Hi everyone,

I have posted two Youtube videos (linked below) to explain the problem I am having each morning I start my jeep. Any help on identifying the problem would be greatly appreciated.

Video 1:
1994 Jeep Cherokee Cold Start - YouTube

Video 2:

I'm assuming this is a diesel? Why else would you have to wait for the CE light to go off? It's possible your glow plug(s) is(are) not functioning. The intake has to be warm enough to vaporize the fuel before it will stay running.

Thanks for the quick response Dave... nope, it's not a diesel

HUH! have to think about this a bit. What engine do you have? Why are you waiting for the CE light to go out?

Welcome to CF.

Are you in Hawaii? We've had several issues of late with COLD starting problems, as in 0 F. What fuel are you using? Is it E10? I've really got to rethink this one.

Check, replace your throttle position sensor (TPS) and your air intake temp sensor (AIT). These are relatively easy and inexpensive. If they don't cure your problem, we'll have to look elsewhere.

Thanks dave... I'm a little broke so I'm hoping to really find out the problem with a high probability before finding anything...

If I don't wait for the CE light to turn on and back off completely (not just quickly blinking as if it has a bad connection) the cart won't start, just crank... I can upload a video of what the dash shows when I first start in the morning (waiting for CE light to come on etc)...

Yeah I'm in Hawaii, so the lowest it gets here is high 60s low 70s (worst case in the morning)... I just use whatever Chevron spits out for regular unleaded, pretty sure it's 91 octane unleaded petrol...

I found this link where the problem the person describes seems very similar to mine, except he/she doesn't mention that sputtering problem I show in the first video link i put in my first post:

http://www.justanswer.com/jeep/1fu0x...-turn-key.html

For some reason, I couldn't access your second video. Do you have any trouble codes set? The flashing CE light is weird. Maybe someone else has an idea. I'm not deserting you, just need another opinion.

Anybody?

If there were any problems with the 2nd vid, it should be working now...

Stay tuned for another video I'll try to upload asap with some more details... I'll check out what codes I get as well.

More videos I took from this morning:

Vid 1 (waiting for check engine light to come on when first starting):
(fast forward from 0:55 to 2:56)

Vid 2 (car sputtering until it warms up when I finally get it to first start):

Vid 3 (system diagnosis with check engine light):
(I interpret the codes 12 and 55, not sure if that's right)

Not sure if these codes are right, but I found this: http://www.allpar.com/fix/80s-codes.html#axzz2Gx180mJJ

I viewed your second video. The clicking is obviously a relay. You'd have to feel which one with your fingertips while it's clicking. I suspect it's the ASD or Auto Shut Down relay. If that's the one, try swapping it with the A/C relay or a headlight relay. They are all the same.

Code 12 is "beginning of test" and 55 is "end of test" which means you have no codes set.

The ASD relay will cause the no start, but shouldn't cause the cold idle issue. I'm with you on not just throwing parts at it in hopes of solving the problem. I'm stumped and was hoping to get one of the veterans to chime in. Two of these guys have given me lots of straight info. That's Ol' Blue and Bustedback. Maybe just mentioning their names will bring a response.

Yes, that would be great if we could get more help from the pros! *crossing fingers*

I'll try to feel which relays are clicking tomorrow morning and send an update asap.

I hate to just toss ideas at you, but I was sitting in my car tonight waiting for my newspapers to arrive, trying to stay warm because it's 1 F tonight. I'd have the car running and the heater going until it was warm and then shut it off. After it got nippy, I'd restart it to warm up again. Because the engine was warm and the 02 sensor was cold, it would idle rough until the sensor warmed up again. I got to thinking, "I wonder if his 02 sensor is screwed up."

I would think if your 02 was bad, it would show up as a trouble code. Something in your system has to warm up electrically before functions properly.

I'm going to PM Bustedback and see if he can help.

I think we're dealing with a low voltage issue. The first place to start would be to get rid of those wingnut battery terminals, they are not real great at making good clean contact. You may have a high voltage drop between the battery and the PCM, and everytime you start the engine the PCM has to relearn the idle strategy. Start with the terminals and check for voltage drops between the battery and starter, battery and PDC, battery ground and the alternator case, and battery ground and body.

Update from this morning:

I felt the relays to see which one was clicking and and it was the 5th one from the left. It has the following numbers written on it, one above the other like this:

56006709
50732
280 3A2

You can see which one I'm talking about in the earlier video I posted (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=sdn3JG_DFaw#!) starting at the 0:50 mark.

What normally happens after waiting ~2 minutes for the check engine light to come on, is the car starts and runs normal for about 30 seconds. This gives me just enough time to drive it down the block and put it in park and idle when the sputtering starts (which is really loud because I have to rev my engine and these louds "KAPOOM" noises come out the muffler -- you can hear it a few times in that video I uploaded -- so I don't want to annoy my neighbors). So normally I would have those first few seconds to do that.

I thought the temperature issue was with that relay box that was clicking, so I took a hairdryer to it for a few minutes a couple days ago. When I did this, the same thing happens with the check engine light delay, but when I start the car, I don't have those first few seconds of a "normal" engine and the sputtering starts right away. So I figured that eliminated the relay box as the temperature problem source.

So this morning, in my first start after waiting for the check engine light, I took the hairdryer to the ECM/PCM (I don't know the correct terminology or what it's really called, but it's the thing I show and mention starting at 2:18 here http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=sdn3JG_DFaw#!) for 4 or 5 minutes. I started the car, and started driving it down the street, planning to let it idle and sputter while it warms up. I read what you wrote about your heater before I left this morning, dave, so I turned on the air con and the car died (as if it was about to sputter). Anyway I started it back and drove it down the street and put it in park, and there was no sputtering. So it seems that that unit in the back is the temperature problem source. I can try again tomorrow morning and video it (without turning on the air con) and see if I get the same results.

dave: 1 F! Man... 65 F over here doesn't sound all that bad anymore Your reasoning about the sensor makes sense to me... thanks a lot for messaging Bustedback.

Bustedback: I will bring a multimeter home with me to try this tomorrow morning. By any chance is there a diagram you know of online of the engine where I can see where the starter and PDC are?