question about starting issue on a Eagle 2000 gtx( not a questions about XJs)

[blazinjames]

I know this has nothing to do with XJs but i thought someone might be able to help me

My buddy has a 91 eagle 2000 gtx sedan. standard, 4cylinder engine.

he called me when his car wasnt starting. I came took a look, tried starting it a few times, tried jumping it, then i gave the starter a couple bangs with a hammer and it started up. so i went ahead and replaced the starter.

now when he starts his car up it sputters a bit, dies, he has to keep his foot on the gas to keep it running. when he is driving and slows down it dies.

i figured i pulled a vacume line off or something but i couldnt find anything, any ideas on what to check or what it could be

Thanks

 

[anthrax323]

Oddly enough, on my XJ, I had very, very similar symptoms...

The root cause was a loose negative battery cable. Start with the basics and work your way through everything. A vacuum leak would be something good to start looking for, but see if you can get more information about the recent behaviors of the engine. Were there gradually creeping issues that eventually escalated to the issues at hand (like was it running rough for the past few weeks)? This kind of information can help a lot... My girlfriend's car suddenly died, which made it quite easy to identify the ignition coil as the culprit once proper fuel pressure was verified.

I still can't really rationalize why the car would crank with a loose battery cable, yet couldn't idle without my foot on the gas... Oh well.

 

[blazinjames]

he told me the car was running fine before i changed the starter although it was sitting for a whole week in snow so who knows

i noticed a ground coming from the alternator looked frailed and could use replacing but i didnt think that would cause the issue