The complete saga. Long story, so buckle up.
Bought the Jeep in May 2018. At some point a couple years later, it died while sitting at a Stop sign. It restarted and had no more problems. Until this summer. It died at two Stop signs in a row.
A few days later, it started dying when we hit a bump. Big bump, little bump, it didn’t matter.
When it died, it was ONLY the ignition that went out. All other power was still working. Dash, radio, accessory plugs. When it died, a bit more than half the time it would restart on its own. Before I could even react, it restarted. Later, it would restart when I pumped the throttle.
Then I accidentally drained the battery. After a jump start, I drove it the 4 and a half miles to my mechanic. I trust them. They are honest. However, it did not die one single time on that bumpy drive.
After a few days, they could not get it to die while driving. Period. So, I had the battery replaced.
I drove it as normal for a couple weeks with no problems. Then, when I drove it, it would start dying on bumps, but only after about 20 minutes of driving.
Then I had to take a short road trip. 2 hours one way. By the time I got to my destination, it was dying on about half the bumps. Half way back and it went bonkers. Ignition off and on very quickly, Dash lights Christmas tree-ing. Died. As I coasted on the highway shoulder, I put it in Neutral and it restarted.
Now the check engine light was on. Had not been before. But, the last 60 miles of the drive were perfectly normal behavior.
Got home and ordered a cheapy scanner to use with my phone. Better than no scanner. It said the crankshaft position sensor was bad.
I replaced it. $30 bucks and 10 minutes.
On a test drive, I got ¾ of a mile before it died on a bump. Restarted and turned around.
Here is where it gets weird.
Pulled into the driveway across from mine so I could back in. It died. And would not start. The starter would not disengage as the engine would not fire. Or, at least, it wouldn’t fire more than just to barely sputter.
After 20 minutes or so, I got it started. When I touched the gas pedal while in Reverse, it died. 10 more minutes and I got it started. Since everything is on a hill where I live, I let it roll back into my driveway and only put it in Reverse when the tires hit the concrete. A little gas and it died but I had enough momentum to get past the sidewalk.
A week or so later, a friend came over with his Xtool scanner. This is where we learned that it would only start if there was a person in both front seats. And, if one of them lifted up or got out, it would die. I have this on video.
The scanner reported that the crankshaft position sensor and the camshaft position sensor were not in sync. He used the scanner to fix that.
There are no other problems that I can see on the report he emailed me. There is something about a seat squib (?) not signaling, and possibly a rear seat sensor not signaling. I don’t know how to read these things. I am not a mechanic.
So, I loaded 150 pound of garden bricks in the passenger seat. It started right up. I rolled it down to the sidewalk, then reversed back up to my spot on the driveway. It died. And would not restart. That was a Sunday.
I let it set, battery connected, all week long. Sunday comes around again. This past Sunday. I go out and take the bricks out of the passenger seat. It will not start. I even tried to start it while sitting in the passenger seat. Nope.
So I unplugged all 3 plugs under the passenger seat. It started! But only in Neutral. Not in Park. Several times. In a row.
I needed to swap the positions of my 2 vehicles, so I put it in drive and pulled out and parked in front of the house. When I went to move it back, of course it died in Reverse. But, on the 2nd or 3rd try, it did go backward about 20 feet. And then it died. I just rolled it back to the curb.
Today, Wednesday. 3 days later. Not 8 days like the last time, but 3. I thought I would try it again as now I have some workday empty driveways I can pull into and just roll backward out of, to turn the thing around.
The battery is so low it doesn’t want to power the locks and the dash lights are very dim. Of course, it doesn’t even turn over.
An hour or so later, when I get home from an errand, I put the battery charger on it. It reads 14.1 volts. Than MAY be the charger output, but previously I always got the battery voltage. I could have read it wrong.
An hour or so later, I go out. 13.6 volts. It starts right up, in Park, first try. It flutters a bit like it isn’t going to start, but it did. In Reverse, 20 feet, died. So I restarted it and drove into a driveway, coasted backward, and drove into my driveway. No problems.
Possessed. Or bad ECM. Or a wire is shorting.
Info: I never drive the Jeep off road. I don’t generally speed and never drive over 75 in the Jeep. No mods except a winch, and it is disconnected. I am overweight, but I don’t even weight 300 pounds. I get the oil changed on schedule always. No wrecks while I have owned it. And I have the Xtool report if anybody wants to see it. Also, I have a lot of this on video for proof.
Any thoughts?
Bought the Jeep in May 2018. At some point a couple years later, it died while sitting at a Stop sign. It restarted and had no more problems. Until this summer. It died at two Stop signs in a row.
A few days later, it started dying when we hit a bump. Big bump, little bump, it didn’t matter.
When it died, it was ONLY the ignition that went out. All other power was still working. Dash, radio, accessory plugs. When it died, a bit more than half the time it would restart on its own. Before I could even react, it restarted. Later, it would restart when I pumped the throttle.
Then I accidentally drained the battery. After a jump start, I drove it the 4 and a half miles to my mechanic. I trust them. They are honest. However, it did not die one single time on that bumpy drive.
After a few days, they could not get it to die while driving. Period. So, I had the battery replaced.
I drove it as normal for a couple weeks with no problems. Then, when I drove it, it would start dying on bumps, but only after about 20 minutes of driving.
Then I had to take a short road trip. 2 hours one way. By the time I got to my destination, it was dying on about half the bumps. Half way back and it went bonkers. Ignition off and on very quickly, Dash lights Christmas tree-ing. Died. As I coasted on the highway shoulder, I put it in Neutral and it restarted.
Now the check engine light was on. Had not been before. But, the last 60 miles of the drive were perfectly normal behavior.
Got home and ordered a cheapy scanner to use with my phone. Better than no scanner. It said the crankshaft position sensor was bad.
I replaced it. $30 bucks and 10 minutes.
On a test drive, I got ¾ of a mile before it died on a bump. Restarted and turned around.
Here is where it gets weird.
Pulled into the driveway across from mine so I could back in. It died. And would not start. The starter would not disengage as the engine would not fire. Or, at least, it wouldn’t fire more than just to barely sputter.
After 20 minutes or so, I got it started. When I touched the gas pedal while in Reverse, it died. 10 more minutes and I got it started. Since everything is on a hill where I live, I let it roll back into my driveway and only put it in Reverse when the tires hit the concrete. A little gas and it died but I had enough momentum to get past the sidewalk.
A week or so later, a friend came over with his Xtool scanner. This is where we learned that it would only start if there was a person in both front seats. And, if one of them lifted up or got out, it would die. I have this on video.
The scanner reported that the crankshaft position sensor and the camshaft position sensor were not in sync. He used the scanner to fix that.
There are no other problems that I can see on the report he emailed me. There is something about a seat squib (?) not signaling, and possibly a rear seat sensor not signaling. I don’t know how to read these things. I am not a mechanic.
So, I loaded 150 pound of garden bricks in the passenger seat. It started right up. I rolled it down to the sidewalk, then reversed back up to my spot on the driveway. It died. And would not restart. That was a Sunday.
I let it set, battery connected, all week long. Sunday comes around again. This past Sunday. I go out and take the bricks out of the passenger seat. It will not start. I even tried to start it while sitting in the passenger seat. Nope.
So I unplugged all 3 plugs under the passenger seat. It started! But only in Neutral. Not in Park. Several times. In a row.
I needed to swap the positions of my 2 vehicles, so I put it in drive and pulled out and parked in front of the house. When I went to move it back, of course it died in Reverse. But, on the 2nd or 3rd try, it did go backward about 20 feet. And then it died. I just rolled it back to the curb.
Today, Wednesday. 3 days later. Not 8 days like the last time, but 3. I thought I would try it again as now I have some workday empty driveways I can pull into and just roll backward out of, to turn the thing around.
The battery is so low it doesn’t want to power the locks and the dash lights are very dim. Of course, it doesn’t even turn over.
An hour or so later, when I get home from an errand, I put the battery charger on it. It reads 14.1 volts. Than MAY be the charger output, but previously I always got the battery voltage. I could have read it wrong.
An hour or so later, I go out. 13.6 volts. It starts right up, in Park, first try. It flutters a bit like it isn’t going to start, but it did. In Reverse, 20 feet, died. So I restarted it and drove into a driveway, coasted backward, and drove into my driveway. No problems.
Possessed. Or bad ECM. Or a wire is shorting.
Info: I never drive the Jeep off road. I don’t generally speed and never drive over 75 in the Jeep. No mods except a winch, and it is disconnected. I am overweight, but I don’t even weight 300 pounds. I get the oil changed on schedule always. No wrecks while I have owned it. And I have the Xtool report if anybody wants to see it. Also, I have a lot of this on video for proof.
Any thoughts?
