Adam.Springer

My 2001 Jeep Cherokee has some kind of electrical issue. When driving down the road the anti-theft light will come on, the gauges will go dead, and "no bus" will come across the odometer. After some time the guages will just start working again as if nothing ever happened. The XJ always runs normal during this ordeal. But, the issue is if it happens during the start up the Cherokee will start for 2-3 seconds then immediately stall. None of the guages will work during this time except for the anti-theft light as I mentioned in the upper left corner (the no smoking symbol with a key). Recently it took a few days before the Jeep would start again. Has anyone ever had problems with their anti-theft system? Is it the ECU? I changed the Crank Position Sensor without any success and moved around some of the relays. The thing is it only happens intermittently which has made my XJ the most unreliable car to drive and leave you stranded.

I took it to a local mechanic shop and they could not figure out what was wrong with it because it is currently running and acting fine. They said they did not have a man available to fool with it all day and waste time and money when they could be working on someone elses car.

Everybody loves their XJ's so I'm sure this has happened to someone out there. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

NinetyNine

My 99 Cherokee does the same thing. I have changed out the SKIM (Sentry Key Immobilizer) Module, the gauge cluster, and the ECM. Still doing it. Damnedest thing, makes the car so unreliable. I have noticed that whenever I take it to someone for diagnosis, simply pulling the ECM codes seems to clear the fault. I'm ready to dump this car, although I like it a lot. Gotta be a tiny short somewhere between the three components I have replaced, or a bad ground somewhere. Too hard to diagnose, in my book.

Adam.Springer

Thanks for the reply. I figured there would have more people to respond with a similar problem. I'm going to take my into a Jeep Dealer and have them look at it. I'm hoping they will be familiar with this problem and it can be fixed. I love my XJ but if I cannot find the problem it makes it totally unreliable. I'm looking at getting a new Rubicon unlimited wrangler if my XJ cannot be fixed.

Adam.Springer

Ninety Nine - Just wanted to let you know the most recent information on my Cherokee since you're experiencing the same thing with yours. I took it in and a mechanic hooked it up to pull the codes from the Cherokee and nothing came up. Its been running fine ever since. I read some other post somewhere and it said once the codes are pulled from their vehicle it cleared the issue which seemed to be similar to mine and yours. I'm pretty sure mine has something to do with the anti-theft/alarm so I have NOT used my remote to lock the doors. I've only been locking the doors the old fashioned way by using the door lock switch on the vehicle. I've had zero problems so far in the last month. So I would NOT use the keyless remote to lock or unlock the doors because I think that screws with the anti-theft system thinking someone is trying to steal your car so it shuts the motor down. Just a thought.

bonesjones83

I have the same issue however my 99 XJ Sport does it everytime I try to start. It starts then stalls 3 sec. later and all guages are dead with the theft light on and a "no bus" code on odometer. I replaced the ECM in the past and this fixed the issue but I don't have the $$$ to keep throwing into ECMs. Not sure if I have a short somewere or not. When scanned the codes it's throwing are for neutral safety switch (bypassed) and trans. range sensor. I've replaced this sensor twice now! No success! Grrr! If I learn more I'll let you know! Please do the same if you get anymore info! Thanks!!

jeepinjason

I'm having about the same problem. I drive a 93. My jeep will run fine for a while, then just sputters and dies. No it wont start, it has no spark at one point, then it fires up and it idles rough. Like it's missing on one cylinder. I'm going to buy a CPS (Crank position sensor) and see if that fixes the problem. My next step if that doesn't work, is to test and replace the coil, or tear apart the distributor. I will keep you guys updated on how it progresses. It might be a while because I'm researching the best CPS to buy. I hope you guys can get this figured out too! It is truly a pain!