I am having issues with my 2013 Jeep wrangler unlimited sport loosing power at times. You can get in it one and it runs absolutely fine with all the power your supposed to have. Then get in it the next day and it seems to not have all of its power. Then the next few days be fine again. Does any have a suggestion on what I need to check. No check engine light at anytime on this.
Smooth running issues.
- Thread starter JimmyCrusher
- Start date
By any chance does this happen under heavy acceleration? A few years of the JK's have a issue with the under hood insulation getting sucked into the air intake for the air filter.
Threepointsix
JK Enthusiast
Sorry, wish I could give some suggestions. I see you're in a manual JK. Whats your mileage? When you indicate struggling, does it get up to the speed you require to get around or does it stay below a certain RPM? And does it continue that same day after shutting it off and restarting? Or is it literally as you mentioned: good one day, bad the next?
Fuel pump could be failing or as @BLACKJKU stated "under hood insulation getting sucked into the air intake for the air filter"
You don't say what engine you have. I would suggest getting an OBD scanner, you can either buy one or borrow one. Several auto parts stores will let you borrow them around where I live. You have to give them some form of assurance that you'll return the scanner. If there is an intermittent problem it is likely to show up in the log. Or, you can take it to a dealer or an honest mechanic you know and have them look. Intermittent problems are the worst, since you may find yourself waiting for an actual breakdown to know what is really wrong. Some things you can check are whether the engine slows when it loses power - watching the tachometer, do the RPMS drop? Or, contrarily does the engine increase in revs, even though you are losing power. This would be essential in deciding which system to trouble shoot first. If the engine slows, then you might be looking at a fuel pump, or carburation or intake issue. If it speeds up, then a more likely problem is the clutch, though usually that is more consistent than intermittent.
Last edited:
Check to see if the hood insulation is covering the air intake hole, the insulation will either be pulled away from hood or have a imprint from the intake on it.
Ghstrydr
JK Enthusiast
I had a simular experience when my camshaft position sensor was failing. Sometimes my Jk would crank over a Long time before starting, other times it would run rough. It never showed any error codes. Not exactly what you are experiencing but something you my want to explore.
I want to thank all of you for your suggestions but I found the problem. It turned out to be my catalytic converter on the left side. It finally stopped up bad enough to figure it out. Again thanks.
Threepointsix
JK Enthusiast
Ya. That's a hell of a concern. Hope that's not the norm.
I actually questioned, depending on the mileage he would report, if it was a cat. Oh well. Good to know in the end.