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Anyone in MD with a DRB scanner that can help me fix my XJ?

getblown5.9

NAXJA Forum User
Location
baltimore
For a year now I have been fighting problems with my 96 XJ. Last september it started cutting out, when I couldnt get it to run, I paid someone top dollar to scan it and tell me that my brand new CPS was bad. Another new CPS and it ran for a week. Then issues came back.

Sat for 5 months finally put a new distributor in it and it ran for about 1000 miles before it wore the dist gear down to nothing and threw it out of time. Turned out the cam was damaged.

I got a used motor that was in good running condition and put that in, and now im having problems with a misfire that comes and goes. Sometimes it runs great, then out of nowhere it wont go over 2000rpms or maintain 15mph on the road all the while its popping and sputtering and backfiring out the throttle body.

I've been throwing every dime I can at this thing and its getting me nowhere, I really need someone with a DRB scanner that can help me diagnose the problem that doesnt want $120/hr for diagnostic testing.
 
CEL isnt worth a darn...all the codes tell me is that it detects a misfire.

something tells me now its more of something cutting fuel or tell the injectors not to fire since the popping back thru the TB is a sign of a lean condition
 
For a year now I have been fighting problems with my 96 XJ. Last september it started cutting out, when I couldnt get it to run, I paid someone top dollar to scan it and tell me that my brand new CPS was bad. Another new CPS and it ran for a week. Then issues came back.

Sat for 5 months finally put a new distributor in it and it ran for about 1000 miles before it wore the dist gear down to nothing and threw it out of time. Turned out the cam was damaged.

I got a used motor that was in good running condition and put that in, and now im having problems with a misfire that comes and goes. Sometimes it runs great, then out of nowhere it wont go over 2000rpms or maintain 15mph on the road all the while its popping and sputtering and backfiring out the throttle body.

I've been throwing every dime I can at this thing and its getting me nowhere, I really need someone with a DRB scanner that can help me diagnose the problem that doesnt want $120/hr for diagnostic testing.


Lets start from the beginning... what have you done (replaced/adjusted) to try and fix the latest problem? When did the problem start? After a wheeling trip? Out of the blue??
 
Started out of the blue...

started as a CPS-fixed it, 3 days later it happened again (wire touched header, melted thru and shorted but I didnt see this) Wouldn't start so I paid a guy to scan and fix it. Almost $300 later for a new CPS and the cam sensor int he dist. I had it running again.

Another week goes by, it starts cutting out, slowly gets worse until it won't run at all. It starts and immediately stalls unless you give it gas. Eventually determined the dist. gear was worn, teeth were worn down to almost nothing, throwing the timing out-no idle but will run "ok" in the upper rpms. New distributor and its runs like a champ. In the process of finding the issue I put on a new TPS, CPS again, cap, rotor.

I get 1,000 miles on it and its cutting out again, wont idle...check the dist and its worn again. OK, so now I know the cam gear is causing it, need a new cam or new motor. Got a motor cheaper than I could replace the cam, so I swap motors. now I have this misfire condition, not sure what is causing it, thinking a lack of fuel/lean condition casuing the backfire thru the intake. It sometimes happens cold, sometimes hot. I cant pattern it to just one set of conditions. Its random.

Last night I did a TPS test, volts were .9 at idle, 3.5 at WOT...dunno if thats too far out of spec or not...it was a autozone TPS not mopar. The reason I suspect this is I had cleaned the intake manifold with Brake cleaner to remove some oil/carbon build-up in the runners and it was running back thru the TB, which i then sprayed the TB to clean it out. Maybe I got it wet and ruined it. Thinking I may swap this again to see if it clears up.

Also I had suspected O2 sensor...but the problem happens whether the O2 sensor is plugged in or not.

Total list of new parts-
CPS
camshaft sensor in dist
TPS
cap
rotor
plugs
ECU from another 96 XJ
 
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