90 XJ Ignition Control Module Location

ARGH! heheheheh Turns out my new neighbor used to work for a jeep dealership as a mech. (now he's never gonna get rid of me asking him questions) For my year model the ignition control module is right under the freakin coil. Looked like just a bracket to me but when I took it off and flipped it over there's a padding type thing covering up some electronics.

The guy who said his was under the dash must have had an 88 or 89 he said. I had it tested and it is faulty so I just replaced it for $107.00

WOO freakin HOO

Troy

Make sure you provide complimentary malt beverages to your new neighbor. It's a worthwhile investment. :-)

Well now this has certainly gotten me pissed.

After I replaced the control module I took the drive to my brother's house,

10 miles. I was inside for about 45 minutes and came out just to see if it cranks up.

The thing was acting like it was before I replaced the ignition control module, crank but no start. By this time I imagine the engine's compartment, due to not moving and being thoroughly heated up was warm all over. I disconnected the spark plug wire from the coil and saw no spark while cranking.

To recap, the parts I have already replaced are: CPS sensor, spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap with contact, ignition coil, and today the ignition control module, which failed the test at autozone. The ground strap from the engine to the body is strong and not rusted. I was so mad I was yanking on it hard even to see if it would give and it held strong.

When I make a trip like this, after I park it and turn it off it will crank up again, its just if I let it sit something must be getting hot and not giving me spark. Right now it's at his house and I'm sure when I go over there in the morning it will crank up for me to get it home and have all my tools out with my multitester.

Now, does anyone have any advice n such for this thing? I was considering buying a honda as a daily driver as it would be easier on gas but I love this crappy xj however if it keeps giving me trouble I am going to give it the boot.

I'm gonna bug my neighbor about it when he gets home from his 3 day weekend, but it would be awesome to fix it myself. I'm just at the end of my rope with this thing.

Troy

Mike Romain, I found something you posted in 2000, could this relate to my problem even though it's an automatic and the other guy's was a stick? I'm also thinking of replacing that ground strap in any case, I have found an extra in my toolbox, must be magic

Troy

Ya know in the back of my mind I was thinking about how grimey it was near there and if I maybe got some nasty stuff on it. I think I'll take it off tomorrow and check it out. I just had a hell of a time getting to it and had to buy a couple of 10 inch extensions and elbow for my ratchet to get to it from the bottom, while having my girlfriend with skinny arms hold it from the top. Maybe I could be adjusted a tad. I'll let ya'll know how it turns out.

Troy

Yes, you could have a punky connection on the starter solenoid or relay unit. That should be located on the fender just by the battery. I have had to clean up mine. The green wires I think are the ones to make sure are clean.

Mike

Troy wrote:

Yours is like mine with 2 bolts and no adjustment I believe. The plug 'and' socket get dirty and they fail. Putting a new CPS in only cleans half the connection.....

Mike

Troy wrote:

So I should take it off, thoroughly clean everything, everywhere, and put it back on? If it was damaged, isn't there a way to test it using a multitester? I'm going to leave here in 30 minutes to go over and check it out, but may have to leave it there for a few hours until I can get someone to take me back to drop me off so I can drive it home. From what I can remember it isn't adjustable like you said, but maybe the bolt holes have a very small amount of leeway I can use, but then again maybe not.

Troy

Oops, forgot to add:

Since it is all grimey down there, would I damage anything by hosing it all off with degreaser before I start working on it again? I mean spraying directly from the top onto the sensor itself, would the degreaser mess up the tranny if it goes through the hole?

Troy

The connection can be cleaned from above without taking it off. WD40 will work in a pinch, but a real spray contact cleaner is best.

Mike

Troy wrote:

Shouldn't hurt.

That connection on the starter relay on the fender is easy to clean too.

Mike

Troy wrote:

OK so I get there and use a good spray cleaner on it, half a can to clean up the mess where the cps was and a little for the plug. I was amazed at how clean it was under there. Everything went shiny. Noticed the wire was a bit close to the exhaust manifold so I arranged it away from everything metal that might hold heat against it. It has a thin tube around the 2 wires, maybe I should put more insulation around it? Drove the 10 miles home and parked it. Came back outside 30 minutes later and it wouldn't crank. I opened the hood and it was pretty hot in the engine compartment, then it hit me about disconnecting the electrical fan because I finally stopped it from overheating.

The electrical fan was rigged to run all the time from the previous owner, and realized it blew straight across the exhaust manifold and even the cps sensor wire/area. I let it blow about 10 seconds and it cranked right up. I made a few test runs and it started every time.

Either one or both of those helped enough to fix it for today. Tomorrow I will give it a good workout to see if its really fixed.

Troy

Well either cleaning the sensor really well or pluggin back in the fan or both seems to have worked. I just drove it like a bat outta hell and parked it, started it, left it there for 30 minutes, started it, left it there for an hour, started it.

Now I'll just have to let time tell if its really fixed. Unfortunately now with it's track record of leaving me stranded nobody will ride with me anymore.

Troy

See..... good thing can happen !

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Heh yeah to be honest I was about to trade it in for a Honda, even though they wouldn't have given me squat for it I was so tired of it. I had to break the salesman's heart today and tell him no thanks and that I got it running and it was good for another 150k miles (hopefully)

Troy

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I meant that it was good that no one was bothering you for rides but it running now is good also.....

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