Jeep shut down in traffic

tomtaylz

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Hey guys!

First, some info about the Jeep,

Year: 2000
Model: Sport
Miles: 93k
Engine: 4.0L

No diagnostic codes or CEL I'm pretty sure Chris ;)

I drove up to Healdsburg to go biking today (around 70 miles), it was very hot today. On the way home I took the scenic route on highway 1 probably over 100 miles, lots of corners and a fair amount of traffic. I always sort of keep an eye on the temp gauge and while a tiny bit higher than usual I didn't see anything significant.

Just when I get over the golden gate bridge, as I'm in traffic everything shuts down, at first I noticed my power steering gone, and then no acceleration and the brake was stiff (didn't indent much I thought I'd need to use the hand brake to stop). I tried to put it in park in traffic and restart but at first no luck (it cranked a bit but did not fire), I limped onto the shoulder (luckily I was on a hill) and restarted here and it fired back up right away. The radio was still working through everything I am pretty sure.

Okay so paying more attention now I take it slower, probably half a mile down the road it happens again, I noticed my oil pressure, rpm and temp gauge go to default (probably all gauges just not 100%), power steering, accelerator and brake stiff. Restarted again and this time I was able to get home ~3 miles away.

Both times I was probably going less than 15 but not at a total stop.

I turned off the AC and did notice as the Jeeps RPM goes down when decelerating, to just under 750 rpm it was idling at, it almost stuttered and would go up a bit before going down (you could sort of hear it if paying attention). I'm not sure if thats significant or new.

Any ideas on what to look for?

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That's an odd one, I'd start by looking for loose wires, wiggle the battery, alternator and starter connections.

How much gas is in the tank?


There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
That's an odd one, I'd start by looking for loose wires, wiggle the battery, alternator and starter connections.

How much gas is in the tank?


There must have been a time
when we could have said no.

Gauge which I have no reason not to trust shows about a quarter tank.
 
I'd be tempted to fill it to about 1/2 and see what happens. That way if it fixes it you don't have to drop a full tank ;)

I don't remember the details but I recall someone having a similar issue that turned out out to be a problem with the fuel pump. There was a hole in one of the lines that when he got low on gas it sucked air instead of gas.

Give all those main wires a wiggle though as it's an easy fix.


There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
Ok, so yeah there is a number of things that could be going bad here that have contributed to this happening. I'm sure you read my thread by now and it does sound very similar to my experience. Replacing the Crankshaft Position Sensor is one route to go but before you do that I would get a fuel pressure gauge and hook it up to the schrader valve to see what psi your getting. Report back. It should be right around 49psi. You may have a bad fuel pump and that will need to be replaced if you have a low fuel pressure psi.

However for me it was a combination of things.

You may also have to replace the crankshaft and/or the camshaft position sensors. I replaced both of mine as I have a high mileage TJ and figured many of my sensors needed replacing anyway. Go with Mopar sensors if you can afford it, and a only a Bosch Fuel Pump.
 
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Tom, before reaching 200,000 miles I had your symptoms.

My daughter in college was driving it and stalled in the highway and jeep towed, end up in a dealership. I let them changed CPS, O2 sensors, Alternator, Starter, OPDA, Transfer Case Chain belt, Trans case fluids, all of them OEM from the jeep dealership for less than $1,000. parts with life time warranty.

The rest I did in my driveway was IAC, Oil change, Spark Plugs, serpentine belt, steering fluid, brake fluid, transmission fluids, differential fluids, coolant flush, zerk fitting grease. Brake pads, front rotors.

I do not take chances. Brand new again, ready for the next 200,000 miles!!!
 
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I have a 2001 Wrangler Sport...original owner with 58,700 miles on the clock and "out of the blue" for a few days my Jeep started dying in traffic :yikes: Freaked me out cause that has NEVER happened before. As others have stated above it could be a number of things but in my case it turned out to be an EASY fix. While researching I kept reading posts about disconnecting, cleaning/brushing battery terminals and reconnecting? I thought to myself there is no way this is my problem cause I ALWAYS keep my battery terminals tight and clean. BUT...they had not been disconnected in a long while so I did so and re-brushed reconnected battery terminals and have not had that problem since! Seems like one of those Jeep posts talked about the low-voltage sensors we have really need fresh/good battery connections.? Also meant to add my Jeep never threw any codes thru this ordeal cause I have my own reader. Good luck to you!
 
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Thanks guys! A good list to check I'll have to go through tonight, I was just glad that it didn't happen on Highway 1 or I would have pooped myself.

I ordered a new CPS sensor which will be here Tuesday as it seems like a good time to do some preventative maintenance if that isn't the issue. Unfortunately AutoZone doesn't rent out a fuel pump diagnostic kit anymore so I'd have to buy it. I think I'm just going to take it by my mechanic tomorrow and ask them to check out the fuel pump as I need to drive some people Thursday (these issues always seems to happen just before I need to drive people for work :p),
 
seems like a good time to do some preventative maintenance if that isn't the issue. Unfortunately AutoZone doesn't rent out a fuel pump diagnostic kit anymore so I'd have to buy it. I think I'm just going to take it by my mechanic tomorrow and ask them to check out the fuel pump as I need to drive some people Thursday (these issues always seems to happen just before I need to drive people for work :p),
Thats a good attitude to have especially when these things happen, and is basically the best thing to do is realize that your TJ is almost at 100k and around then some things start to go. There are a few different things and sensors that could probably be replaced at this time and chalked up to preventative maintenance.

Good luck here, we'll be in the background to help you along the way if needed!
 
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Thats a good attitude to have especially when these things happen, and is basically the best thing to do is realize that your TJ is almost at 100k and around then some things start to go. There are a few different things and sensors that could probably be replaced at this time and chalked up to preventative maintenance.

Good luck here, we'll be in the background to help you along the way if needed!

Yeah it’s an 18 year old vehicle, the more I can make new the better.
 
TJ is almost at 100k and around then some things start to go.
100k is not much mileage for a TJ. Nothing ever happens to mine until around 175k. Vacuum leak. I am most certain "fuel pump" will never fail due to it's design (that's what I believe)
 
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I had a similar situation, in the 15 years I've had my 98 TJ 4.0 it never stalled, but recently it began randomly stalling out, or hard starting and I did the usual replace Crank and Cam sensor, but it turned out to be the automatic shutdown relay located in the underhood power center. I was still getting issues with intermittent problems after new crank and cam sensors installed, and swapped the ASR with another relay and the problem went away. I bought new ones off of Amazon for less than $10 and replaced them all, no more problems. Makes sense that a 20 year old relay could give up eventually.
 
Ok, this just happened to me this morning on my way into work in my 2006 TJ. A few months ago my fuel pump went out on me and my dash board lit up as well as the Jeep stuttering (like it was miss firing) until I came to a stop and it died. Today I didn't realize anything happened until I tried to give it a little gas and nothing was happening. No lights on the dashboard and I was doing about 35mph. I turned the key and it started up as I was coasting down to stop at a gate for an ID check where I work. It stalled on me again when I tried to give it some gas to accelerate after going through the gate. It didn't "feel" like the issue I had when the fuel pump went out, but after reading this post and EJD's post, it looks like I need to work on the CPS and all the wiring. If anything else you all can think of, please let me know!
 
Sounds like a bad fuel pump, clogged fuel filter, alternator failing, battery failing or bad plugs, wires or distributor cap. These have been allc the problems I faced when dealing with similar situation.