I posted about this a few days after I bought the truck, but since I've owned it for about a month now, I've gathered some more info. I am having a hard start issue that is very odd. When I wake up first thing in the morning to go to the gym, it fires up first shot pretty quickly with no issues. The gym is only a half mile away so the truck definitely doesn't get hot by the time I get there. When I leave the gym, it always takes 5-10 seconds for it to crank over. I come home, shower, eat, and leave for work, and same thing happens. Throughout the rest of the day, every time I start it, I experience the same issue where it takes a long time to start.

I was led to believe that it was the check valve in the tank, but today I finally got a chance to throw a fuel pressure gauge on the rail, and as soon as I turn the key, it goes up to 45 psi, no problem. I repeated the test with the car completely cold, and with it warmed up...same result.

Now I'm not sure where to start diagnosing this problem. I've done a lot of reading, but nobody seems to have the same issue. Thoughts?

 

TTT!

 

I had a similar problem,turned out the crank sensor was cracked. when you install,just make sure when you tighten it you raise it up to keep it from hitting the flywheel.

 

UPDATE: Very weird, it seems as if the longer the car sits, the easier it is to start. I was away at a conference for work again Monday and Tuesday, and when I fired the truck up Wednesday morning for work, it fired IMMEDIATELY! Thoughts?

 

There have been heat soak issues with the 01 XJ's and California emission 00 XJ's. There's a Chrysler TSB addressing this. Apparently the heat radiating off the Cats will affect the fuel injectors. Heat shields have been the cure I believe.

You may want to Google this.

 

Hmm, just did a little "light reading" on the issue. So I guess what is weird to me is it even happens sometimes overnight, when the truck should be fully cooled off. I guess it makes sense that it would not happen if the motor is cooled off, but sometimes it happens anyway, even if it is cold.

 

I don't think your issue is heat soak. You'd have the rough idle. Mine fires right off every single time, but then misses on #3 when hot. It takes a good bit of heat to get mine to do it, and in the South, that's normally June-August with a bad idle....... Heat soak for the loss.

Make sure that your plug for the coil rail is seated properly, and check the Crank Position Sensor too.

 

Yea mine doesn't misfire, it does run a bit rough for the first 5-10 seconds of run time when I have a hard start.

Would the crank position sensor cause the type of issue I'm describing? It's a pretty constant issue (much unlike the intermittent issues I'm having with my Mustang, lol) which leads me to believe someone has had this problem in the past.

What really gets me is how easy it starts within a 1-5 minute period after being shut down. Doesn't matter how hot the car is, if it is shut off and then turned on within 5 minutes or so, it will fire immediately.

 

TTT!

 

UPDATE: Got a check engine light this morning, pulled codes and I have P0118 and P0301. I know the first one is the coolant temp sensor, that's because the plug clip is broken and if I bump into it (which I did with the wrench tightening the belt tension) it sends a CEL, but the P0301 (CYL 1 Misfire) doesn't make much sense, EXCEPT for the fact that the truck has had a hard time starting as mentioned in this thread.

CPS??? I read in another thread they are related. Thoughts?

 

When's the last time you changed spark plugs? Cheapest thing to do would be to change plugs, clear the code and see where you're at. My wife's 2009 Yukon had a misfire code a year ago and when I asked for plugs at the parts store the guy said it couldn't possibly be my plugs because it was such a new car. Well I bought it anyway and lo and behold the plug in question had a cracked ceramic jacket. Moral of the story is plugs do fail and they're cheap and easy to change.

 

Good call, I will definitely check that out. Anyone else have this issue?