7 check engine lights at once!

[KJV]

I took my wife Christmas shopping today and I guess our jeep decided to get in the Christmas mood by turning the check engine light on. I got a total of 7 as listed below in this order

P1281 engine cold to long. We had been running errands for about 3-4 hrs.
P0300 faulty spark plug/wire. Spark plugs changed during the summer.
P0304 misfire cyl 4.
P0420 catalyst system efficence. I have the classic low oil on some harder breaking, but incostistant and oil level fine.
P0171 lean fault bank 1.
P0174 lean fault bank 2. Been dealing with these two. Since both came on at the same time, I'm sure it's a vacuum leak. I have changed out almost every air hose on the jeep.
P0306 misfire cyl 6. Weird this wasn't with the other.

My jeep really started struggling as I got it home. No power, exteremly hard shifts, and Couldn't get up to speed. All this happened on the way home from running errands. It happened right after a real quick stop and I know it wasn't someone messing with the car, it was such a quick stop I stayed in the car.

Before trying to just through a new thermostats and wires on it, I wanted to see if anyone had a clue why all of these could have hit at the same time. Thanks.

 

[belvedere]

Lots of codes all at once. Clean the battery terminals carefully and have the battery & charging system tested at a parts store.

 

[ltd02]

Wow I only have one check engine light in my 02 :happy175:

Seriously, what year, engine etc. Guess its a 6 cylinder from your codes. Need more info on what you are driving. I agree with Belvedere as it has happened to me.

 

[CzarKJ]

What belvedere said to start. A dashboard Christmas tree is most likely electrical related.

 

[Birdman330]

^ also forward the motion, most likely electrical

 

[KJV]

Sorry I forgot to mention which kind Inhale. It is the 3.7 l v limited edition.

The alternator. Is only a few months old, so I'm looking at the AAA battery that came with it. It had a little corrosion, but I've seen more on others. Ill check it at autozone later today.

Another thoughts?

 

[ltd02]

Sorry I forgot to mention which kind Inhale. It is the 3.7 l v limited edition.

The alternator. Is only a few months old, so I'm looking at the AAA battery that came with it. It had a little corrosion, but I've seen more on others. Ill check it at autozone later today.

Another thoughts?

What year and how many miles? A little corrosion is all it takes on these things. Very sensitive to that stuff. I had an issue like this where the entire dash would light up and then go dark. All kinds of lights and then nothing. Gauges going wacky and everything. All it was was a little corrosion on the negative battery terminal.

Hope that's all for you too. Keep us posted. arty52:

 

[DieselMatt]

I had a similar problem with a Veracruz a couple years ago. Damn packrats ate the connectors off all 4 O2 sensors one nights. Apparently they taste really really good.

 

[Billwill]

Clean all the battery terminals and clear all the codes...some of these codes may be ancient and no longer have any meaning!

If problem still happens then disconnect battery and pull off and re-plug the connectors on the PCM...they may be dirty!

 

[KJV]

Alright, time for an update and getting some more advice.

I cleaned the terminals, and everything was back to normal, except having p0171, p0174. The hose that I had coming off the pcv was not OEM and had started to collapse. So, I order the part from Mopar.

The day I went to pick it up, the KJ shuddered and stalled out on right in the middle of one of the busiest roads in CT (Route 1). There was a shop across the street (Monroe Mufflers), so I pushed it in there to figure out what in the world was going on.

They came back the next day saying that my water pump was bad, I had a crack in my PCV line, and that my coolant reservoir had a leak in it. But I jumped in and drove it home, no prob. I went ahead and replaced the PCV line, thermostat, water pump, flushed the system and heater core, and the coolant reservoir. I made sure to refill it with HOAT. I had this up and running again on the 18th.

On Tuesday, the exact same thing happened when my wife was driving. Shuttered and stalled (This time, she was able to pull off into a parking lot. Toys R Us, my daughter was ecstatic) Same engine codes, p0171, p0174. I had a shop back in the summer do a smoke test, but they came back saying I needed to replace all 4 02 sensors. I find that very odd that all 4 would give out at the same time.

I have replaced plugs, wires, alt, belt, every coolant line, and every air line I could fine. I have been reading websites like This guy needing to replace his fuel pump, This guy saying vacuum leak or fuel pressure, (Although I did have a shop do a smoke test. Maybe they missed), This site suggest if no vacuum leak, try cleaning/replacing the MAF, but I am under the understanding the KJs use a MAP, not a MAF.

Any other thoughts?

On

 

[Leeann]

Sounds like exactly what happened when my coworker's 2.7L needed a new crankshaft position sensor. No rhyme or reason to the stuttering or dying.

Replace it with a Mopar sensor.

 

[KJV]

I literally just replaced the cam sensor on my PT cruiser last week! It acted way differently, but obviously way different vehicles. It was only like 20 at the dealer, so I don't mind doing it again.

but any clue about the p0171/0174 hunt?

 

[ltd02]

I literally just replaced the cam sensor on my PT cruiser last week! It acted way differently, but obviously way different vehicles. It was only like 20 at the dealer, so I don't mind doing it again.

but any clue about the p0171/0174 hunt?

Those codes usually indicate a "large" vacuum leak (both banks). If you haven't checked all the vac lines I'd start there. I saw you fixed the PCV tube I think. If you have checked the rest and all is well, I'd check the torque on the intake manifold bolts. Could spray some carb cleaner around the manifold seat and listen for an idle change or might even just pull the manifold and check the gaskets for a good seal. They can get old and hard and lose their seal. Seems like the "smoke test" should have detected this problem.

 

[KJV]

I have been poking around the engine with a can of starter fluid and cannot hear anything unless I spray it directly into the intake. I swapped out the normal air box with a Specter cone I had lying around, and now I can definitely feel a hesitation if I am keeping the peddle steady on an acceleration. That screams vacuum leak to me. But as I said, I can't hear a difference climbing around squirting starter fluid. A second smoke test will cost me another $100.

Now, here is something else interesting. I did reset the ECU and although I can feel that hesitation, I am not getting any sputtering out/ dying. Right now, 30 miles down the road, I am not seeing any engine codes. That's making me think electrical. I guess I will know in like 20 miles when the ECU throws the codes (I know Fords reset after 40 miles, is that the same with keep?)

Well, lets see what happens.

 

[profdlp]

Sorry if I missed it, but aside from the battery terminal cleaning, have you actually had the battery checked? Jeep onboard electronics seem to be fussy about that.

 

[KJV]

I had it checked at autozone twice. So far, 70 miles, but I still can't understand how switching to a cone would help

 

[KJV]

Update time!!!

So, I had to bring in my KJ for a recall (Seatbelt), and I asked them to check into it as well. The code p0171 and p0174 did not come up, but p0420 did come back, as well as all the misfire codes. The first thing they said was that the Autolite spark plugs in it were causing the misfires. I just changed those to NGK coppers, per other threads.

P0420 is of course :

Catalyst efficiency low-bank 1
Explanation:
The oxygen sensors monitor the Catalytic Converters ability to store oxygen.
Probable cause:
1. Catalytic converter defective (failure possibly due to #2, 3, or 4)
2. Engine misfire or running condition
3. Large vacuum leak
4. Engine oil leakage into exhaust-valve guide seals, piston rings

I've had two professional mechanics besides myself diagnose the vehicle, so I'm fairly confident that there is no vacuum leak. I do see engine misfires on that list, so it could logically be that the engine was being too lean which causes a misfire which then perpetuates the issue.

Now, I do have an oil leak (I'm thinking it's about the timing cover, but am not sure), so that could be an issue. I'm doing an oil change right now, and I know it's a little low, but not that dramatic.

Any thoughts? One mechanic said to change out all 4 o2 sensors, the other says to replace the catalytic converter. I'm just not sure either of those are the real issues. I think I am running lean due to something (MAP?) and that is causing the other issues.