PCM plug problem

jrt2nd

jrt2nd

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Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2019
Messages
37
Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Recently my wife's TJ started to stall on her at random times. There didn't seem to be any traceable pattern to it. I read as many of the threads as I could find across most of the wrangler TJ forums and tried a few fixes like cleaning the idle air mixture solenoid, and replacing the TPS, but it felt like an electrical problem to me. While working on it today I discovered that if I wiggled or even just pressed lightly on any of the 3 plugs of the PCM I could make it stumble and even stall. So it seems to be bad connection in those plugs. I pulled the plugs and inspected them and found no visible issues So the question becomes, is there a way to make those plugs contact the pins better? Or is it even the plug? Could there be an issue with the PCM itself?
 
Try unplugging/reseating them a half-dozen times or so. Sometimes there can be a bit of dirt or corrosion in a multi-pin connector that can be eliminated by just reseating the plug.
 
Thanks for the reply Jerry. I've read a lot of your contributions to threads and appreciate your knowledge. I had done what you suggested before, but I went and did it again just for good measure and I've made it worse! Now I can only get it started if I wiggle the plug while my wife cranks the engine over. I took the tape off the wires and inspected them going into the plug and found no visible problems there.
 
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Hmmm. Now I am wondering if something IS wrong with the PCM. I can duplicate the same stumble and stall simply by pressing on the front cover of the PCM. And it doesn't take much pressure at all.
 
Are all the pins on the PCM even? Meaning one doesn't look like it's pushed in further than the rest?
 
There are past reports of broken circuit board solder connections inside the PCM. That your PCM acts up when you push on the cover makes that a distinct possibility.
 
Yes the pins are all in good straight condition. I'm not looking forward to paying for a PCM but that may be what has to be done. I'm going out of town for a while so I guess its going to have to sit for a bit.:(
 
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So to finally give a solution to this problem, it did turn out to be the computer. I ordered a refurbished one on line for $184 and after waiting 15 days for them to ship it to me, I installed it and everything seems to be working fine for the time being.
 
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