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Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
All OEM related XJ specific tech. Examples, no start, general maintenance or anything that's stock.
This whole thread has been an entertaining read. I'm waiting for the actual solution to this fuel pump problem but then I stumble upon this beautiful response. Thank you for that laugh Flintstone
I really wish I could contribute to some diag but this is crazy. Does your XJ have a metal or plastic tank? I can see debris clogging the strainer on the pump but to burn up a pump at the same time multiple times is highly unlikely. I'd be leaning towards it being electrical related. Constant high amperage would more likely cause multiple pumps to fail around the same time. I'm just speculating at the moment though.
And I'll also add that airtex is garbage.
It is a metal tank.
My speculation was the same as yours, still kind of is.
But after reading what I did last night I thought.
If the tank had a lot of trash and it clogged the fuel filter from the start then every pump I've put in has had the same amperage draw because of the fuel filter possibly being clogged therefore burning up the pump at roughly the same time. It's a stretch but it's a thought.
you by chance have a schematic of your wiring harness?
here is why I ask.......
gosh, like ten years ago,,,,,, i had a "kill" issue.........
where i would be driving normally down the road and all of a sudden the Jeep shuts off. just off. no stutter nothing.. just off.
plenty of batt power everything.
found in the fuse box assy in the engine compartment where the relays are was the POS lead for the AUTO-shut relay was hanging by a thread ( this is the wiring harness area UNDERNEATH the relay/fuses plastic plug plate).
these connectors have a tiny "tang" on them which enables them to "click" in place in the hole they are designated for. MINE was corroded gone! This caused the connector to "wiggle" loose through road / engine vibration over time.
A: causing high resistance ( more amperage required to complete circuit)
B: losing totally conductivity through circuit (open condition)
C: Burning out relays (my case was the AUTO-SHUT relay).
So, that being said, with the schematic in hand, locate approximate the actual "hot" wire from the fuel pump relay plug in,,,, underneath the relay plug socket ( dirty 'lil socket ),,,,, and see if it is ate up with corrosion all to heck...
What I did for my shut down thing was I removed the wires related to the AUTO-SHUT relay from the underside of the relay/fuse plate, hard wired them to new connectors ( splicing cut wires, like 1/2" back from where corroded connectors were) to the relay and taped the crap out of it and then RTV'd the whole thing ( keepin it watertight)..
Now, you don't have to go that far like I did with the sealing etc etc..
But, it might be worth a look to see the "ACTUAL" condition of the fuel pump relay connecting wires underneath........
worst case is you have new connectors on new area of copper wire , eliminating any corrosion for continuity there.
Also, see if maybe there is any other accessory( new add on etc) attached to the fuel relay / delivery system wiring.
Just a suggestion sir, I do hope you find the issue!!!
you by chance have a schematic of your wiring harness?
here is why I ask.......
gosh, like ten years ago,,,,,, i had a "kill" issue.........
where i would be driving normally down the road and all of a sudden the Jeep shuts off. just off. no stutter nothing.. just off.
plenty of batt power everything.
found in the fuse box assy in the engine compartment where the relays are was the POS lead for the AUTO-shut relay was hanging by a thread ( this is the wiring harness area UNDERNEATH the relay/fuses plastic plug plate).
these connectors have a tiny "tang" on them which enables them to "click" in place in the hole they are designated for. MINE was corroded gone! This caused the connector to "wiggle" loose through road / engine vibration over time.
A: causing high resistance ( more amperage required to complete circuit)
B: losing totally conductivity through circuit (open condition)
C: Burning out relays (my case was the AUTO-SHUT relay).
So, that being said, with the schematic in hand, locate approximate the actual "hot" wire from the fuel pump relay plug in,,,, underneath the relay plug socket ( dirty 'lil socket ),,,,, and see if it is ate up with corrosion all to heck...
What I did for my shut down thing was I removed the wires related to the AUTO-SHUT relay from the underside of the relay/fuse plate, hard wired them to new connectors ( splicing cut wires, like 1/2" back from where corroded connectors were) to the relay and taped the crap out of it and then RTV'd the whole thing ( keepin it watertight)..
Now, you don't have to go that far like I did with the sealing etc etc..
But, it might be worth a look to see the "ACTUAL" condition of the fuel pump relay connecting wires underneath........
worst case is you have new connectors on new area of copper wire , eliminating any corrosion for continuity there.
Also, see if maybe there is any other accessory( new add on etc) attached to the fuel relay / delivery system wiring.
Just a suggestion sir, I do hope you find the issue!!!
cheers!
cpnwrench
I will certainly give that a look. I'm checking anything I can.
I will be dropping the tank later today. I'm going to clean really good with a chain and gas, over and over. Then I'm going to pressure wash it really good.
People are saying in my area I can get a tank with pump and assembly for $30. Are they talking JY tanks because wouldn't it probably be just as dirty? Or do they mean new tanks for that cheap?
Well I dropped the tank and it's fairly filthy in their. I will be cleaning it very well or getting a new one if I can.
I also took off fuel filter and it had some dirty looking gas coming out of it. I busted it open. It was extremely filthy and had mud like liquid. I put it on last August when I got the jeep as routine maintance but I guess the dirty tank clogged it up really fast which hopefully is what was ruining every pump by causing it to work so hard.
This is fuel filter.
This is tank. That strainer is from where i took one off before.
DANG! That's ugly alright. I actually keep a can of gravel handy here for cleaning tanks. A bunch of Dawn dish soap and some hot water. Tip, shake jiggle ect. What doesn't bust loose with gravel scraping it isn't likely to come free by itself. I don't use rock bigger then 1-1/2 or smaller than 1/2" (don't want to bust a hole, and don't want fine bits that are hard to get out)
Wonder what pick-pull gets for a tank.....
I wonder if the current draw, (Amps) test would have shown something....
Wow. Don't the instructions that come with the fuel pump recommend replacing the fuel filter?
I'm not sure the crap picked up in the tank is the issue. Could be the fuel filter being so restrictive causing the issue.
We went through all this to find out the filter is full of crap?
Well see cruiser I know that seems crazy but here's why.
When I got jeep the fuel pump was out so I replaced it with a new filter.
Then it went out but I thought it was because of water getting into tank because it went out after a heavy rain and me hydroplaning horribly.
Then on the second one I though it was because of it being airtex.
Then the third one I realized something was wrong. So I started looking into it but because I had put a new filter on not long before I didn't think that was it (understandable in my opinion). I figured it was something electrical related for all the reasons I mentioned earlier.
Either way I'm 99% sure the filter is what the problem was.
I learned a lot and hopefully others will too and I also confirmed that all my electrical parts are good.
I am extremely grateful to you, df and others. I wish you knew how grateful I am, other than these words. Now I will try to pass on the knowledge I have aquired.
So you put that in last August? And how long before the pump failed? Thinking it wasn't that dirty then. (hope so!)
I certainly hope it's just because the filter was dirty from a dirty tank, too.
I put a brand new filter in last August then I didn't start driving it (other than 10 miles) until January, 2016. Then it failed in February.
Last edited by Chick-N-Picker; 04-16-2024 at 06:08 PM.
never ever ever let someone you even think a tiny inkling of might not all be there, borry yer rig!!!!!
An where in gods name did you by that fuel filter from? the Dirty fuel filter store?
WHOA
methinks young lad,, you been had.......yer kusin put mud water in your tank or somethin......
I never in my life( even deployed in the sheitehole places they send me to) seen a fuel filter that bad....only the sand pit,( but them was air filters)
welll....looks like you solved the issue. hindsight= pull filter first...if its heavy, its bad.
07-03-2016, 03:28 PM
