AZSnake98

Ok all of a sudden my 00 xj sport has a sputter/die issue while driving and at idle. will run perfectly fine for a while, get up to temperature, then sputter, try to stay running (revs jump) and then die. The jeep starts RIGHT back up EVERY time it does this.

I have replaced:

Idle air control valve
TPS sensor
Crankshaft position sensor.

The crankshaft position sensor I replaced with a cheapie from pep boys, and it made the jeep idle like ****. Very sputtery, seemed to make it run worse. So I put the stock one back in because while changing the sensor, I removed part of the loom at the advice of some online material I had found to see if the wires were okay. They were all stripped and crossing, so EUREKA! this is my problem right? RIGHT! so i thought... Upon letting the jeep run for 10-15 minutes after electrical taping each wire away from the others, (ran FLAWLESSLY) and looming them, the sputter comes back and I go to get in the jeep, and it dies. Restarting perfectly once again 5 seconds after dying.

I am at my wits end with this thing and am thinking of just putting it in neutral and rolling it off a cliff.

ANY help or insight will be EXTREMELY appreciated as this is my daily driver and I am stranded until it gets working... Please if you need ANY more information ASK! I will provide ANYTHING to get this situation resolved.

Thanks in advance guys.

EdZ

Fuel pressure reading ???

AZSnake98

46 lbs at rail.

AZSnake98

:/

kaz2000xjsport

This might be a long shot, but this sounds similar to an issue I had with mine. The fuel injectors were getting to hot from being so close to the exhaust and would cause a misfire in two cylinders (usually 3 and 6). This would only happen once it got up to temp and I was stopped (idling at a long red light, etc...) A check engine light would come on, and then it would sputter and die. It threw two misfire codes and it took me a while to figure out why. A good layer of thermal tape on the injectors fixed the problem.

Turbo X_J

"I have replaced:

Idle air control valve
TPS sensor
Crankshaft position sensor."

Why, were they defective, what are the codes?

When it dies whats missing fuel or spark or both?

AZSnake98

A friend said he had the same problem and replaced the iac and tps sensor and it fixed it. So I started there. Online research led me to believe that the cps was a possible culprit so I replaced that as well.

If I touch two of the wires from the cps harness together (the ones that are stripped and frayed) the engine sputters and dies. I was 100% sure that this was the problem until I wrapped them good with elec tape and made sure they werent crossing, then it died again after running for a while...

The wierd thing is, when it sputters it will rev quite high after almost dying and kind of catch itself and keep running, then dies shortly thereafter. But will start right up again and run fine for a short while then die again.

Im not sure if its losing spark or fuel how would I pinpoint this?

Edit: it does not throw a check engine light. And I dont have a scan tool to pull codes. Id take it to an auto parts store to get them scanned but it has and will leave me stuck on the side of the road.

AZSnake98

This is killin me lol...

AZSnake98

Anyone else ever have a similar problem?

EdZ

Anyway you can get a pressure reading while this event is occurring... The symptoms give me a feeling it's a fuel starvation issue... Possible plugged up filter, or failing pump... There is a volume test ya can run... Ya disconnect at the fuel rail and place the hose into a large jar or jug... Turn fuel pump on for a certain amount of time... Then ya measure the amount ya have in the jug...

AZSnake98

This is what I thought it was I initially. Clogged filter or dying fuel pump. But why would it start RIGHT back up every time? I had the thing idling for like 15 minutes with a fuel pressure gauge on it and it stayed at 45-47 LBS the entire time. Wierd thing was, after a restart it read zero psi, but continued to run flawlessly for a while. We thought somehow the gauge went bad. In the clear line on the gauge, we did notice tiny metal debris in the fuel. I dont know if it was remnants from a previous use, metal from the gauge, or metal from my jeeps fuel system though. I guess ill have to drop the tank and see whats goin on.

Keep the ideas coming guys lets get this thing fixed!

AZSnake98

It wouldnt be the heatsoaked injector problem would it? Normally people have hard starting problems with that correct??

BlueRidgeMark

Were those wires fried at all? Any melted insulation?

If so, just wrapping them is probably not good enough. You should trace back to good, solid wire and replace the bad stuff.

AZSnake98

Will do. I dont think they were fried, but ive done some research since reading your post and the cps is super touchy apparently so any wires that have any imperfectionls can be the cause. Ill look into that thanks for the heads up.


Edit: has anyone ever just deleted that stupid harness and hardwired the cps directly in? Where the wires are jacked on mine is RIGHT at the harness so re wrapping them was a pain in the ***.

EdZ

If ya do that way then I'd get some sort of loom cover to put em in for protection... I have often found it not too bad to just open the existing loom up and then splice in new wire to replace the damaged areas... I like to use the water proof heat shrink tubing as it prevents corrosion from occurring later on... Then just put the loom back in order and ya should be set for life...
If it is a failing pump or filter issue then it will progressively get worse till it no longer "fires back up" after stalling and it will occur more frequently as well...