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Jeep wont hold idle

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Old Oct 14, 2014 | 10:09 PM
  #1  
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Year: 1998
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Default Jeep wont hold idle

I've searched around and I'm not having any luck.
Last week my jeep was due for its oil change so I got my wife to move her car and then I brought mine in. After the oil change I like to fire it up to check for oil leeks and such. That's when it all started, like someone flipped a switch. Tried starting it but the only way it would start and hold an idle was to the press on the gas peddle a bit.
After doing some research I found that the battery might have something to do with it. Got the battery tested and yup not even 3 year old red top but no good.
Bought a new battery and the jeep seemed fine.
This morning I went to go to work and once again same thing.
The IAC is only 4-5 months old but I took it out and both the IAC and the TB were nice and clean.
I recently installed a 4.6 stroker and while I had the engine out I cleaned and applied die electric grease to any and all connections that I came across. I'm in the middle of getting it tuned,( via email) and the guy tuning it said he was getting some strange readings. He asked me to check the grounds, ( I did and their good) and he also mentioned that the PCM might be buggered. How can I test it? And where can I get one?
What else could be causing me this trouble?
Sorry for being a bit long winded just wanted to give as much info as possible.
Thank you.
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Old Oct 14, 2014 | 11:06 PM
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Originally Posted by 98xjeeper
I've searched around and I'm not having any luck.
Last week my jeep was due for its oil change so I got my wife to move her car and then I brought mine in. After the oil change I like to fire it up to check for oil leeks and such. That's when it all started, like someone flipped a switch. Tried starting it but the only way it would start and hold an idle was to the press on the gas peddle a bit.
After doing some research I found that the battery might have something to do with it. Got the battery tested and yup not even 3 year old red top but no good.
Bought a new battery and the jeep seemed fine.
This morning I went to go to work and once again same thing.
The IAC is only 4-5 months old but I took it out and both the IAC and the TB were nice and clean.
I recently installed a 4.6 stroker and while I had the engine out I cleaned and applied die electric grease to any and all connections that I came across. I'm in the middle of getting it tuned,( via email) and the guy tuning it said he was getting some strange readings. He asked me to check the grounds, ( I did and their good) and he also mentioned that the PCM might be buggered. How can I test it? And where can I get one?
What else could be causing me this trouble?
Sorry for being a bit long winded just wanted to give as much info as possible.
Thank you.
Age / looks have little bearing on electrical components, sometimes they are scrap right out of the box.
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Old Oct 14, 2014 | 11:19 PM
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I even tried using the old one but no difference. I swapped it out cause I thought it was causeing me troubles but it never changed anything. I can grab a new one just trying not to throw a bunch of money at it. What are the chances of a bad PCM, that one scares me.
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Old Oct 14, 2014 | 11:24 PM
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What are the codes?
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Old Oct 14, 2014 | 11:34 PM
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p0000
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Old Oct 14, 2014 | 11:42 PM
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I've been having the problem too. It happens occasionally but it goes away. No idea what it's from. But when I get moving its fine. I just throw it in reverse and once the wheels are moving it idles fine.
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Old Oct 14, 2014 | 11:47 PM
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Wish I was that lucky. Just checked the codes and reader says no codes found. I noticed the volts gauge looked a bit low. So I've got the battery disconnected and on the charger.
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Old Oct 15, 2014 | 09:20 AM
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That was my first thought. When you first replaced the battery, the issue was gone. Overnight, the issue returned. Was wondering if you verified the battery voltage on that occasion, because if so (below spec), you could likely have a drain....
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Old Oct 15, 2014 | 10:16 AM
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I still have the original alternator. Gonna get it checked tonight and if its good I'll swap it out and see what happens. A drain would be from a bad ground?
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Old Oct 18, 2014 | 09:19 PM
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Alright so I'm still trying to figure this out. Found the big wire that goes from battery to starter was bad. Got a new one in and checked all my connections again. Everything looks good, all is tight and clean.
Went for a drive to see if it's any better.
After a 1/2 hour drive the jeep is still either stalling out or idling wildly, say from about 300 to 900 RPM. Also starting...sometimes it starts by just turning the key and other times I have to press on the gas peddle.
So very minor improvements. Anyone have any ideas what else I should do?
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Old Oct 18, 2014 | 09:35 PM
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Originally Posted by 98xjeeper
Alright so I'm still trying to figure this out. Found the big wire that goes from battery to starter was bad. Got a new one in and checked all my connections again. Everything looks good, all is tight and clean.
Went for a drive to see if it's any better.
After a 1/2 hour drive the jeep is still either stalling out or idling wildly, say from about 300 to 900 RPM. Also starting...sometimes it starts by just turning the key and other times I have to press on the gas peddle.
So very minor improvements. Anyone have any ideas what else I should do?
What's the battery voltage?
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Old Oct 18, 2014 | 10:03 PM
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Just went to the jeep, when I turn the key the volts gauge reads one line below the 14.
Better than the last time but I don't remember what it was like before all this started.
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Old Oct 18, 2014 | 10:05 PM
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If the volt meter reads 14 with the engine off it's probably an incorrect reading, do you have a DMM or can you borrow one?
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Old Oct 19, 2014 | 09:23 AM
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Default Jeep wont hold idle

Clean the inside of the wire battery terminals that connect to the battery with a wire brush... 80% of the time that is the problem. If you want to throw some loot in to fully resolve this problem, spend $8 on marine terminals.

Last edited by BoomStickTmo; Oct 19, 2014 at 09:46 AM.
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Old Oct 20, 2014 | 01:51 PM
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I've cleaned the inside of the battery terminals with a wire brush and applied some die electric grease. I do this to all my vehicles.
I replaced the large red wire going from the positive battery terminal leading down to the starter. This one the lug had fallen off so I thought that was the problem. Jeep still won't hold an idle.
Hey turbo X J, What is a DMM??
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