cskipxj

Alright so i got a 1988 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 liter . I put gas in my jeep at a place i always put it in at always run premium in it, and the next time i drove it after that it started spuddering really bad at first i thought my tranny was slippin, then i put it in Neutral and realized the engine was hardly running . it turned off i got it to crank back up with me playing with the gas pedal while starting , is this my fuel pump gone back? It literally wont even drive i hardly can get it to idle with my foot on gas please help me out i had to push a lifted jeep home which isn't easy every tip counts! Thanks

123456bmx

Premium gas burns slower and is for performance-ish motors,you have a tractor motor.

No need for the premium.

And when you put the ignition in acc do you hear the fuel pump prime?

Clean as many electrical connectors under the hood as you can,and get a 4# gauge wire for the firewall/manifold ground.

Im sure cruiser will chime in,He's the head renix expert.

cskipxj

Yeah you can hear the fuel pump turning on. Appreciate it man

123456bmx

Your pump might just be weak

If you can,I would suggest buying a fuel pressure gauge at harbor freight.

but before you do that I would clean electrical connectors and clean the ground on the oil dipstick tube and firewall

Check for fouled spark plugs and If your getting sufficient spark.

Renix jeeps 84-90 are picky about grounds so I would check all of them before replacing parts.

cruiser54

Renix Ground Refreshing
The Renix era XJs and MJs were built with an under-engineered grounding system for the engine/transmission electronics. One problem in particular involves the multiple ground connection at the engine dipstick tube stud. A poor ground here can cause a multitude of driveabililty issues, wasted time, failed emission tests, and wasted money replacing components unnecessarily.
The components grounding at the dipstick tube stud are:
Distributor Sync Sensor, TCU main ground, TCU "Shift Point Logic", Ignition control Module, Injectors, ECU main ground which other engine sensors ground through, Oxygen sensor, Knock Sensor, Cruise Control, and Transmission Sync signal. All extremely important stuff.
The factory was aware of the issues with this ground point and addressed it by suggesting the following:
Remove the nut holding the wire terminals to the stud. Verify that the stud is indeed tightened securely into the block. Scrape any and all paint from the stud’s mounting surface where the wires will attach. Must be clean, shiny and free of any oil, grease, or paint.
Inspect the wire terminals. Check to see that none of the terminals are crimped over wire insulation instead of bare wire. Be sure the crimps are tight. It wouldn’t hurt to re-crimp them just as a matter of course. Sand and polish the wire terminals until clean and shiny on both sides. Reinstall all the wires to the stud and tighten the nut down securely.
While you’re in that general area, locate the battery negative cable which is fastened to the engine block just forward of the dipstick stud. Remove the bolt, scrape the block to bare metal, clean and polish the cable terminal, and reattach securely.
Another area where the grounding system on Renix era Jeeps was lacking is the engine to chassis ground. There is a braided cable from the back of the cylinder head that also attaches to the driver’s side of the firewall. This cable is undersized for it’s intended use and subject to corrosion and poor connections at each end.
First off, remove the cable end from the firewall using a 15mm wrench or socket. Scrape the paint off down to bare metal and clean the wire terminal. Reattach securely.
Remove the other end of the cable from the rear of the head using a 3’4" socket. Clean all the oil, paint and crud from the stud. Clean the wire terminal of the cable and reattach securely.
A suggestion regarding the braided cable:
I prefer to add a #4 Gauge cable from the firewall to a bolt on the rear of the intake manifold, either to a heat shield bolt or fuel rail bolt. A cable about 18" long with a 3/8" lug on each end works great and you can get one at any parts store already made up. Napa has them as part number 781116.
A further improvement to the grounding system can be made using a #4 cable, about 10" long with 3/8" terminals at each end. Attach one end of this cable to the negative battery bolt and the other end under the closest 10mm headed bolt on the radiator support just forward of the battery. Napa part number 781115.
For those of us with Comanches, it’s very important to remove the driver’s side taillamp assembly to access the ground for the fuel pump. Remove the screw holding the black ground wire. Scrape the paint from the body and corrosion from the wire terminal. Reattach securely.
If you want to upgrade your grounds and battery cables in general, contact Jon at


www.kelleyswip.com. He makes an incredible cable upgrade for a very reasonable price.
　
Revised 03-04-2013

I suggest unplugging EVERY electrical connection in the engine bay you can find, whether engine related or not, and spraying it out with a good electronics cleaner, visually inspecting the terminals making sure they haven’t retracted into the plastic holder, and then plugging it back together. There’s a critical 10-pin connector for the front lighting system located in front of the air cleaner and behind the left headlight assembly. Don’t miss that one
. Also be sure that the connectors to the ballast resistor mounted near the air cleaner housing are clean and tight.

ALL of the relays should be removed, the terminals wire-brushed until shiny, and the receptacles sprayed out with contact cleaner. Then plug them back in. I do this on every Renix Jeep I purchase or work on for someone else.

Revised 07/23/2012