Well Crud! Another '96 XJ with an Intermittent Stalling Issue

[RCP Phx]

The ground is behind the left rear kick panel, right behind the spare tire mount.

 

[techno1154]

The ground is behind the left rear kick panel, right behind the spare tire mount.

You are correct. I had that plastic panel off some time ago to remove some rusted panel. I will be home next weekend. I will dig into it.

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

I have swapped the relay around several times and have the same results with each relay. Is there a difference in relays? I am going to throw a few sensors at it to see what helps.

Anak,
I throw my experiences in your post to see if we have something in common. I did clean the grounds in the engine bay which did not make a difference. My next move is to see where the fuel pump is grounded and renew clean/it. Not sure that will help but it is worth a shot.

Since you swapped the relays, that should eliminate
the ASD relay as being the problem...

 

[wbnickens]

Distributor pick up coil? I don’t know, maybe, maybe not?

 

[Anak]

It has behaved itself perfectly for the last week...

My current best guess is that it will act up again the next time the temperature drops into the mid-40s.

 

[Dragonslayer]

Open the split corrugated O2 sensor wire loom between where it travels near the power steering pump and enters the long plastic square-ish cover near cylinder #1.

Look for any repairs made using crimped connectors. Get rid of any crimped connectors.
Strip the ends and twist the affected wires back together and solder and finish with heat shrink.

I own(ed) three Cherokee XJs and they all had the O2 harness repaired with those stupid
crimp connectors. They work OK for a few years, but after a while the connectors will
relax a bit and all mayhem will ensue.

 

[Anak]

Pulling this in from another thread:

I have been going through the same thing for almost a year. Did a complete wiring overhaul with no improvement. https://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1163382

Recently I discovered online that this problem plagues the 1996-year model based on posters from England, Australia and here in the US. It bewildered me that that only seem to happen after the XJ was sitting for several hours. In my case, the fuel pump will run nonstop, and the engine will not start even though the fuel pressure remains near 50PSI. A few weekends ago I was home after a two-week absence and noticed when this happened, the normal lights in the dash will not come on i.e., battery, check engine etc. which should come on for a few seconds then go off whether the engine is running or not. This led me to assume that the fuel pump relay was getting ignition power the ASD relay was not getting power or it was simply finicky after an overnight shutdown. I replaced the relay and drove the XJ for 2 days and it started each time with no problem. That was three weeks ago. I will be home again at the end of the month at which time I will see if my fix is permanent or not.

The online posters claimed their fix was to replace the PCM. In my case, replacing the PCM did nothing to fix this issue. However, if I disconnect the power at either the battery or the PCM it will start just fine then the problem would return after a shutdown for several hours. I would admit though that when the engine is running, I could drive for several hours with never a hiccup. My XJ have almost 400,000 miles.

I have yet to have a recurrence of the issue.

Temperatures have dropped down into the high 20s at night, and no recurrence, so I am ruling out temperature as a related factor.

Fuel pump and ASD relay are what I am now watching for. With no recurrence it is hard to diagnose.

 

[sdspearo]

I didn't read this whole thread, so this may have already been discussed, but...

I also have a '97 ZJ that had an intermittent stalling issue. After chasing my tail for months it turned out that there was a broken solder joint at one of the PCM connectors. This was verified by moving/jiggling the 3 connector harnesses by hand with the engine running and getting the engine to stall.

I dissected the PCM and sure enough was able to find a cracked solder joint on one of the connector pins. Here's a thread that I used as a guideline for dissection and repair...
https://www.jeepforum.com/threads/96-98-pcm-repair-procedure-w-pictures.1303589/

 

[Anak]

Thank you for the article. That could be very useful information.

I like the line about "putting on your good eyes". That means a magnifying lamp for me anymore.

 

[XJJeeper59]

Great info guys, had the Stalling issue last weekend in my 99. On another Thread people also said to Check All Grounds. My Fix has yet to begin...