KD3NE

My son had a "Check Engine" light.

Code thrown was 41 ----- " An open or shorted condition detected in the generator field control circuit. "

I am trying to find out a little more about this condition, specifically what other symptoms might I be seeing ?????

The reason I ask is this has come and gone before ..... last time was about a week ago.

Got the code, and it more or less cleared itself but has come back tonight.

I ran the test two time to confirm the codes, and again it has gone. I start the Cherokee, the Check Engine light comes on and goes off as normal.

On the voltage meter, it reads about 14 Volts .... as it normally would. Nothing unusual there.

I guess the questions in my mind are .......

1.) What testing can I do to confirm if the problem really exists since it no longer shows a Check Engine light after starting.

2.) If the problem is consistent, am I correct in assuming we are talking about a new ECM?


My son did a little research and he believes we can install a kit and put the battery on an external regulator ..... my fear is a constant Check Engine light if we go that route. However this one company says their kit includes a part to bypass this test in the computer.

Here is a link to the conversion kit .........

https://alternatorparts.com/external...nator-kit.html

Anyone have any experience doing this????


Again it is a .......

1995 Cherokee Sport
4.0L i6
Automatic Trans

We are desperate to get this resolve as we need a vehicle for him to go back and forth to school and work!!!!


THANKS ALL

tjwalker

I will tell you this. In all the years I've been wrenching on the XJ, a code 41 has 99.9975% of the time has been caused by a failing alternator. You might just be on the front end of the failure so it tests okay and the code comes and goes.

Don't screw around with kits with external bypass, etc. Fix the root cause of the problem.

SEARCH this forum and others for JEEP CHEROKEE + CODE 41 and you'll see what I'm talking about here.

KD3NE

Thanks for the information.

Any recommendations as to an alternator?

Brands to avoid?

tjwalker

No specific recommendations. Get a NEW one (not rebuilt)

Or if you are lucky enough to have one of the old school mechanics in your area that rebuilds alternators, they usually do one heck of a job.