Anyone with auto mechanics skills?

[ZeOne]

Hey guys,

I have had this car for 5 years now, and it has been acting rather fine.

During the last couple of month, the car would shut-down while I am driving, and it would easily start again as if nothing happened. The battery was really dead, so I changed that...not much difference.

But during the last week, the car will not start so easily any more after it shuts down on the road. I hear something cranking but the engine will not start. Yesterday it died on a traffic heavy intersection, and it took half an hour for it to start back, and continue running.

The funny thing is that it always start after like half an hour, as if something has cooled down or something and allowed it to start properly. And another symptom is that if I drive the car now, and I shut it down manually, it will not start back up immediately, and it will take this half hour for it to start again. So I can reproduce the issue easily.

I don't know much about mechanics, and I have yet to take it to the stealership for repair.

Does anyone know or can speculate on what might be the issue?

[pinhead]

What kind of car?

[ZeOne]

What kind of car?

Jeep Grand Cherokee 2001

[ZeOne]

I found something that looks like my problem

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Also I do get the P0320 error code from the online computer.



-Z-

[ironwill]

It sounds like you have a relay or something of the sort that is heating up and opening a contact or something....I had a dodge car that did the exact same thing...I would drive and if it was a warm day it would stall, and wait 30-40 minutes and it ran like nothing happened...Then when it was cooler out no problems, or if i waqs doing a lot of idling in heavy traffic, the heat under the hood was enough to have it heat up enough that it would lose its contact and left an open circuit loop and shut down,,,i sold the car to my brother and he fixed it.....
that is the way i roll...lolol...I told him of the problem before he bought it and he repaired the relay and all was good...I think if i remember correctly it was in the ignition system....
sorry i cant be more help....

[ZeOne]

It sounds like you have a relay or something of the sort that is heating up and opening a contact or something....I had a dodge car that did the exact same thing...I would drive and if it was a warm day it would stall, and wait 30-40 minutes and it ran like nothing happened...Then when it was cooler out no problems, or if i waqs doing a lot of idling in heavy traffic, the heat under the hood was enough to have it heat up enough that it would lose its contact and left an open circuit loop and shut down,,,i sold the car to my brother and he fixed it.....
that is the way i roll...lolol...I told him of the problem before he bought it and he repaired the relay and all was good...I think if i remember correctly it was in the ignition system....
sorry i cant be more help....

Thanks for your input will :D

I am selling this car also, after I repair this issue. No more American trucks for me.

[RagingRandy]

Being computer controlled it can shut down if things get out of the norm. For over heating have the catalytic convector checked to see if it is plugged. Do you notice reduced performance or reduced fuel economy? It could also simply be a bad sensor. Any garage should be able to do this for you. Just be sure to get them to show you the error codes and get a written estimate.

Seems like the crank sensor is a common problem.... http://www.topix.com/forum/autos/jeep-grand-cherokee/T2MLRQJH36C5EM1IP

[Big D]

a good friend of mine has a jeep Cherokee and it would do alsmot the same thing, it would die all the time and it would start back up easily, his problem was the main computer.

[AlbertaBeef]

Find somebody with an OBD II and scan it but to me it sounds like a sensor like maybe oxygen sensor or maybe MAF.

[ZeOne]

Find somebody with an OBD II and scan it but to me it sounds like a sensor like maybe oxygen sensor or maybe MAF.

The code the on-board computer displays is the P0320 which is the Crankshaft Speed Sensor whatever that means...I hate the fact that I don't understand squat in car mechanics.

[bigben]

It could be electrical or it could be fuel or exhaust related. We are really taking stabs in the dark on this. I'm not sure what code if any it would spit out, but fuel pumps often fail after a number of years and will act in a similar fashion. I had a Dodge car that would quit running after about a half an hour. Then slowly it got more and more frequent. You would have never found the problem in a shop because after sitting a few minutes the problem went away. I diagnosed it by hooking up a fuel pressure gauge, setting it under my wipers, and driving across town. Slowly pressure dropped, and when it hit around 5 lbs on the gauge, the engine cut out. Surprisingly it would run on only 10 lbs pressure and you wouldn't notice a thing.

The crankshaft speed sensor should certainly be looked into first if that's the code that keeps coming up. Eliminate the obvious first. I know there is a cranshaft position sensor that would be on either the flywheel or the front dampner, but the speed sensor. Hmmm. Might be part of the distributor or any rotating assembly. Better look it up in a shop manual. There might be one online. If the part is cheap, replace it first.

[Big D]

The code the on-board computer displays is the P0320 which is the Crankshaft Speed Sensor whatever that means...I hate the fact that I don't understand squat in car mechanics.

its a start,

order it and change it, see what happens

[ZeOne]

It could be electrical or it could be fuel or exhaust related. We are really taking stabs in the dark on this. I'm not sure what code if any it would spit out, but fuel pumps often fail after a number of years and will act in a similar fashion. I had a Dodge car that would quit running after about a half an hour. Then slowly it got more and more frequent. You would have never found the problem in a shop because after sitting a few minutes the problem went away. I diagnosed it by hooking up a fuel pressure gauge, setting it under my wipers, and driving across town. Slowly pressure dropped, and when it hit around 5 lbs on the gauge, the engine cut out. Surprisingly it would run on only 10 lbs pressure and you wouldn't notice a thing.

The crankshaft speed sensor should certainly be looked into first if that's the code that keeps coming up. Eliminate the obvious first. I know there is a cranshaft position sensor that would be on either the flywheel or the front dampner, but the speed sensor. Hmmm. Might be part of the distributor or any rotating assembly. Better look it up in a shop manual. There might be one online. If the part is cheap, replace it first.

Thanks for the advice BigB, I will try to locate a repair manual and replace the crankshaft sensor first.