TJ died and now it won't start

Cesar

Cesar

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Messages
7
Location
NC, USA
1998 TJ 4.0
Running out of ideas and would like to get my Jeep back on the road.
A little background on how I got to this point. I rebuilt the engine(in-frame) about 8 months ago and everything was working fine.
The other day I was driving and the car with no warning whatsoever just quit/stalled and it just wouldn’t start again.
I let the car sit on my driveway for about three months and finally got the patience to start working on it again.
First thing I did is went and got a brand new battery from Costco. The car cranks and cranks but it just won’t fire (air, fuel, ignition needed)
Fuel pump is working and also check the shraeder valve and there’s fuel at the fuel rail.
Starter-is also working, the engine spins
CPS- changed with a Mopar one
Spark plug wires- new set
Ignition- now that’s where the problems is I believe, I unplugged one of the spark plug wires and and attached a spark plug to it, I then cranked the engine to see if there was a spark but nothing at all.
Also, even changed the PCM and nothing still, even switched the fuses between the fuel pump and the (ASD) shutdown relay.
If anyone is familiar on how to troubleshoot or have had something similar or knows how to fix this I would really appreciate it, thanks.
Also, the simpler the explanation the better. thanks in advance :geek:
 
So you're saying that when you crank it and hold a spark plug with a wire connected to it, you don't get any part from the spark plug?

I'd start by checking your distributor in that case.
 
Yeah I didn’t get any spark, I’ll hook up a spark plug to the wire coming from the ignition coil next too see if there’s any power coming from there. Do you know how many volts should the connector for the ignition coil should show? Is it 5v or 12+volts?
 
Cesar said:
Yeah I didn’t get any spark, I’ll hook up a spark plug to the wire coming from the ignition coil next too see if there’s any power coming from there. Do you know how many volts should the connector for the ignition coil should show? Is it 5v or 12+volts?
Click to expand...

(Update) it seems that there’s no power(voltage) in between the connector and the ignition coil.

B74A948D-7A8D-4F51-81FC-48F48421DDA2.jpeg
 
Chris said:
So there is no power going to that wire that plugs into the ignition coil?
Click to expand...

Nope, none at all. I’ve heard that there should be about 12v going through that connector. So I’m thinking my problem is between the ASD and that Ignition Coil Connector since no power is being transferred.
 
I had that same problem with the wife's old 98, from what I remember, it had something to do with the alternator but that was 8 years ago. Have you checked the fuses?
 
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Do you have a meter or trouble shooting light? If I had a wiring diagram handy I could probably find out what is causing your dead hot...I had it on several jeeps, but I just dont remember what it was.
 
How do your wires from the positive and negative battery contact look going to the end? Any corrosion? You might look at the cops again, that sounds like it. To be honest
 
Cesar said:
Hypothetically speaking, if it was the ignition switch would the starter still engage? Sorry but electrical is not my best subject as you can probably tell.
Click to expand...
Old post I know but I have thought of this as well. If the ignition switch was bad, would the starter get a signal to crank at all?
 
Well there are at least 2 circuits, the starter would engage with the start position and engine would stay running in the run position, I don’t remember if there is a accessory position, but any or all can fail.
 
My issue is now solved. Ended up being a bad ignition coil. Would get spark but couldn't tell how weak. I just replaced it with a Duralast unit and started immediately.
 
There is a special tool that actually checks how good a coil is, it is like a spark plug but you can adjust the gap and at .470” or 7mm you would have enough power for spark under load
 
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