Starting / Running Issues with 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Asked by Crobg0527 Jul 21, 2018 at 01:59 PM about the 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4WD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

The other day my son said his car had been stalling, especially after stopping at a red light.  He said he would turn the key off and restart it without any issues.  The next day, I drove it for about 20-30 minutes without any issues.  The next he drove it to work without any issues.  Later that day, he tried starting to come home from work and it wouldn't start.  I went down and played around with it myself.  The "key" symbol came up on his dash and would not start.  I tried getting the codes and it would not display any and wouldn't even say "Done" like it was suppose to do.  We left the vehicle parked and came back the next day.  Got there and the car started right up.  Drove home (15 mins or so) and while sitting in the driveway (idle) for a couple of minutes, it shut off.  I restarted it right away without any issues.  Once I had it in my garage, I checked the codes and there were not any codes displayed with the message "Done".  The car started several times without any issues.

This morning, I went out and tried starting it and started right away.  I pulled it into the garage and removed the coolant reservoir to access the computer to check the plugs and connections into the computer (I did not pull any plugs out of the computer).  All the plugs seemed secure.  Once I put everything back together I went to try and start the car and it wouldn't start.

As I am trying to diagnose the situation, I am see more and more consistencies to the point that I know if the car will start or not now by just turning on the accessories.  If the "Key" with a line through it comes up, goes off for a second and comes back on, it will not start and none of the gauges will move.  It will crank but won't turn over.  Typically, if the "Key" with a line through it light comes on, the check engine light will appear after about 20 seconds with the accessories on.

I tried starting it multiple times without it turning over.  After about 4 or 5 attempts, the "Key" light went off and the car started right up.

I am thinking this issues is due to a faulty chip in the key, the ignition module (located on the underside of steering column), or the computer behind the coolant reservior.

If anyone can help, it would be appreciated.

42,900

Hornet_2497 answered 5 years ago

Your information is very thorough. I have to agree that it has something to do with the key chip no longer being read and accepted by the ECM. Not sure how to fix that unless you have a second key to try for that vehicle.

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Crobg0527 answered 5 years ago

Unfortunately, the person we bought it from only had one key. So, we are thinking we will get another key cut to see if that is the issue. I have talked to several dealers and they are saying to bring it up and let their service department diagnose it. But I feel it will be more costly because they will charge me to hook it up, they will attempt to fix it, and if they guess wrong, they will have to attempt replacing something else until it’s fixed. I have spent many hours researching forums. Unfortunately, while I have several symptoms as others, it doesn’t sound like mine is reacting the same as others. Originally, I was going to replace the crankshaft sensor, but it appears to be a communication issue with the chip in the key. Now I need to figure out if it’s the key, module or computer that is dropping the signal at times as this happens intermittently. Thank you for your response!

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Starting / Running Issues with 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee

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