Here's what I have done:

New factory crank sensor
New timing set
New coil pick up
New coil
New cap, rotor, wires and plugs
New 2 ga battery cables throughout

I redid all of this as the 97 Cherokee has sat for 3.5 years and the teenage boy just got his license. It had jumped a tooth on the timing set, and ran like crap- which precipitated the above events.

Ran like a champ to work, and wouldn't restart in the morning. I've tested the CPS and it's good. I can get the jeep to start, but it runs like hell and will not idle whatsoever. No codes thrown, going old school with the 3 turns of the key get me a code 12 and 55. Battery unhooked within last 40 key cycles, and then end of codes.

I'm completely stumped because it will start, albeit poorly, and run- crappy, but it runs. With no codes.

Timing is still on the mark, and there are no other signs if electrical malfunction.

Any ideas?

 

I would start by making sure that you have a good spark, It should be a good blue spark any other color can cause it to run bad also verify you fuel pressure at the fuel rail with a mechanical pressure gauge. Your year should have 49psi + or - 5psi make sure that those are up to par. Also you might want to clean ALL or you grounding points. The would include battery to fender, oil dipstick, 2 on the coil, rear of the head to the fire wall also the mounting area between the starter and the engine block. You would be surprised how just one of those grounding points being dirty could cause so many problems. Clean them with a wire brush of some sandpaper until they are nice and shinny. After doing those things done report you findings and if you are still having the same problem we can go from there.

 

Bright blue spark, 46 psi of fuel, and I sand-papered all the ground points when installing the new cables and ground straps.

A side note I forgot- it cranks over really smooth for about 3 seconds, then kicks back once before it fires up and runs poorly. Almost like the timing self retards while cranking... (?)

 

Maybe take a minute to pull the dist. cap and check inside for condensation, (or anything odd). I know it's new, but an easy check. The books are wrong, #1 is at 5:00 viewed from the side, 153624 clockwise.

If you can keep it running, pull one wire at a time off the cap and see if pulling one (or two), does not do anything. (that's called a "dynamic" compression test). That might help pinpoint something...

*A tip, first loosen the wires on the cap with the engine off, then lift them free one at a time with it running.

I have never seen yours, (our MAP sensors are up on the firewall). Yours is on the TB I'm pretty sure. I think you may have a small "L" shaped tube on the bottom of your MAP. If there were somehow any problem with that, it would not run right.

 

Won't stay running long enough to pull wires off. Lol

Distributor is bone dry and clean.

Is there a way to test the MAP sensor? I'm not finding anything giving me directions on it. I am by now means a circuitry guru. 😁

 

The MAP is not likely, just it can be easy to check it's vacuum line. I'd move on unless you have sign's of it being too rich. Black smoke, wet plugs, smell gas.

If you have #1 at 5:00, I believe the rotor tip should be just leaving the terminal on the cap with it set at TDC for compression on #1. (again, it turns clockwise)

It's ahead like that so as the computer advances the spark, (makes it come sooner), the rotor tip will still be near the terminal on the cap.

I hear being one tooth off can be a real headache.

 

If it is smoking alot and you have to give it gas pedal to stay running the MAP may be the culprit.

 

I was a tooth off initially, until I reread that I needed to be one off. 😒.

No smoke or smelling of fuel in the exhaust. I was getting about 18 mpg before it just died.

I had the coil pickup code right after it died. I tried to start it numerous times after that- checking stuff and troubleshooting. I also had to winch myself up onto the trailer.

I replaced the pickup cool, and that cleared all my codes. I'm wondering if he winching was enough to drag the battery down far enough for it to run crappy with low voltage.

On the charger for the night and I'll give it a shot in the morning.

 

The $5 digital meter Harbor Freight sells actually works OK (at least for a while). I use them allot to save wear on my better meters.

People who know your Ho, (as opposed to us, blessed, ()) Renix People, have posted that a week battery can cause (Them ), To have a fit! . Do you see around 14 at the battery, with it running?

HO is really just your head, but they went from Renix to OBD-I then, to your OBD-II in 97.

 

14.1V at the battery. This is what I have now, following the above posts and thrown on the battery charger all night.

 

Boy...I hope some others listen to that. My first thought is it's a tooth off. If it has the fuel pressure and spark you mention. (my renix is quite different, will work fine with the wires to the dist. unplugged!) Here is a dizy thing> http://www.angelfire.com/my/fan/dist_index.html And> http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Ind...tor&id=1357018


Just because I'm "simple" sometimes, I might just see it it fires right off and runs better with a few little shots of starting fluid. Better, it's lean, worse, it's rich. (which you probably would notice in that garage).

There is a trick to aligning that business in your dizy, involving using a pin to align something. I might be looking there.

 

Yep- dowel through the top of the reluctor plate (?) the through to a hole in the bottom of the distributor housing. Oil pump set at 11 o'clock and fiddle to get it in the right spot when you drop it in.

I'm starting to lean towards a bad injector or 2. Had that different odor to the exhaust after I shut it down. Gonna pull plugs again and see how they look.

Maybe I can con a shop-rat into spraying some bang juice down the throttle body....

 

So, had a bad plug- #2, and swapped it out. Dead hole where I swapped it to, so replaced the plug and kiss went away.

Now it starts decent, and has a slight miss at idle. Went back through and reset TDC, lined up the reluctor plate jokes, etc... still has a slight idle miss.

New thing I noticed, there is a vacuum can on the passenger side if yre engine compartment, just below the AC condenser that has a solenoid of some type on the top. It began clicking rhythmically while the engine was idling. After about 5 min at idle, the engine just stopped dead like you turned the key off. It fired right back up, but then died after idling again for 5ish minutes.

I'll grab a pic of the solenoid thing, and time the run time when I'm back this afternoon.

Revs great and only gas a slight miss at higher, constant RPM.

 

Gd1cl

 

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...1388268891.jpg

Crappy pic, but you can make out where the item is...

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...1388268890.jpg

Here's a closer pic