Hi everyone, I'm James. This is my first time here posting anything so forgive me if I'm in the wrong forum or if I make any dumb mistakes.




This morning I got into my Jeep, put the key in the ignition, turned it over, and all it would do was chug with no ignition. I talked to some people at work and one suggested it could be the distributer. Could it also be the fuel pump? I read somewhere that you can have some tap on the gas tank with a rubber hammer while someone tries to start it and if it starts, then it's the fuel pump. Is this the case? How can I tell if it's the distributer?


Thank you for any and all advice. I'm at work right now, so I can't try any suggestions at the moment.
James

 

Tapping on the fuel tank can sometimes work, but is far from a conclusive test. I would start with checking to see if you have fuel pressure at the rail... just push in on the valve that looks like a tire valve, and see if you have fuel pressure.

Then I would check for spark by removing a spark plug, or just grabbing one off the shelf... hooking it up to a plug wire on the XJ, and grounding it on the AC compressor. Try starting the engine and see if you get a good blue spark.

If either of those is missing, then you know where to begin your troubleshooting.

If it looks like you have a good strong spark, and fuel pressure, then it would be time to rent/borrow a fuel pressure gauge to see how much fuel pressure you have.

 

I had this problem twice with my first Cherokee which was a 93 Sport. It turned out to be the crankshaft position sensor both times except the second time it also blew out the fuse also. Hope this helps.