Car Tech: 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Stalling Problems
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Stalling Problems
by KKarategirl01 - 10/10/08 5:38 PMLike many other Jeep GC owners, I have recently been experiencing stalling problems. It all started about 3 months ago and happened only sporadically until the last few weeks. The vehicle will be sitting at idle or going at a very slow speed and will just stall. It cranks back up fine (most of the time-sometimes, it takes about 30 seconds of cranking it)This problem, I find, occurs more in the morning and worse the longer the vehicle has sat undriven (overnight or during a work shift) I have taken it to 2 different mechanics and the following has been done:
-replaced Idle Air Control (old one looked pretty corroded, so I was very hopeful)
-Changed plugs, wires, distributor cap
Neither of these things did ANY good and searching the internet, I found SEVERAL posts on here about the "magic answer" by backing out or replacing the screws with shorter ones on the ECM. At the risk of sounding like an idiot (because I don't know alot about cars,) I took the article to my mechanic and asked him, as a last ditch effort, to try this magical solution. He says he did and the problem persists! I was told to take to Jeep but that I shouldn't get my hopes up on actually getting an answer/fix. I was advised to get rid of it while I could, but I love my Jeep and don't exactly have the means to go out and buy another vehicle in this crappy economy. PLEASE help you have any information or further tips that could help me keep/fix my baby!
Side Note
by KKarategirl01 - 10/12/08 8:00 PM In reply to: 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Stalling Problems by KKarategirl01Add to the list:
3rd mechanic swapped horn and ASD relay...stalled only once, now hesitates /misfires sporadically during acceleration. Help! 1996JeepGC, do you have ay advice?????/
Additional Info:
by mmickelson - 11/30/08 3:40 PM In reply to: Side Note by KKarategirl01I’ve got a 99 Grand Cherokee that encountered the stalling problem last May. I have a small child that was in the car with me and so it was a very serious problem for me so I thought by taking it into the Jeep dealership and having the ‘experts’ diagnose the problem it would be worth to spend the extra money.
I never did the search on the web so I did not think this was a widespread epidemic but the service department said pretty much the same thing as most of the other people said who reported this problem. They never would acknowledge the stalling because they could not duplicate it, but they made some recommendations that would result in me spending ~$1700 to replace the computer and a crank sensor. It was bugging me to spend that much money without having known the root cause so, I opted to only replace the crank sensor for ~$550.
I have not found a good website for people to report symptoms and other variables leading up to these mysterious problems, but I will say that it was very hot out when the car stalled and I was probably driving it for ~20 minutes through the city with the AC on. It is colder out these days and I have not had any problems with it. There was also a posting on Edmunds.com (http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/LongTerm/articleId=44026) of a gentleman who claims he replaced an oxygen sensor in his 2000 Grand Cherokee and it resolved his stalling problem. That will be my next thing to try.
It is a bit frustrating that Chrysler will not acknowledge the failures and provide a solution. I am more than willing to spend the money for the fix if it is the true fix. It is dangerous to know a car will stall in traffic. There is a sense of liability on Chrysler for having so many complaints and not investigating the root cause.
mmickelson
Thanks
by KKarategirl01 - 11/30/08 5:42 PM In reply to: Additional Info: by mmickelsonThanks for the reply. Since the posting, I too have had the crank shaft sensor and the cam shaft sensor replaced and the stalling persists. The mechanic was finally able to duplicate the problem because it steadily got worse until it wouldn't stay cranked at all. He pulled out the ECM and found several places that looked like the sodering had broken down, so he deduced that it must be the computer (which was what he thought it was all along but was trying to fix the cheaper and easier things first.) Then began the search for an ECM for that year, make and model. We were unsuccesful in finding one that had the exact same model number as the ECM that's in the truck currently, so we looked into having it rebuilt (about 1/2 the cost of a brand new one). NO ONE will rebuild this particular ECM because of all the problems out of it. SO, as a last ditch effort and to buy a little more time for searching, the mechanic sodered the few places that looked like they needed it and I've only had one stall in 3 weeks. The good news is that he definitely found the problem. The bad news is that we can't find a replacement part to fix the problem so we are back at square one! I'm sooooo frustrated with this crap. I agree with you that the stalling is definitely a hazard (I too have a small child who rides with me 100% of the time.) Jeep/Chrysler would be quick to settle out of court should someone be seriously injured or (god forbid) killed, but yet they won't investigate to avoid that happening. There's NO WAY they could possibly deny the fact that there's is an issue...it's all over the internet and any mechanic who's every worked on a Jeep will tell you that it's the main problem. Anyway, thanks for the input and let me know how your story turns out!
grand cherokee stalling problem
by purple449 - 3/28/09 4:18 PM In reply to: 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Stalling Problems by KKarategirl01I have a 1996 grand cherokee, 184,000 miles. Last year it frequently stalled at idle, especially if I put a load on the engine such as turning into a parking spot and activating the power steering pump. I did the usual trouble shooting trial and error routines like tune-up and such. Nothing helped. One day the car wouldn't start at all so I had it towed to a garage. The mechanic found that the starter switch housing had a metal tab broken off. He replaced the starter switch and the problem has never repeated. This may not be your problem but it's another thing to consider.
Grand Cherokee stalling problem (nomenclature correction)
by purple449 - 3/28/09 4:41 PM In reply to: grand cherokee stalling problem by purple449My apologies. I refered to the "starter switch" when refering to the stalling problem. I meant "ignition switch". Sorry, it's been a long day.
Hopefully my problem is solved! '98 GC.
by sfrasher - 4/4/09 3:09 PM In reply to: 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Stalling Problems by KKarategirl01I had the exact same problem on my '98 Grand Cherokee Laredo 5.2L V8 (ZJ).
I had read about the 2 screws fix. I took out the PCM and discovered that my GC doesn't have those 2 screws. But when I put the PCM back in, it worked, so I attributed it to reseating the connectors.
It worked for a couple of days, then started stalling again. I found that taking the neg terminal off the battery and then reseating the black connector, the far right one, it worked for awhile.
Well, it got worse and worse, and I got tired of constantly having to reseat that connector. I searched the forums again and found a writeup on what someone else did. The second suggestion was to reset the computer (PCM). I figure it's equivalent to rebooting your computer...when in doubt, reboot! To do this, he said to disconnect the positive battery terminal for 1 hour, then said that someone else recommended 4 hours. I took the positive terminal off when I went to bed. The next morning, about 10 hours later, I put it back on. It hasn't stalled, missed, hesitated, or had slow cranking problems in 3 days! It's a simple thing to try and it's free!
Broken again!
by sfrasher - 4/5/09 2:37 PM In reply to: Hopefully my problem is solved! '98 GC. by sfrasherWell, the gremlins are at it again! AS SOON as I reported the fix (resetting the computer) it started stalling again!!
Back to the drawing board!
Grand Cherokee stall FIXES
by friction_jack - 4/21/09 12:04 PM In reply to: Broken again! by sfrasherIt seems like there are several components that can cause this stalling behavior. The symptoms are the same because the PCM is what is sending bad instructions to the engine. It could be the PCM, but it could also be any number of sensors that feeds information to the PCM. In my case, I had replaced my PCM a year before my stalling started, and I was hoping it was not dead again. So I replaced the crank position sensor (no change), the throttle position sensor (no change), the MAP sensor - BINGO! Runs perfectly ever since. I even get better gas mileage now. (it was a 5-minute fix, literally)
Other items could be a bad coil, cam position sensor (in distributor), distributor, O2 sensors (usually get a check engine light), fuel regulator, fuel pump, fuel filter.
Good luck.
MAP Sensor
by blairjadwin - 8/4/09 9:15 PM In reply to: Grand Cherokee stall FIXES by friction_jackI had similar problem for 6 mos. Turned out to be MAP Sensor. After $109 dealer analysis I replaced the $69 sensor myself and problem solved, but it took a few minutes running after replacement of MAP for car to readjust to the new sensor. Runs fine now.
Jeep Grand Cherokee 98
by kiyro123 - 9/13/09 10:02 AM In reply to: MAP Sensor by blairjadwinMy Problem my truck just turned off out of the blue. I was using it just fine worry free. I pulled up to a gas station and it just shut of on me without any warning. After that, It wouldn't start up again. It would crank over, but not start. I do my own mechanical work so the first thing i checked was the fuel pressure. Pressure was good. I changed the spark plug cables and distributor cap/rotor because there was no current. No luck. I installed a brand new crank sensor and a pick up coil. no luck I the found t burn out resistors. I replaced them and BINGO!!, for now...? The truck started and ran fine, but 15 - 20 minutes later it started misfiring and getting lazier and stalling more and more until it died on me. Would not turn on after that. 1 hour later, it would turn on with no problems at all. 15 minutes after, same thing would happen. I ordered a new computer after checking the fuel pump and making sure the fuses were the correct amps. Still no luck. Please help. anyone out have any suggestions?
Warmup issue
by shocklee17 - 9/13/09 11:14 AM In reply to: Jeep Grand Cherokee 98 by kiyro123Could be the throttle position sensor or the egr valve. The problem has to be related to the car warming up if it starts fine then dies. Check to make sure the cars not overheating because that can cause the car to die.
98 Jeep GC
by kiyro123 - 9/13/09 6:58 PM In reply to: Warmup issue by shocklee17Te truck is not overheating, but I'll try those suggestions. Thanks
Stalling Problems
by DanD54 - 12/5/09 5:19 AM In reply to: 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Stalling Problems by KKarategirl01I have had similar problems, and, knock on wood, I think they were solved with switching out the computer with an aftermarket computer that supposedly coast under $300.00.
For a year and a half my '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee would stall at a read light (usually the same one), but start right back up and run fine. Occasionally the engine would stumble while driving down the road and the check engine light would flash for a second, but wouldn't trip a code. Over the last few months the problem gradually got worse.
About six weeks ago all hell broke loose. I stalled out in the middle of the highway three times with the transmission seeming like it was not engaged then shifting at the wrong time. I finally got it started and limped home after several more stalls, strong gas smell, etc.
After misdiagnosing the problem (I have much more sympathy after reading these posts) and charging me $355.00 for nothing, my mechanic put a new computer in my Jeep. It's been almost a month now, an I haven't had a single stall or stumble.
He sent me another bill for $295, which I haven't paid yet. I planned to dispute it, but it sounds like I may have gotten off pretty lucky with a $650 bill for this fix. Let me know if the bill is worth fighting about.
I do love my Jeep, and I hope to keep it another ten years if I can.
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