Das99

Hey all! Let me say that I'm new to the Cherokee world, and have recently got my first Jeep (which is also my first car) Cherokee back from the mechanic. Because of our situation we had to drive an hour to pick it up, and it drove the rest of the way home beautifully! Started up real quick, sounded great too. No problems whatsoever. Today I went to start it up to go pick some coolant up because it was looking rather low, guess what? No start!

It kept cranking and cranking and wouldn't start, the gauges function normally and there is fuel present in the vehicle, although I have yet to check and see if it has proper fuel pressure which I will in the morning.

From what I remember the brake light would stay on longer than usual, not sure if that's significant. Radio functions, lights turn on, the whole nine yards. We tried jumping it with the neighbor's jumper cables and no luck. Tried starting in neutral, and tried giving it a little bit of gas. No dice.

From what I could gather it could very well be the crankshaft position sensor, and I read that a way to test that would be to disconnect the cps plug and let it sit a little bit, then plug it back in and see if starts. If it does then it needs replaced. But I have a friend who said not to mess with the plug. Could it cause any harm? Should I try it later in the morning or should I leave the plug alone?

If it's not the cps, what could it be? Or what should I look for to determine the cause of the problem?

Sorry for the amount of text, I figured more details would be better than a small amount of info.

wizardpc

What year, and is it a cherokee or a grand cherokee? Sometimes new owners don't realize there's a difference.

Regarding the CPS, here is the test procedure: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/testing-cps-5563/
Test it when it's NOT working. Often times a CPS will start going bad and give you an intermittent no-start condition.

I'm a little concerned that it was at a mechanic an hour away. Cherokees are old and need lots of attention, and if you have to take it to a mechanic to get it fixed that will get very expensive very quickly. Luckily they are easy to work on and parts are pretty cheap. You're on the right track by coming and asking us for help.

Das99

It's a 98 Cherokee Sport. Thanks for the testing procedure, if I can find an ohm meter I'll give it a shot.

jordan96xj

It may be helpful to mention what it was at the mechanic for, to help rule out/in the possibility that the problem is related to the recent work done.

Das99

My bad, I suppose I should. It had an engine swap because the old engine had a piston slap, front U-Joints were replaced, along with the front shocks and swaybar bushings.

wizardpc

Oh.

Check the CPS, and if it's not that, call the mechanic and have them come get it. They missed something during the swap.

nujeepguy

gas guage?. is gas really good?
push pressure pin in gas port to be sure,it should spray huh.
you might be out?, guage wrong?

i had it happen in a "new" mini van , guage read 1/4, it was mt!

jordan96xj

Um. Yeah, that is a pretty important element to your story. Engine swap, followed by a no start. Mechanic needs to address it.

Damaging a CPS (or its wires) during motor work is pretty easy to do. But any number things could be going on.

Das99

Checked for fuel in the rail, and fuel came out so their is fuel present and I would believe that the pump is working. Looks like I'm going down to AutoZone for a voltmeter.

Das99

Little bit of an update, I tested the resistance of the camshaft sensor and the cps. The meter read 1 ohm for both. Anybody know if that's in spec?

JSJJ388

Call your mechanic. He likely ripped the wires off the CPS during motor install. I just put my new motor in over the weekend..... I ripped my wires off. If hes worth half what you paid him hell come get the vehicle and fix it. If hes looking to keep your business, hell bring it back to ya!

Das99

I get the feeling it wasn't reading correctly for some reason. I connected the meter to the right two terminals in the plug and I tried it on the various settings and the meter kept displaying 1 on the screen. May I have measured incorrectly?

CurrySoSpicy

*cups hands around mouth*

Call your mechanic!

Das99

I did, and he says he's confident that it's the cps. If not that then the camshaft sensor.

CurrySoSpicy

So he will evaluate and fix then?