raining I will get a chance to pull the door panel off and get the handle working anyway. Always something.
 
You have got to deal with that arcing before chasing anything else. Cheers

I had a theory that the arcing was because the engine wasn't getting a good enough ground, sending the voltage somewhere besides the plug. positively grounding the engine (head) should have absolved the ground as being the problem I think. Next step in that direction may be the plug wires? I find it hard to believe that there wasn't a misfire or noticeable loss of power before it decided to just not start, if the wires were the problem.

yeah, I replaced the right rear one this past summer, now the left rear is out and the cable must have knocked the handle linkage out of wack cuz the door wont open now. My oldest has been taking it to college so I never have it long enough to look at it. Maybe if the temp is okay this weekend and if it's not raining I will get a chance to pull the door panel off and get the handle working anyway. Always something.

True that. I still find it cheaper than a car payment, and in general the Jeeps have been pretty good mechanically.
 
You're arcing from the coil wire at the cap? You should replace the cap, and while you're at it, change the wires too. If the electricity is escaping, it's because it's found an easier way out. Most likely a bad cap, but could be high resistance in the wires.
 
I can't believe that you are still working on this.... I have been sick for since the Friday before Christmas so I haven't been keeping up.
I think I said this before but here goes - if there is spark going through the side of any boot replace it, it is bad. Do not replace any sensors until spark is going only where it is suppose to be going. There are no sensors that will direct the spark to place where it should not be.
Check the gap on your plugs.
Make sure all plug wires are in the harness they are suppose to be in.
You can test your spark at the cap and at the coil by putting your spark tester in place of or in line with your coil to cap wire. If the spark is good there then it should be good the rest of the way to the plug if all the parts (plugs, cap, rotor, wires) are good.
Did you already replace the cap and rotor like you were going to?
Make sure your battery is fully charged.

After you have finished all of that then you can try to start it. I also suggest using a flammable brake clean instead of starting fluid it is less explosive, meaning less chance of an accident.
 
Homercidal sounds like you are on the right track. Do not over look your battery and cable connections. I have to harp on my guys in the shop all the time on battery voltage before they go chasing electrical issues.

Was the number one cause of techs chasing non existing problems at my shop. You can never say it enough - charge the battery then test and clean the cables!

Still sounds like bad plug wires to me. But he needs to check gap and cap and rotor also.
 
Also about these codes.... doesn't matter about trying to get them right now if there are any. Spark is going to places it should not. Also it is a 99 which means that if there were any the SES light would be on.
 
True that. I still find it cheaper than a car payment, and in general the Jeeps have been pretty good mechanically.

I hear yeah. I'm on my fourth Jeep right now and may soon add another to the driveway, don't get me started on why we still don't have the other two. If I could keep the wife and/or daughters out of one of them I could call it mine but as it is I maintain the two Jeeps we have for them to drive, I'm on my motorcycle 99.9% of the time anyway.
 
I have replaced the coil, cap and rotor. The wires I changed a few years ago, they could be bad. For the cost I'd wouldn't mind changing plugs and wires too, but it's very strange that it was driving fine when I parked it in the driveway and then the next day the thing won't fire. I would have expected some misfires, sluggish response on acceleration, etc.

But I've eliminated a sensor problem, timing problem, fuel problem, and it's sending spark, so it's just got to be a spark quality problem. Not enough juice or bad ground (cleaned and added new ground so that's not it) or bad wires.

Now the wires that I did check seemed to read fine, but if the boots are somehow suddenly gone bad, then the wire itself is not the blame. Gap could be off by a small amount, but the plugs I checked were clean and only open a miniscule amount.

I'm going to go with wires at this point. The main reason being that when I tested the spark at 20KV I got no spark, but arcing at the distributor wires. At 10KV I got spark, but it was still arcing. If the gap was bad but the wires good, then spark should have gone easily to the gap tester and to ground. It would seem that due to bad plug wire boots, the voltage is still finding an easy path to the other wires.

However, testing the voltage going INTO the coil will tell me if there is enough voltage to create spark in the cylinder. I've read where some cars arc at the distributor and it's considered normal, but in my experience, I've never seen or heard of it being a good thing.

I probably should get back to getting it fixed. The holidays made me want to forget about it, and I've been driving my other truck around. The Durango takes a LONG time to heat up and the steering is very stiff until it warms up a few minutes and you turn the wheel back and forth. Probably need to put some stuff in the PS pump to loosen it up.
 
I hate to beat a dead horse, but if it were me(and at one time it was) I would replace the wires and spark plugs (properly gapped) now and eliminate that as a problem. Based on everything I read on here, I believe that one of the two will fix your problem now that you have replaced the coil, cap and rotor. As has been repeated here as well, check the battery terminal connections just to be safe.

IIRC, changing the plugs on the 4.0L straight six is not very difficult. Changing the plugs on my 2002 F150 with a 5.4 V8, on the other hand, causes ratchets to spontaneously fly through the garage at a high velocity. People who have done it know what I am talking about.
 
I hear yeah. I'm on my fourth Jeep right now and may soon add another to the driveway, don't get me started on why we still don't have the other two. If I could keep the wife and/or daughters out of one of them I could call it mine but as it is I maintain the two Jeeps we have for them to drive, I'm on my motorcycle 99.9% of the time anyway.

Get a 77 or older Bronco and they will leave the Jeeps alone... :D
:mug:

On topic the OBD1 and early OBD2 systems are always fun repair adventures.
 
I hate to beat a dead horse, but if it were me(and at one time it was) I would replace the wires and spark plugs (properly gapped) now and eliminate that as a problem. Based on everything I read on here, I believe that one of the two will fix your problem now that you have replaced the coil, cap and rotor. As has been repeated here as well, check the battery terminal connections just to be safe.

IIRC, changing the plugs on the 4.0L straight six is not very difficult. Changing the plugs on my 2002 F150 with a 5.4 V8, on the other hand, causes ratchets to spontaneously fly through the garage at a high velocity. People who have done it know what I am talking about.

Yeah the cost isn't even too bad considering I plan to keep the thing forever. I've change the plugs on a 92 caravan for a friend. Never again.
 
Yeah the cost isn't even too bad considering I plan to keep the thing forever. I've change the plugs on a 92 caravan for a friend. Never again.

When I bought a truck for the wife (08 ram 1500) she kept insisting on a mini van. I traded in an old truck I had for it and years of payments. I brought it home as a surprise for her birthday and told her that there was no way that she was getting a mini van unless she took up turning wrenches. It's paid off now and have never had to do any repairs on it (knock on wood ) . With all the repairs we did on mini vans at the shop I can guarantee that we would not have a mini van now if I had gotten one for her then. The thing that sucks is it is time for new tires, problem, she has wrecked every vehicle of hers within 8 months of putting new tires on.
 
When I bought a truck for the wife (08 ram 1500) she kept insisting on a mini van. I traded in an old truck I had for it and years of payments. I brought it home as a surprise for her birthday and told her that there was no way that she was getting a mini van unless she took up turning wrenches. It's paid off now and have never had to do any repairs on it (knock on wood ) . With all the repairs we did on mini vans at the shop I can guarantee that we would not have a mini van now if I had gotten one for her then. The thing that sucks is it is time for new tires, problem, she has wrecked every vehicle of hers within 8 months of putting new tires on.

If I was you, I'd be looking for some used tires! I just sayin.....:fro:
 
If I was you, I'd be looking for some used tires! I just sayin.....:fro:

Maybe that will break the curse. .. I do know someone with stock tires that are all but new (1000 miles ) but the stock tires suck so bad. Terrible on wet roads. But I could save $500 bucks on them. But they suck so bad.... but I can't drive anyway, but they really really blow.... but it is her truck. See my dilemma?
Used tires it is..... I will just have to talk them down a little bit more... $250 area I think.

Yeah so what I'm talking to myself!
 
Well, I picked up some plugs and wires. I didn't get the plugs I wanted, but decided to go with an OEM replacement and the best wires they had.

Started right up.

I've never seen or heard of a car running so well and then just not starting when plugs or wires were the problem! Normally I'd expect it to run a bit rough or be very sluggish on acceleration.

So I got a whole new ignition system for about $130.

Bonus, I get the Jeep out of the garage in time for me to put the '07 Fusion in there for a CV joint swap! Hopefully that gets done on Saturday so I can get my work space back. I wanted to make some beer bottle crates this holiday break and missed out on it.
 
Just had the same - running fine then no start - issue with my Chevy astro van. Thought i got a batch of bad gas....but after finally "opening the hood " which is an hour + process that includes removing the drivers seat :-o. I pinned it down to ignition and found the coil sparking but no spark leaving the cap. Simple new Cap & rotor solved it. I will do the wires and plugs in the spring when it warms up...they require removing the wheels and inner fenders so you can do contortions with your hands and have creativity with extensions and universals to get at them. Thought I was good with an old tech v6 with rear drive!

While it never ran bad it certainly runs better now and has more power.
 
Too snowy to know if it's got more power, but I am guessing it probably does. Funny thing is how I was just helping my friend with his wife's van and he was complaining about his Grand Prix being sluggish and I recommended changing plugs and wires. He did and was so glad it ran better. Now here I am a few weeks later should have taken my own advice!
 
Glad it's fixed for you..... all that for a piece of wire. At least you have other vehicles to drive.
 
Just in time for the snowmageddon! Probably got about 6 inches this weekend. A few more today/tonight. Might have to break out the snowblower again.

Wife's car needs new tires now. I guess her tires were not made for snow.
 
This story really lacked explosions, did you maybe get into a car chase after it fired up?
 
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