Which way to the trail of tears?
09-22-2009, 01:10 PM
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Model: Cherokee
Which way to the trail of tears?
I simply love my 1996 GCL, but it hates me. My main question is, how do you make a grand Cherokee run? Mine stalls and dies, but sits there looking beautiful. The latest adventure:
My Mother lives 70 miles from me. This past Saturday, I decided to go see her. On the trip to her house, the Jeep ran perfectly, causing a false sense of security. The entire trip was flawless. I even called my wife and bragged.
I get to my Mothers house and stay for about 3 hours. Jump back in the Cherokee and head home. About 12 mile into the trip home, I hit a big patch of standing water. I don't know if you have seen the news, but Georgia is being pounded by major rain and storms. We have pretty major flooding right now. I hit the water because I could not go around it, a car was coming, so I hit it. I thought "I know I just drenched the distribitor". Well, about 2 minutes later it stalled and died. Most of the time when this happens, it sits for anywhere fron 5 to 30 minutes and cranks again. Not this time. I sat in the rain for about 2 hours. Finally it cranked and I headed back to my Mother's house. No one could come and get me, and no one could take me home, so I was stranded. I work third shift and had to call in. There was no way I could make it to work that night. So, I spent the night at my Mothers house. The next morning I got up and went out and cranked the Jeep and it fired right up. Drove it a bit and it seemed fine. Drove it again and it stalled and died. I talked to my nephew and he said it may need a new dist. cap and rotor, so off to Autozone I go, and $23 later the parts are on. It seemed to smooth the Jeep out, and my confidence was up enough to attempt to drive it home. About 12 miles into the trip, it stalls again, in the exact same place it stalled the day before. This time it sat for about 5 minutes and cranked again. I went about 10 miles this time before it died. 5 minutes later it was on the road. 4 minutes after that, it stalled. Sat there for about 10 minutes, cranked and made the rest of the trip fine, which was about 40 miles.
Now, I don't know if many of you have read my other post about this Jeep, but the parts replaced so far are:
Ignition coil
Dist. cap
Rotor
Crank position sensor
Cat. converter
Muffler
Top radiator hose
No matter what I do, it does no good. This is the only thing we have to drive. My wife and I both love this jeep, but we're getting frustrated, to put it mildly. It is our life line. I don't want to give up on it, but I can't keep throwing parts at it. The only code showing is 43. The guy at Autozone put their tester on it and it came back with a PO351, which is ignition related. The only part of the ignition left to replace is the plugs and wires, and those parts don't cause the problem I'm having..............do they?
Every time I see a Cherokee on the road I think "Either it was just fixed, or its about to die" and I wish the owner luck.
Are the Grand Cherokee's any good? I have heard many people have the same problems that I have, stalling and temporary death. I love this thing when it is right, I'm not putting the Jeep's down, but what does it take to drive one? Is it possessed by Satan?
Do I need a full time mechanic to ride with me?
All I want is for it to be fixed, and so far, it refuses. It is hard-headed, but I am more so. I just hope I have the will to win, not to mention the money to do it with.
My Mother lives 70 miles from me. This past Saturday, I decided to go see her. On the trip to her house, the Jeep ran perfectly, causing a false sense of security. The entire trip was flawless. I even called my wife and bragged.
I get to my Mothers house and stay for about 3 hours. Jump back in the Cherokee and head home. About 12 mile into the trip home, I hit a big patch of standing water. I don't know if you have seen the news, but Georgia is being pounded by major rain and storms. We have pretty major flooding right now. I hit the water because I could not go around it, a car was coming, so I hit it. I thought "I know I just drenched the distribitor". Well, about 2 minutes later it stalled and died. Most of the time when this happens, it sits for anywhere fron 5 to 30 minutes and cranks again. Not this time. I sat in the rain for about 2 hours. Finally it cranked and I headed back to my Mother's house. No one could come and get me, and no one could take me home, so I was stranded. I work third shift and had to call in. There was no way I could make it to work that night. So, I spent the night at my Mothers house. The next morning I got up and went out and cranked the Jeep and it fired right up. Drove it a bit and it seemed fine. Drove it again and it stalled and died. I talked to my nephew and he said it may need a new dist. cap and rotor, so off to Autozone I go, and $23 later the parts are on. It seemed to smooth the Jeep out, and my confidence was up enough to attempt to drive it home. About 12 miles into the trip, it stalls again, in the exact same place it stalled the day before. This time it sat for about 5 minutes and cranked again. I went about 10 miles this time before it died. 5 minutes later it was on the road. 4 minutes after that, it stalled. Sat there for about 10 minutes, cranked and made the rest of the trip fine, which was about 40 miles.
Now, I don't know if many of you have read my other post about this Jeep, but the parts replaced so far are:
Ignition coil
Dist. cap
Rotor
Crank position sensor
Cat. converter
Muffler
Top radiator hose
No matter what I do, it does no good. This is the only thing we have to drive. My wife and I both love this jeep, but we're getting frustrated, to put it mildly. It is our life line. I don't want to give up on it, but I can't keep throwing parts at it. The only code showing is 43. The guy at Autozone put their tester on it and it came back with a PO351, which is ignition related. The only part of the ignition left to replace is the plugs and wires, and those parts don't cause the problem I'm having..............do they?
Every time I see a Cherokee on the road I think "Either it was just fixed, or its about to die" and I wish the owner luck.
Are the Grand Cherokee's any good? I have heard many people have the same problems that I have, stalling and temporary death. I love this thing when it is right, I'm not putting the Jeep's down, but what does it take to drive one? Is it possessed by Satan?
Do I need a full time mechanic to ride with me?All I want is for it to be fixed, and so far, it refuses. It is hard-headed, but I am more so. I just hope I have the will to win, not to mention the money to do it with.
09-22-2009, 10:19 PM
#2
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Location: Medicine Hat Alberta
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Year: 1993
Model: Grand Cherokee
Engine: 5.2
well it would be good to tell what engine you have. But saying you changed the dist cap and didn't have any cuss words along with it I would assume its a 4.0l of which I have never had anything to do with. sounds like you believe it to be ignition related, but you may find a way to check the fuel pressure. those intank pumps can sometimes quit then work a bit again once they sit. maybe your actually running out of gas. just a thought.
09-23-2009, 12:09 AM
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Year: 2004
Model: Grand Cherokee
Engine: 4.7L V8
Regarding the code 43, it says: Misfire Detected.
Regarding the scan tool code "PO351", the manual states:
"DRB Scan Tool Display: Ignition Coil #1 Primary Circuit
Description of Diagnostic Trouble Code: PO351- Peak primary circuit current not achieved with maximum dwell time."
What's that mean?
I have no clue...
Could it be the pick-up thing under the rotor in the distributor?
Regarding the scan tool code "PO351", the manual states:
"DRB Scan Tool Display: Ignition Coil #1 Primary Circuit
Description of Diagnostic Trouble Code: PO351- Peak primary circuit current not achieved with maximum dwell time."
What's that mean?
I have no clue...
Could it be the pick-up thing under the rotor in the distributor?
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