After studying, could the VSS, Tranny Input and/or Output Sensors cause my:

Erratic Idle
Bucking and Stalling with Torque Converter (3rd and 4th gear)
Inoperative Speedo and Odo

 

The VSS can dick up the CCD Bus. Causes high 5 volt supply voltage to the engine management sensors. It receives secondary 5 volt supply whereas the other sensors receive primary 5 volt supply voltage. I think the VSS may be sneaking its 5 volts into the (all the) sensor ground circuit(s) which would really create havoc.

Disconnect it and find out.

 

Cleaned all connectors and replaced headlights. Headlight problems solved.

Cleaned IAC again and drilled hole through throttle plate (as all other 98+ vehicles have) Idle is now 1050 Park, Neutral and 950 In Gear (Cold) and 1200 Park, Neutral and 1100 In Gear (Warm). Sounds better in idle, still and occasional "stutter". I am content now, buddy says could be bad IAC. Idk? Once engine is revved up, it still comes back down pretty slowly.

After 3 drives, check engine light is gone. However, bucking and stalling still persist in 3rd and 4th.

Speedo, Odo, and Fuel Gauge still do not work. Cluster diagnostic test proved it is not the gauges themselves. VSS was checked, everything looks good. I will study more into testing it.

Dont know if this really matters, but when engaging 4x4 (properly) it grinds occasionally. When putting Jeep in gear, it lurches, jumps and bucks moderately. Everyone says it is just a "Jeep thing". Idk.

Thanks again everyone. I am figuring out more and more about my first Jeep and solving problems one at a time!

 

Did you try unplugging the VSS and see if it made any change? Checking and looking good??

 

CCKen, unplugging it at the connector, right? Then driving around? What difference am I looking for, speedo and odo movement, and/or no stalling/bad shifting.

 

Yes, unplug the connector on the Vehicle Speed Sensor.

And yes, you are looking for any, or all, of the above.

 

I unplugged the VSS, drove around, and the only difference was that when I applied the brakes, the speedometer didn't jump up to what it should be.

AFTER MUCH CLEANING, TROUBLESHOOTING, etc. I acquired a scanner...

Codes: p0320 and p1694

Symptoms: Jeep idles high (in my opinion) at 1200 (park, neutral) and 1000 (gear). Occasional "miss" or stutter in idle, producing popping sound. Jerking in and out of gears. Speedometer, Odometer do not work, unless when brake is applied. Fuel Gauge works intermittently. Hard, high rpm, shifting. Bucking and then stalling in 3rd and dependable dying in 4th.

Everyone is saying: CHANGE THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR. I did, however, it was an Autozone one. I still have my factory one, which test good. I plan on swapping it out. Is there an effective way to test the connector to pcm wiring for the CPS?

Thanks.

 

I cleared the codes, pulled and charged the battery (overnight), put it back in, let her run for 2 minutes. Then i checked the codes again.

p0320, p1694, and p0700

I proceeded to check the CPS wires as such:

With Ignition ON

1. Multimeter to 20 DC, Red Probe in #3 Slot (Five Volt Supply), Black Probe Grounded at Battery Negative Terminal. Should Get 5 Volts: I got 5.17

2. Multimeter to 20K Ohms, Red Probe in #2 Slot (Ground), Black Probe Grounded at Battery Negative Terminal. Should Get 0: I got .8

3. Multimeter to 20K Ohms, Red Probe in #1 Slot (Signal), Black Probe in Black PCM Connector Port A8. Should Get 0: I got 1

*. Multimeter to 20K Ohms, Red Pro be in #1 Slot (Signal), Black Probe in Black PCM Connector Port A4 (To Check For Shorts). Should Get 1: I got 1

Things to note:

I am going to do test 3. again. It is hard to believe there is absolutely no contact.

The #2 slot, black wire for the Sensor ground has a splice an inch away from the connector. Doesnt seem well done. Should I be concerned?

I am trying to rule out a bad sensor, and rather, find crappy wires that are easily fixed. How should I go about my failed test 2. and 3.? I am going to study the splice and see if I cant solder together the wires.

Thanks.

 

Unplug the CPS and see if the fuel gauge reads steady. If so, the CPS may be one of the problems.

If the fuel gauge comes back, plug in your OEM CPS (without installing it) and see if the fuel gauge works okay. If it does, reinstall the OEM CPS.

Here's some diagnostic data.

From the 2001 XJ Diagnostics manual:

P0320-NO CRANK REFERENCE SIGNAL AT PCM
When Monitored: With the ignition on.
Set Condition: No signal from the crankshaft position sensor is present during engine
cranking, and at least 3 camshaft position sensor signals have occurred.
POSSIBLE CAUSES
INTERMITTENT CONDITION
5 VOLT SUPPLY CIRCUIT SHORTED TO GROUND
5 VOLT SUPPLY CIRCUIT OPEN
5 VOLT SUPPLY CIRCUIT SHORTED TO VOLTAGE
CKP SENSOR SIGNAL CIRCUIT SHORTED GROUND
CKP SENSOR SIGNAL CIRCUIT OPEN
CKP SENSOR SIGNAL CIRCUIT SHORTED TO VOLTAGE
CKP SENSOR SIGNAL SHORTED TO 5 VOLT SUPPLY CIRCUIT
SENSOR GROUND CIRCUIT OPEN
PCM - 5 VOLT SUPPLY
PCM - CKP SENSOR SIGNAL
CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR

From the '99 FSM. The 2001 manual doesn't list 1694, only 1696. For 1696 it says to replace the PCM.
TEST ACTION

P1694 (M) No CCD Messages received from ECM - Bus communication failure to PCM.

~~~~~

What did you do about the distributor/camshaft position sensor mix up?

 

Let me get this right... Unplug CPS with Ignition ON, Engine OFF and see if the fuel gauge works correctly. If it does, CPS is subject. Try OEM CPS. If it does the same thing, then it is the wiring rather?

Distributor is now 98, with the OEM 98 cam in it. Forgive me, I must have forgot to mention that...

OEM o2 Sensor is coming in. I will see if this helps.

I hate all this wiring business. I am going to find out more on this ground wire resistance.

 

In the CPS Body Harness connector - The wire to Cav 2 is Brown wth a Yellow tracer. That's the live ground circuit wire to most of the sensors. It carries a low voltage with key to ON, and zero volts with key to OFF/LOCK. If you tried to "Ohm" this circuit with your Ohmmeter it was confused. Try selecting 2 VDC on your Voltmeter and probe pin cav 2 (+) to battery (-). Turn key to OFF. You should read .000 Volts, turn key to ON, you should read around .016-.020 Volts. Any voltage reading much higher means there's a short to the 5 volt reference voltage. No voltage with the key to ON means you've lost continuity in the ground circuit to the PCM.

There's a splice in the sensor ground circuit wire (Brown/Yellow) called S114. It should be around the front of the fuel injector wiring manifold. If it's an inch from the connector someone has moved it. Verify that the wire spliced in is Brown/Yellow tracer.

The 5.17 volts you see is good.

See my previous post.

The new code is P0700 I see. That indicates there's a fault set in the TCM.

 

Concerning Crankshaft Position Sensors:

Using an Ohmmeter, read between any two pins on the CPS pigtail connector. You should read Open. Any continuity means the CPS is defective. This is not a conclusive test of a CPS but it is a good indicator that the CPS may be defective.

The '96 and '98 Flexplates are the same so it doesn't matter if you retained the '96 flexplate. There is a difference in the CPS' however.

The '96 CPS is OEM part number 56027865 and the '98 CPS is OEM part number 56027866AB.

If you search part number 56027865 on Rockauto you'll see that their aftermarket CPS's under this part number cross reference to 56027866, but not 866AB. It's important to have a '98 CPS in your '98 so your '98 PCM recognizes the CPS signals.

866AB is good for '97 and '98 only. In '99 it was changed to 866AA.

 

This is the brown/yellow wire (ground). I did test it with the igniton on, so I will try again with it off and on 2DC and look for 0.

The splice is in front of the fuel injector wiring manifold, and in retrospect it is probably 3 inches from the connector. It may be factory, but it is pink and crimp style. It looks as though someone damaged the brown/yellow wire and spliced it.

Should I worry about p0700 until we figure this out... Or are they connected?

 

Get all the CPS issues cleaned up then address the P0700.

 

This splice is on one wire, the brown/yellow ground. I will have to resplice it. I will take it off, clean the wiring good, and resplice and tape.

As I give 9-5 to society, I will have to do this later tonight...