95 Grand Cherokee....stalling

ke4peo

New member
I've been doing research on the boards, and everything points to either the CPS, PCM, or wiring. But I still have a few questions.

Specs:
1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo
4.0L I-6
4x2
Auto

Problem: Random stalling. As if the key was turned to the OFF position. If I leave it and come back in a few hours, it starts right back up. What I've notice is, when it stalls, if I try to crank it up I get a 'no spark' condition. Almost as if the PCM is disabling spark.

What I've done:
Remove, clean, reconnect all CPS/CamPS/O2 connectors.
Remove, clean, reconnect PCM connector.

After I did that, it ran fine for 2 days. Then started stalling again.

I'm about to go buy a CPS for it and replace that, but before I did, I ran the Check Engine light trick. I'm getting a Code 11 'No distributor reference signal was detected; check connection between distributor and PCM'.

Could the CamPS be overheating and shorting out? Could it still be the CPS overheating and shorting out? Fuel pump?
 

Have you checked your distributor at all? If the distributor cap is cracked there can easily be problems. Check for moisture on the interior of the distributor. Make sure the points in the distributor are still good, as well as lacking carbon buildup or other corrosion. Check the wires coming to/from the distributor for tightness and corrosion. I don't know enough about cam position sensors to answer your question; somebody else will have to chime in.

Concerning the fuel pump: when you turn the ignition key to "on" you should hear the pump whine as it builds pressure in the fuel lines (you may need to keep an ear out of the Jeep to hear this, or have somebody else near the fuel tank to listen). If you turn the key to "on" and don't hear the whine, you may have a bad pump. Even so, try starting the engine; it could be a very quiet fuel pump. If the engine starts and you didn't hear the pump turn on, I'd say look elsewhere for the cause of your troubles for the moment.
 
Have you checked your distributor at all? If the distributor cap is cracked there can easily be problems. Check for moisture on the interior of the distributor. Make sure the points in the distributor are still good, as well as lacking carbon buildup or other corrosion. Check the wires coming to/from the distributor for tightness and corrosion. I don't know enough about cam position sensors to answer your question; somebody else will have to chime in.

Concerning the fuel pump: when you turn the ignition key to "on" you should hear the pump whine as it builds pressure in the fuel lines (you may need to keep an ear out of the Jeep to hear this, or have somebody else near the fuel tank to listen). If you turn the key to "on" and don't hear the whine, you may have a bad pump. Even so, try starting the engine; it could be a very quiet fuel pump. If the engine starts and you didn't hear the pump turn on, I'd say look elsewhere for the cause of your troubles for the moment.

I checked the cap and rotor. Points had some build-up on them, but I cleaned them off and they look like new now. It's possible for corrosion on the CamPS sensor, as the wire has a little play in it. But from what I've read, a CamPS sensor failing would allow the car to run until it was shut off.

Fuel pump is good. I hear the whine each time I turn the key on. As well as hearing all the relays click under the hood.

All the posts I can find on GC stalling issues all seem to point to the CPS. I think I'm going to go ahead and replace it since it seems to be a common starting point.

But thanks for the response. :)
 
Ok, here's the list of items I'm getting for the repair. EVerything I can think of is accounted for based on the Code 11 the PCM is throwing me.

1) Crankshaft Position Sensor
2) Camshaft Position Sensor (i.e. pickup coil)
3) Distributor Cap
4) Rotor

Also grabbing:

Dielectric grease (to regrease all the connector pins on the PCM and connectors)
Torque Wrench

Anyone think of anything I'm missing?

I'm hoping it won't be hard to get to the crankshaft position sensor. I can see it, but can't figure out how to get my beefy hands up in there.
 

Hello,
Yea this an old forum I see , But would like to comment on it for ayone else that sees it..I had this problem and it turned out to be the coil on my 95 jeep grand cherokee 4.0.
 
Thanks for the update. One of the things that really irks me is when a thread is left hanging and no solution is posted if one is found. Ive revived any old threads because of this. People need to remember that when they start a thread they are not doing it just for their own benefit, but are also creating a piece of reference material for others.
And a point that needs to be made in this thread is that a 95 anything doesn't have points in the distributor, it has contacts between the cap and rotor, but as it has an electronic ignition it does not have points. Points are from pre electronic ignitions, and are still available in aftermarket mechanical distributor systems. So it is important to make sure the correct terminology is used so that the correct items are referenced, this would be akin to calling your wife your daughter... not a good Idea...
 
I've been doing research on the boards, and everything points to either the CPS, PCM, or wiring. But I still have a few questions.

Specs:
1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo
4.0L I-6
4x2
Auto

Problem: Random stalling. As if the key was turned to the OFF position. If I leave it and come back in a few hours, it starts right back up. What I've notice is, when it stalls, if I try to crank it up I get a 'no spark' condition. Almost as if the PCM is disabling spark.

What I've done:
Remove, clean, reconnect all CPS/CamPS/O2 connectors.
Remove, clean, reconnect PCM connector.

After I did that, it ran fine for 2 days. Then started stalling again.

I'm about to go buy a CPS for it and replace that, but before I did, I ran the Check Engine light trick. I'm getting a Code 11 'No distributor reference signal was detected; check connection between distributor and PCM'.

Could the CamPS be overheating and shorting out? Could it still be the CPS overheating and shorting out? Fuel pump?


Hi my name is Tiffany.
I see this thread is old but I have a 95 jeep grand cherokee laredo 4x4 straight 6 and STALLING STALLING STALLING. I really need some advice. If you could contact me via email it'd be greatly appreciated. Tparenteau08@gmail.com
 

Hi my name is Tiffany. I see this thread is old but I have a 95 jeep grand cherokee laredo 4x4 straight 6 and STALLING STALLING STALLING. I really need some advice. If you could contact me via email it'd be greatly appreciated. Tparenteau08@gmail.com


The concept for the forum is people post questions or info that others could help, answer, comment or learn from. So is it a certain time after starting, driving or the temp you reach...
 
also, a fun grand cherokee issue is the plug at the pcm not seating properly. it will cause you jeep to die in the middle of whatever you are doing and sometimes it starts up, sometimes not.

the check is to pop the hood and push the plug at the ecu in as hard as you can while a friend turns the key. if it starts it usually means the pcm needs some work, or your plug needs work. i have never had to replace the plug but have had to get a new pcm (but i get used ones off ebay instead and never had any trouble). once it starts up, just wiggle that plug again and if it dies, then you know its the pcm solder joints and you need to replace it. its a super common grand cherokee (zj) issue
 
First off, if you haven't already Replace the distributer cap and rotor with quality replacement parts, these two parts will confound you to no end if they are marginal when troubleshooting the cam and crankshaft position sensors. SuperJ is absolutely correct on the PCM issues, However extensive history with them in pre 99 Grand Cherokees is the voltage regulator usually goes out first due to the heat it generates as opposed to the rest of the components/ functions ( Electronics Engineer kicking in on the reasons why, here), however that doesn't mean other problems cant happen. Since I have an extensive history with GC's Ive run into PCM issues, I always grease the exterior of the male surfaces of the plug with Vaseline and use an electronic contact cleaner/protectant on the contacts themselves (not dielectric grease, as it is an insulator), and then run a nylon wire tie around the housing and over each plug, pulling it tight, holding the plug snug since the clips on the plugs have typically hardened and lost the ability to hold tightly by this point in the vehicles age.
On to the cam and crank position sensors. these are a royal pain to test for me, so Ive taken to just spending the 20 some bucks a piece and replacing them since preaching the bell housing mounted unit just to test is a PITA, and at that point I'm looking at what hasn't been replaced in the vehicles history, and chalking it up to eliminating future nickel and diming me to death, Particularly since I typically order from RockAuto for the best prices and just get all of them that it could use at once. For me its a matter of valuing my time, and not putting up with excess pain due to severe osteoarthritis in my lower spine. It really does save time in the greater scheme of things, keeps the vehicles up and running long term and allows me to in joy using them and the wrenching fun kept to modifications over repairs. To give you an idea of how well this works, last summer I stripped down my 98 GC Laredo 4.0 for parts after the transmission gave up the ghost a just over 300K on the original factory drive line, If the body wouldn't have been rotting out from underneath I would have replaced the transmission, but as is it supplied donor parts for 3 other builds... Jeeps never die they just change VINs
 
Back
Top