I've done a lot of mechanical work with my cherokee so usually I know what I am talking about and what the problem is and what the fix is... however now my jeep is just completely shutting off at random times. Doesn't seem to be affected by speed, gears, rpms, its not overheating and the battery is good and strong. When it shuts off its like a clean cut, no stuttering or running rough, it just goes from running great to completely off. I don't know where to start looking or what it could be, I've thought of fuel pump, distributor, electrical grounds, etc and I just wondered if anyone else had some insight as to where to start

 

I would check your grounds first. Does it lose power when it dies? Does it start right back up?

 

Grounds and battery tie down would be my first look.

 

Refreshing grounds is NEVER a bad idea. Must disassemble, clean, reassemble. Can't tell a thing by looking at them.

If grounds check out and this continues to occur, there are two primary suspects. And in THIS ORDER.

1. Crankshaft position sensor. Without the input signal from this sensor to the computer, you will not have spark and you will not have fuel going TO the fuel injectors. Here is a link to a good thread on the crank sensor.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/c...ailing-639123/

2. The ignition coil is suspect #2.

But the crank sensor fails far more frequently and that is what you should concentrate on.

Good luck and be sure to post back and let us know what you find!

 

My '87 XJ would randomly cut off like that. Changed the fuel pump and fuel filter and its golden!

 

91 or newer? Replace the cam sensor under the distributor cap.

 

Check your CPS too. mine had a short inside the wires:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http:...?v=zHwMB2R20Xc

 

Ok sounds like good advice. Hopefully I can check over all that this week. Its a 1999 Cherokee sport. When it shuts off I just throw it in neutral and it fires right back up

 

Good news, swapped out the cps and its golden.. and those are two of the hardest to get to bolts on the entire vehicle if you ask me.. I also threw a new Bosch fuel pump assembly in to nip that future problem in the bud. (It was already losing its prime from bad check valve). Thanks to everyone for their input.

 

Wait untill you change the engine. The top 2 bolts, where the trans bolts the the engine, are the hardest to get to. Their a reverse torx and a real pita! Glad you got her running good again.