crank no start fuel relay seems stuck. maybe fuel pump

[munjundo]

2008 liberty 182k 3.7l lmited 4x4

Once in a great while I had issue where it would crank and barely turn over but not really run. clunky and no gas pedal with flashing lightning bolt warning light. Would have to shut off and then restart. Usually cured the problem on first restart.

Tipm was replaced with a rebuilt one a few years ago.

A few weeks ago, it started having the barely running issue (described above) only after shutting it off for short errands intermittently. leaving it overnight or parked for around an hour showed no starting issues.

Then had a major problem of it not wanting to run at all (cranks fine) and after getting it started, it overheated on the way home. The water pump crapped out and failed bad. Bearing had about half inch of play in it.

Put a new water pump in. Stupidly disconnected the battery and forgot to read the codes first. But the water pump went in fine and after fighting with the air in the lines (bleeder valve frozen) I got it running well. No starting issues. I had kind of figured the bad water pump wasn't letting everything spin freely causing some sort of safety thing to kick in.

Fast forward a couple weeks to last week and the starting problem is reversed. Short errands or trips no problems. If it sits overnight, it cranks but doesn't start. Now as of the other day it won't start at all.

I've tried leaving the battery off overnight to reset everything, that didn't work. I'm not hearing the fuel pump humming in the rear of the tank. It threw P0513 (incorrect immobilizer key) and P0522 (Oil pressure switch low voltage). Those codes however seem to be from too many failed starts as I understand it. The P0513 has gone away and only The P0522 code remains.

I tried the bypass cable. Cable is getting warm so it has power but no hum from fuel pump. I swtiched around the asd relay and any fuses listed on the panel that had to to do with asd. Everything seems fine. I tested the relays and they all seem fine. Continuity through them when powering them on and they click. Battery (three years old) seems fine and I've been making sure to put it on a maintainer at night to keep from trashing it.

It's the original fuel pump/filter so it needs to probably be replaced anyways. How bad is it to change out? Of course I don't have the access panel. All videos I've seen have it up on a lift. I crawled under and space is tight and it is quite rusty which has me wondering about the bolts being frozen. My luck with frozen bolts doesn't ever favor me. The only other thing it might be is that the PCM is going out. I do still have the old TIPM since the company only offered 35 bucks for the old one, I decided to keep it. It was doing crazy things with the headlights and stuff. Never had starting issues.

Any other testing I can do to determine if it's an electrical issue without dropping the tank? I can do mechanical parts all day. Electrical stuff I suck at with cars. Honestly with electrical, you have to treat me a bit like an idiot. I also don't know if I'm in the mood to really replace it myself. I'm only 41 but I'm starting to not enjoy these sorts of repairs that aren't just straight forward and easy.

 

[gwrodzhi1]

I had the same issue. I tested fuel pressure at rail and it would not hold pressure. Cold it would start no problem but stop and go driving around town for an extended period of time would cause it. The check valve in the pump went bad which was causing a vapor lock issue. Replaced it with a Bosch pump, it was not that difficult maybe 2 hours. Have you tried hitting the gas tank and then try to start it?

 

[munjundo]

I had the same issue. I tested fuel pressure at rail and it would not hold pressure. Cold it would start no problem but stop and go driving around town for an extended period of time would cause it. The check valve in the pump went bad which was causing a vapor lock issue. Replaced it with a Bosch pump, it was not that difficult maybe 2 hours. Have you tried hitting the gas tank and then try to start it?

I tried whacking it with a hammer and nothing. The freaking thing fought me the whole time. I wish 2 hours. I spent about 10 hours on my back just getting the lines undone and the mounting bolts broke loose.

Getting the lock ring back one also took me about 2 hours.

 

[munjundo]

Long story short to update/close the thread, I got the pump in yesterday and it fired right up. Ran a few errands and so far so good. Hopefully I haven't jinxed it.

I will add (I discovered wasn't shown in the couple videos about the procedure) is the large hose attachement on the rear of the tank sits above the rear drive shaft. If you aren't mindful and accidently damage it lowering or raising the tank, the whole tank is trashed. More than enough room to slide it around the rear drive shaft.

Getting it raised was a bit challenging but not bad. I didn't have a large piece of wood to balance it under the jack. But I used some bricks and pieces of 2x4 and thin pine boards lying around to wedge underneath it and raise it a couple inches at a time using the jack on each side. Then when it was mostly raised (and the rear hose attachement moved around above the rear axle) I got it lined up enough for one of the bolts to catch and then raise it snug with the body. The two mounts that sit above the drive shaft required crawling back under and wiggling it around a couple times. They'll catch on the drive shaft.

I did fit underneath the jeep with it flat on the ground (I'm a skinny person) and with no jack stands, I managed it while being 99 percent safe and no help. My jack raised the rear enough to slide the tank in and out from the drivers side.

 

[gwrodzhi1]

Glad it seems to be working for you. Next time I would recommend the lock ring tool it's not that expensive. Not sure if it's correct procedure but I use my impact gun on lowest setting to loosen and tighten the tank ring. If not tapping a breaker bar with a hammer also works.