01 Liberty Won't Start

[Ian Skolnick]

I have an 02 Liberty sport with the V6. The other day I started it and the idle was around 1500 RPM for about 5 or 6 minutes. It finally went down to around 600 and everything was OK.

Later that day, I was driving and all of the sudden it felt like it was in limp mode. Starting from a stop, there was no power. With the pedal floored, it crawled to about 25kph and then it accelerated properly.

I started to bring the Jeep to my mechanic and about 15 minutes later, the Jeep died and hasn't run since.

I got 2 codes,
P0175 - System Too Rich (Bank 2)
P0353 - Ignition Coil "C" Circuit Malfunction

I checked the coils, all have spark. The spark plugs are new, less than 100kms on them. There is fuel, I put in $20 the day before and only drove about 15kms. I did a compression test on cyl 2, 4 and 6 as this is the side the codes are pointing to.

Cyl 2 - 150
Cyl 4 - 135
Cyl 6 - 140

I was told that if it's a faulty crank sensor I can unplug it and the car should start, but it didn't. I sprayed starting fluid directly in the throttle body and it wouldn't start.

I have a feeling it's the computer, but I have no way of testing it.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ian

 

[DadOSix]

Hey Ian-

you got some bad info there on the crank sensor.

if you unplug it, the engine computer has no idea where in time the crank is and will not fire the coils.

Your compression tests look ok. No glaring issues there. They are +/- 10%

p0175 seems to point at an excess fuel issue. Could be o2 sensor or wiring to it. Those wires tend to break / rub etc.

the p0353 does not seems to mean a bad coil.

have a look at this :

https://www.2carpros.com/questions/2002-jeep-liberty-4x4-multiple-ignition-coils-misfiring

 

[Chris French]

'I checked the coils, all have spark. The spark plugs are new, less than 100kms on them. There is fuel, I put in $20 the day before and only drove about 15kms. I did a compression test on cyl 2, 4 and 6 as this is the side the codes are pointing to.

Cyl 2 - 150
Cyl 4 - 135
Cyl 6 - 140'

Sounds like your situation is different to the one that I had, but I also thought my problem was the ECU, I even wasted £180 on a new one, so please let me share my experience.

I had a no start situation but I had spark, compression and fuel. I was quite perplexed, I thought it was timing but I then learned a new thing. There are 5 things you need to get your engine going. Fuel, Spark, Compression, Timing and FLOW! For me I had the first 4, but because of the collapse of my tappets, I had thrown 3 rockers and had no flow. Apparently a common thing on 3.7 jeep engines.

You'll need to get the rockers covers off the check this, if it makes any sense to you.

There are some gurus on this forum who are worth listening to, Dad of six (kids! ... Imagine!!) is at the top of the list.
Best of luck getting it going..

 

[Ian Skolnick]

There is no power to the ASD Feed fuse. I changed the relay and still no power to the fuse. The fuse is good. Why would there be no power to that fuse? Broken wire? Sensor? Computer?

Any help would be great, thanks.

 

[Chris French]

There is no power to the ASD Feed fuse. I changed the relay and still no power to the fuse. The fuse is good. Why would there be no power to that fuse? Broken wire? Sensor? Computer?

Any help would be great, thanks.

On mine, there is only power on this fuse when either the engine is running or the motor is cranking. I think thats the idea, that the power is off to all the sensors, injectors etc when the engine is off and ignition on. You need long arms or a friend to help you test it. In any case you said you had a spark so that means the ASD is ok, right?

Have you got fuel pressure, does the pump come on when you turn the ignition on? There's a Schrader valve on the fuel rail you can either measure or give a press and see what happens. Should be 50 psi iirc.

If you've got spark, fuel and compression then there is timing. As far as I worked out, you won't get a spark if there is something wrong with the sensors, so if the spark is there it is probably at the right time. Fuel timing could be an issue but I imagine it'd fire if this was a problem 'cus there'd be fuel everywhere inside the manifold. The other timing is valve timing. If the chain was broken it'd make a noise. Only way to really check is to take the rockers covers off and have a look. This was where I found my problem.

You might be right that the ECU has gone bad. These can't be tested (in the UK at least) but you can get a replacement programmed and sent to you for a couple of hundred dollars. Probably a last resort though.

Hope this helps.

 

[Billwill]

Ian, what is the latest status on your Jeep?

Does it turn over but not fire?

Does it fire but not run?

Download the 2002 Jeep KJ Service Manual here...section 8W has the wiring diagrams and the Component Location directs you to for instance the ASD Relay. circuitry.

Check all the fuses in the box under the hood and on the interior fuse panel.

On the early KJs like yours there is an Amber "Key" symbol on the display that lights up if there is a problem with the SKEES Anti Theft System ie. it is not recognizing the chipped keys.

Check if this Key Symbol is ON solid or is flashing at you.
Test that this Key Symbol Lamp is working by holding IN the Odometer Reset button while turning Ignition to ON.

This will exercise the Cluster Lamps and Gauges...make sure that Amber Key Lamp is working.

www.colorado4wheel.com/manuals/Jeep/KJ/

 

[Ian Skolnick]

I haven't worked on the Liberty in a couple of weeks, too cold to do so.
My friend is a mechanic and he took his diagnostic scan tool and connected it to the car to get live readings when trying to start the car.
The computer showed individual sensors and their corresponding readings, but when he turned the key to start the Liberty, all the readings turn to N/A.

Is this a computer issue? I have thought it is a computer issue the whole time and got a used one at the scrap yard, (same year, same engine). I know it's going to be $150 to $200 to get it programmed.

Thanks,
Ian