xj53

Hi all,

Done a lot of research on the forums here and couldn't find anything quite like my problem. So today i picked up a new to me 2002 grand cherokee with 92k miles, i got a pretty good deal because the original owner donated it, then that place transferred to a dealer who then transferred to a dealer to another dealer then to another dealer then ended up with my guy who didn't have his name on the tittle. talk about a red flag. Well i got it and drove it home about 100 miles but along the way about 70 miles in i stopped to get gas, the jeep drove amazing i checked all the fluids and lights seemed like it was taken car of well. filled up and went to start nothing, thought the battery was dead, got jumped by a nice Jeep JK, nothing. Figured the starter is dead. Call to mom and told her to grab the tools and jumper pack, luckily i was only 1.5 miles from a pep boys that had the starter in stock. While waiting for mom i gave it a try (about 20 minutes later) and she started right up but now had the check engine light on. Drove the last 35 ish miles like a champ. Just only starts like 1/10 times now. No crank nothing like the battery is dead but the battery is fine.
Trying to figure out if it is with trying to fix or just trying to disclose the ownership (which the guy i bought it from didn't) and see if i can get what i paid for it.
Any ideas/opinions appreciated. Shoulda just bought another XJ!

jeepfreak82

Try moving it in park or go to neutral and see if it acts differently. Neutral safety switch could be the culprit.

DFlintstone

Like suggested, the NSS. Try holding the key over on start and Jiggling the shifter in neutral and park. The NSS can be removed and cleaned. Unfortunantly the link I had is in "MY DOCUMENTS", folder, which I just found, seem to be gone.

Oh, and you are in Cherokee teck, you might prefer the Grand Cherokee section.

xj53

oops, habits i guess from when i had my XJ. if any mods want to move it over that would be great, don't want to post it again and spam up the forums.

xj53

Update, today she is starting up first turn right away, still has the check engine light on. Worked a half day today, going to run to the doctors real quick and then drive the jeep to pep boys and have them read the code. Will post the code later tonight. Also forgot to mention the positive battery terminal has been redone (doesn't look too recent) and they used a crappy crimp style connector/terminal. Doubt that is causing the check engine light but i want to swap that out.

DFlintstone

I found My Documents. Whew, that was scary>>

If you hold the key over, and jiggle the shifter in park or neutral and it starts, it's your NSS. http://bc4x4.com/tech/2010/jeep-neut...ty-switch-nss/

xj53

So i checked it out today and threw codes P1899, P1698, and P1685. I don't think it is the NSS given that its been starting up just fine now and wouldn't start it didn't start in Neutral either, one of those codes says the wrong key thing, funny because today my mom made me two spare keys while i was at work and said that they will start it up but it kills it after two seconds and the key light comes on. So I'm not so sure its a bad chip in my key, thinking it might be the TPS. Thoughts on a bad TPS? I appreciate the help. Made an appointment with a mechanic for Monday, but it would be a little easier on my wallet to straiten it out myself, and on my pride being that i checked the thing over with a fine tooth comb and i still believe the mechanical parts of the drive train are in great condition.

DFlintstone

My knowledge of the 2000 is nearly limited to the NSS! I hope someone else chimes in. Here's a tip. In google try things like "dies in a few seconds" (exact phrase), then "cherokeeforum.com" in "with these words". Google works way better to search here than the forum's search deal. Btw,that rings a bell, I've heard of it. A fuse to the asd relay? I really don't know. The mini fuses on that can be pretty important I think.

xj53

TCM***

apparently I'm still thinking XJ

xj53

P1698 code is whats giving me problems i think.

P1899 can't be bad, starts in park and neutral, not in reverse drive or any gears. so NSS is good

P1685 can't be bad cus it starts and runs fine, drives fine, if i use a copy key w/o a chip it kills the engine after 2 seconds, as it should

P1698 TCM probably isn't bad, because it shifts perfect and runs fine, thinking it could be those battery terminals or a bad ground, maybe the TCM relay. Im going to check the ground and relay tomorrow, hoping its not a bad wire hidden some where.

Anyone know if a bad ground could throw the 1899 or 1685 codes?

xj53

also on the car fax, trans was worked on and a wiring harness installed 2k miles ago? maybe something just didn't get plugged in or a bad ground? doubt that they would replace the TCM and forget to reflash it

dave1123

Okay, here's the thing on the chip keys. You can self-program new keys if you have BOTH original keys. If you only have one, the programing has to be done by the dealer.

There is no TCM on the 2002, It's part of the PCM. Check the cable plug on the PCM for being loose or having corroded pins or a bad ground wire. They didn't tell you WHICH wiring harness was replaced, did they?

BTW, the NSS is screwed into the side of the transmission on the WJ and can't be cleaned, just replaced. It's a round thing that looks like a pressure sensor. It operates the reverse lights also.

Check out wjjeeps.com. It will tell you a lot about your 2002.

xj53

so after driving it a little bit the check engine light is off?

no idea what it was, on the car fax it says it had the trans serviced and a wiring harness replaced 2k miles ago so idk if that might have caused something funny? who knows, taking it with my mechanic on monday cus i was stumped but now I'm just going to have him look over it and probably redo the crappy battery wiring. Planning on driving it cross country and its going to be in North Jersey, the salt would eat the battery wiring apart as is.

dave1123

Here's something to contemplate. I'm SERIOUSLY thinking about switching to the GM side terminal system because of the problems with the jeep cables. I NEVER had these problems with my Chevys. I think when I need a new battery, I'll do it.

Also, because of the way jeeps are splash guarded, salt usually doesn't get that high. I live in Mother Nature's lair where it snows at the drop of a hat. For the past week, it's been in the single digits with wind. It's been so cold, salt doesn't work well, so they put enough on the roads that they are white when they're dry! About the splash guards, Last summer I hit a really deep puddle at 45 mph. I blasted water high into the air and the jeep nearly stopped moving, but the engine never skipped a beat!