help on a couple problems...

[mujaman]

so here is what's going on with my 97 4.0 XJ...

1. i think my ignition coil just went out again today. i have replaced it twice before, and it's doing the exact same thing. the engine just turned off while i was driving and won't start again. turns over fine though...

(also, is it weird that i keep going through ignition coils? i just replaced the last one about 18 months ago.)

2. when we went back to tow my jeep back to the house, we just pulled it with another friend's truck and a strap. i was on the uphill side of a 12 mile grade when i broke down, about half way up. we found a spot to cut across the road while towing it, then just coasted it back down the other side. it was hard to keep the speed in check with just the brakes, so from time to time i would put it in 4th gear - MANUAL TRANSMISSION - (and never going faster than about 30mph) and just let the engine hold it back (with the ignition on, but obviously the engine wasn't running). at the bottom of the hill we had to resume the towing, and when i got out, i noticed there was a bit of smoke and a burning smell. what could it have been? the bum ignition coil getting overheated?

thanks for any help...

 

[JEEPNXJ96]

not sure on the burning smell and the smoke, but check the plug connectory to the coil, I had the exact same problem with my 96, the connector was loose on one of the pins and with the torque of the engine it loose connection, eventually causing the coil to flake out and die. Replaced my accel coil twice, 2 cam sensors,2 CPS's and a lot of wiring tracing before I found the problem. When you look in the plug off of the engines wiring harness just look at the female connector in there, if it is spread apart that is more than likely your problem.

 

[mujaman]

thanks for the input...

as it turned out, it was just the wire going from the ignition coil to the middle terminal of the distributor cap. the plug on the cap had worked loose and corroded, and it looked like some of the rubber had been melted around the plug (what caused the smoke, i'm guessing). the terminal on the cap was also corroded and bad looking, so i decided to replace it all.

a new $10 cap and a new wire fixed the problem. yeah!

glad it wasn't another bum ignition coil!