rooster

Hello I'm new to the forums, and I would first off like to say. I am a member of many forums, and I absolutely hate it when people so this especially as their first post, so it pains me to do this but.....


I have the opportunity to come into a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee v8 with 210k miles, price is epic however it has problems.

Owners story verbatim "The gauges didn't always work correctly when we got the jeep but it wasn't a big deal so we ignored it. Then the radio stopped working all together and no one knows why and we took the dash apart and can find no problems."

Problems as I have found thus far.

The has random electronic issues, sometimes when you start it you have to hold your foot on the gas for the first 10 miles or so, if you let your foot off no matter what speed you are going it will die. Starts right back up, and it quits this after about 5 mins of driving. Also doesn't do it all the time just every now and then.

The gauges work 80% of the time, however the radio never works and the computer display?? thing?? (lol) above the shifter that is supposed to give you a read out of... something doesn't work ever. Owner says that quit when the radio quit. Also crazy things happen with the windows every now and then like the rear window will roll down at random, or one of the buttons will control the wrong window....

They SAY they've taken it to various mechanics to no avail which wouldn't surprise me in this podunk town (if you don't have a iroc camero they don't know how to fix it)

What I've read is that replacing the wiring harnesses and electronic control unit MAY fix the problems with the electronics. Or I can take the dash off and the door panels off and inspect every bit of wiring looking for a fault or short.

Now that my essay is over... thoughts?

thanks

ol"blue

Well it sounds as though you have a short problem somewhere. There's a member "seed" on here that's a ZJ "expert" and might know right where to look for the cause of your problem, but he usually doesn't come on until later. In the meantime you might try looking over this. Jeep Wiring diagrams

And...

rooster

thanks!

seed

I'm no expert,i've just owned too many of these heeps!

OP,a short or a bad ground could be your problem but i have no simple answer there other than,start lookin.

I would almost lean more towards the computer. I've seen before where a faulty computer is the culprit of weird random electrical issues. I'm assuming you've checked fuses?

As for the stalling,i would say maybe sensor related,have you tried pulling any codes?

ol"blue

Jeep Horizons :: View topic - Jeep Computer codes (OBDI & OBDII)

rooster

Never pulled any codes, its not mine yet, and I wouldn't know how to do it anyway. It belongs to some acquaintances so basically its mine IF I want it. Just trying to decide if they problem is going to worth getting into of if its going to cost me an arm and a leg in the long run. I've always liked this particular style of jeep and think they look awesome lifted with some 33's

Fuses are all good, yes.
learned yesterday that the sunroof leaked for a long time, possibility that its caused by water damage? Its looking more and more to me as if this is an issue I'm not prepared for mentally or financially..

ol"blue

Click on the above link. It tells you how to check your own codes.
Dan

rayharris46

Take it to a good mechanic and let him sort it out. You will be happier in the long run. 210K miles?? That getting pretty late in the engine life.

Good Luck!!

sluggy

a friend of mine had a grand.
ok his clocks did the same, take out the pod and make sure the 'block' that plugs in is clean and securly fitted.
his have been fine since he re fitted the plug and cleaned it with circuit cleaner.

the rest i would hazzard a guess is the ecu?????

check the floor isnt soaking under the carpet [carpet might feel dry bit look underneath it at the sound deadner etc.
this has caused me loads of problems i my vw, eventually burning out the rear harness.

caradiodoc

Just as a point of interest, Chrysler radios of this time period develop a number of common problems related to automated manufacturing techniques. Once repaired, they are generally repaired for life. These include no display, no back lighting, no FM, no AM and FM, and push buttons don't work or do the wrong function. Except for the back lighting issue, these problems can all be intermittent at first. When a dealer sends me one for repair, I automatically address all of these concerns right away so their customers won't have another problem in the future.

There is nothing outside the radio that can cause loss of display so I have to assume it's just a coincidence that a second module lost its display at the same time. This only happens to the Alpine-built CD player. It is not a problem on the Mitsubishi-built CD / cassette player unless UPS got a hold of it and dropped it. The Mitsubishi radios are very high quality.

As a side note, if the battery was recently disconnected, the engine computer will lose its memory and will not know when it must be in charge of idle speed. This can cause stalling if you don't keep your foot on the gas pedal. To relearn "minimum throttle", drive at highway speed, then coast for at least seven seconds without touching the brake or gas pedals. The high manifold vacuum for seven seconds is the signal to the computer to take a voltage reading from the throttle position sensor and put it into memory. Whenever the computer sees this voltage again, it knows your foot is off the pedal and it must control idle speed.

caradiodoc

rooster

Thank you everyone for your help, I've decided not to get it and I think I've saved myself a lot of time money and trouble. So I'm still on the prowl for one, hopefully can find one soon that won't be THIS much trouble.

rooster

Well Hello everybody!!!

I decided to get the jeep because they lowered the price even further, curbed the starting problems and the idling problems by putting new terminals, and the correct battery in it.

Upon inspection there were 2 or 3 blown fuses which sounds like to me the sunroof leaking problem they were having caused something to short out, Since when I put them in everything EVEN THE RADIO worked fine.

SO NEW PROBLEM!

I drove it for a week, parked it one night all was running fine, came out the next night and nada, turns over, but doesn't start, replaced the coil to no avail. Since it was a very sudden problem what would you guys think it was? The ECU? Its getting power to the coil, but beyond there I am not sure, I don't see sparks jumping from the plugs, but I've always been **** at that trick anyway so Suggestions before I take it to my buddy at the dealership??


Thanks a million everyone!

72gremlinkid

If you look at the relays & fuses for the under hood check the mini fuses. I had a fuse blow for the Auto Shut down relay causing it to crank over but get no spark. Just a quick easy check

ol"blue

It might have set a code when the problem occurred. To check your own codes:Jeep Horizons :: View topic - Jeep Computer codes (OBDI & OBDII)

ebouwman

Yikes! You actually bought it?

Well, i guess for the right price...