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My 97 xj isnt turning over

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Old 09-04-2015, 01:30 AM
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Default My 97 xj isnt turning over

So last week I did a complete tuneup, in the process, my ignition coil pigtail connecter, I broke the tab off of it and the little tab inside the pigtail, the grey tab wasnt on it. So it ran fine for a while, couple days. I was in a mud field, I turned the truck off and walked out onto this beach, hopped back in my truck and it wouldnt turn over, basicially had to have a friend with another xj push me from behind like 2 miles out of the mud field up the street to a gas station. He figured it out that the pig tail connector was to lose and wasnt making a solid connection, so a remedial fix was electric tape on the inside kinda like a busing to hold it in place and zip ties the connector around the ignition coil, drove it back home and it stalled out over a set of railroad tracks, my guess it shorted out from a hard bump. So, I left the truck there for a half hour to run back home and cut the pigtail from my 96 xj and basicially connected it to the existing wire with butt connectors. Thought it was running good, was out today taking stuff to the scrap yard, got done was driving back home, it stalled again. I'm like wtf, jiggled the connector and it started up, got out the truck to close the hood and it stalled again, this time wouldnt turn over at all, like it turns on but when I turn the key to start it makes that cranking sound but not crank over. Had it towed home, tried to start again and it wont. The only check engine code I have is for Coolant Tempertaure Sensor, could this also be a culprit for this behavior? My fuel pump is working, oil is in the engine, the spark plugs are getting a spark from testing them. Could it be the ignition coil? It was brand new from autozone, should I swap out for a aftermarket one, like a demon coil or msd? I replaced the Distrubutor cap, got that from autozone with the duralast gold wires and bosch plat spark plugs. I replaced that black tab under the distrubutor aswell from autozone. Any ideas? Could the wiring for the pigtail be fried? Or a electrical short somewhere else? Ive had the truck 2 weeks now, never a problem till after I do a tuneup on it.
Old 09-04-2015, 05:39 AM
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check the ground wires under the coil and make sure they are clean. What kind of plugs did you pull out when you did the tune up? If they were copper core plugs try putting them back in the 4.0 seems to run better on copper then platinum.
Old 09-04-2015, 06:10 AM
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They were champion, I'm not sure what kind tho. I'll check in the morning, and ill check the grounds. When I took the ignition coil off, there was a total of 4 wires with 0 ring connecters, 2 on each side of the bolts that hold the ignition coil in its place. I wasnt paying attention to how they were arranged on there, I just put 2 and 2 on each bolt and put it back. ill take a picture and post it up on here
Old 09-04-2015, 06:12 AM
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I know before I did the tuneup, cylinder number 1 was misfiring, after i did the tuneup, it was fine.
Old 09-04-2015, 07:59 AM
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What ever happened with you explorer swap build. Did you blow anything when welding the new frame on. Never did see pics
Old 09-04-2015, 02:50 PM
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Originally Posted by sycoglitch
What ever happened with you explorer swap build. Did you blow anything when welding the new frame on. Never did see pics
I'm not worried about my 96 xj atm, I cut the frame in sections where it was weak at and where it broke at and welded new pieces in place to hold it, my plans are to remove all the rust from the frame and put rustoleum on, and then box it in with frame stiffeners, but my 97 xj needs help
Old 09-05-2015, 05:42 PM
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Originally Posted by neocracka
drove it back home and it stalled out over a set of railroad tracks, my guess it shorted out from a hard bump. So, I left the truck there for a half hour to run back home and cut the pigtail from my 96 xj and basicially connected it to the existing wire with butt connectors.
You left it on the tracks while you "ran home"? Then worked on it "on the tracks". That really takes some man. lol.
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Old 09-05-2015, 05:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Turbo X_J
You left it on the tracks while you "ran home"? Then worked on it "on the tracks". That really takes some man. lol.
Oh man I missed that bwahahahah. I'm pretty sure I've seen several major train accidents because a car stalled on the tracks. Many deaths too.
Old 09-05-2015, 06:50 PM
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No, my truck went over a set of tracks, the bumps of the tracks knocked the pigtail loose and made the truck stall.

I cant figure out the issue. I switched the pigtail with the one from my white 96 jeep into the 97, it fits, even powered the truck all the way home that day, the next day it lost its connection. I replaced the ignition coil from autozone with a performance one in my 96 (demon), still no avail, I bought a new crank shaft sensor, replaced, still no avail, I put 6 inch longer wires into the pigtail to give it more room, still no avail. It cranks but no turn over, DOes anyone have any ideas?
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