96 XJ stumbles then shuts off when warmed up. P0171

[Mrpd1501]

I must be posting photos wrong.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BVkroYA9c3ieRkrz9

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Are you sure? The wires don't look broken
in that pic......

That's a standard weather-pac connector;
should be able to find at a good auto parts
store.

 

[Anak]

That won't be weather-pack. Probably Metri-Pack. I would guess Metri-Pack 280.

That said, it may not be "standard". There are a number of variations on the same connector. There can be different channels/grooves on two connectors that look identical, but need to not get plugged in erroneously.

If the plastic housing is okay then you can probably purchase the inner terminals. Do a search for something like Metri-Pack 280 18ga terminals and you will probably get the sort of results you need. Note that search term is just an example. You might have 150 series instead of 280. Or it might be something entirely different. And you will need to figure what gauge wire you are actually dealing with.

There are special tools for releasing the terminals from the plastic housings. There are also seals that get installed along with the terminal. And there are special crimpers for the wire to terminal crimp and the seal to terminal crimp.

None of it is rocket science, but there are a bunch of details to get right. Probably best to look for a Youtube video or two on the subject of Weather-Pack/Metri-Pack plug/connector assembly.

If you were local I could give you a hand with it. I might already have all the pieces you need. Might see if you can find somebody else local and save yourself from needing to buy a bunch of specialized bits that you may not ever need again. Or you can cut that plug out of a JY harness and splice it in.

 

[Mrpd1501]

That won't be weather-pack. Probably Metri-Pack. I would guess Metri-Pack 280.

That said, it may not be "standard". There are a number of variations on the same connector. There can be different channels/grooves on two connectors that look identical, but need to not get plugged in erroneously.

If the plastic housing is okay then you can probably purchase the inner terminals. Do a search for something like Metri-Pack 280 18ga terminals and you will probably get the sort of results you need. Note that search term is just an example. You might have 150 series instead of 280. Or it might be something entirely different. And you will need to figure what gauge wire you are actually dealing with.

There are special tools for releasing the terminals from the plastic housings. There are also seals that get installed along with the terminal. And there are special crimpers for the wire to terminal crimp and the seal to terminal crimp.

None of it is rocket science, but there are a bunch of details to get right. Probably best to look for a Youtube video or two on the subject of Weather-Pack/Metri-Pack plug/connector assembly.

If you were local I could give you a hand with it. I might already have all the pieces you need. Might see if you can find somebody else local and save yourself from needing to buy a bunch of specialized bits that you may not ever need again. Or you can cut that plug out of a JY harness and splice it in.

I couldn’t find anything even remotely suitable to replace locally yesterday so I decided to see if I still had splicing and soldering skills. Reassembled and working. I haven’t had a chance to give it a test drive just yet. Hitting junk yards while out of town this week.
This is pre shrink and reassembly:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bGUBV7rMyGEZNPMVA

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Anak, thanks for enlightening us on the Metri-pack, I wasn't aware of these.

Mrpd, how exactly did you solve this; were the two coil wires shorting
together where the insulation was broken? Or the pins inside the plug?

 

[Mrpd1501]

Anak, thanks for enlightening us on the Metri-pack, I wasn't aware of these.

Mrpd, how exactly did you solve this; were the two coil wires shorting
together where the insulation was broken? Or the pins inside the plug?

I'm not 100% sure it's resolved as of yet. Looked like there was some kind of impact to both wires at some point after they aged and became brittle. A lot of the strands were broken, though still touching inside the insulation. I trimmed about 5" off of each and spliced in a fresh section of wire. After that, reassembled the connector. Haven't had a chance to test yet, got called out of town for work. Won't be home for a week or two so I'm bummed I don't know if it's really resolved. The flip side is that there's a junkyard with not one, but TWO 96's where I am for work, so I'm going to step out tomorrow and do some scavenging for that connector and some seats. :viking:

 

[Mrpd1501]

Update:
Found a '96 at the junkyard near the office I had to visit, and the connector was still on that one so I pulled it. Replaced my halfassery with that connector, and now I can't get it to stall for trying.

I still need to get some other items like the blower motor and washer pump working, but it looks like that solved it. Irritating that a connector that ended up being free (because the guy at the junkyard didn't think it was of much value) ended up costing me probably $1500 in parts and countless hours of a lot of people's time.

I really appreciate you all, and I'll try and repay the kindness by documenting this sh!tshow for others to reference in the future.

...now off to start threads on blower motors and washer pumps...

 

[Anak]

Congrats on the victory.

It is a royal PITA trying to find that one little detail that messes things up.

 

[Mrpd1501]

Congrats on the victory.

It is a royal PITA trying to find that one little detail that messes things up.

Less so when you have great guidance. I appreciate you all!

 

[ramonesrazor]

Less so when you have great guidance. I appreciate you all!

My '00 XJ is having similar issues that you described, and after reading this whole thread I am inclined to try your fix first before I move on to the bigger money things like the fuel pump. I already tried replacing all the spark plugs but that didn't help.



So the TL;DR summary here was a bad ignition coil connector? Thanks for documenting your experience.

 

[Unclewolverine]

Your 2000 has a different ignition system. The coil rail is a common failure on those.

 

[Anak]

Your 2000 has a different ignition system. The coil rail is a common failure on those.

+1

Whole 'nuther ball game with a 2000 or 2001.

I have seen mention of a Viper conversion. No idea what is involved. Just another search term to consider.

 

[RCP Phx]

Your 2000 has a different ignition system. The coil rail is a common failure on those.

+1

Whole 'nuther ball game with a 2000 or 2001.

I have seen mention of a Viper conversion. No idea what is involved. Just another search term to consider.

I don't recall any issues being noted over 20yrs here with the coil rail? I've got almost a half million miles on my 2 (2000's)!

I think most do the Viper coil just for ease of access to the sparks plugs via spark plugs wires because the coil rail is a PITA!

 

[Unclewolverine]

I don't recall any issues being noted over 20yrs here with the coil rail? I've got almost a half million miles on my 2 (2000's)!

You must not see the same things I do, and consider yourself lucky. When my 2000, (just threw up in my mouth a little) started acting up a mere month after buying it, (and immediately having to put more money in it than I paid for it,) started misfiring I searched and found that coil rail failure was common. I replaced it and that solved it. You must of took my share of luck for those years because after owning over dozen xjs, the 2000 was by FAR the worst one of the bunch. But I think they are like ZJs, when they are good, they are good, when they are bad they will never be anything but bad.

My 95 rhd is about to hit 350k which is pretty damn good considering more than half of those are postal miles.