I have a 2000 2.5L I4 gas engine in my cherokee. The jeep only has 75000 mile on it. Every couple months during a cold start, I will turn the key and it will have no power. Then if I wait about 10 seconds it will turn on the radio and lights but not produce power to the starter. Then if I wait another 10 seconds the starter will have power and can turn the engine over. The engine will fire once and then die. This happens for about 5 to 10 mins of me trying. Then after this I can get the engine to run by giving it throttle but if I let off the throttle it will die instantly. If I keep my foot on the gas for a couple mins then let off it will go down to 500 rpm and then it will correct itself and run fine for another couple months. There are no codes thrown and everything is stock. Any suggestions on what could be the issue and how to correct it would be greatly appreciated.

 

first off there was no 2.5l in the 2001 models, second, your battery is either dead, or grouding out

the reason why it is dropping the idle, is because the computer is resetting, i had a very similar problem

the first thing i would do is check the connections to the battery, but since it will work for a couple months, and then die, it appears to be the battery, try replacing the battery, then check all of your connections again

after that you really shouldnt have any problems unless it is a sensor

 

Just to update... So I did eventually change the battery a couple months ago and since then the XJ has ran smooth.