Weird problem (help!)

[Duster]

OK so today I fire up the 07 KJ... drive out of the back yard with a load inside with the seats down. Get out of my neighborhood and hit the main road and realize it won't accelerate.

Goes fine to like 15-20 mph, then no more. It is running fine, not rough or any of that. Just not going anywhere. I stop and do some shifting, etc. Get back on the road so it is the same.

Never experienced anything like that before. I couldn't even get it to act up unless I like floored it. No warning lights, nothing. So I turned and went home. Got in the driveway. Looked under the hood. Scratched my head, fired it back up, headed down the road and the problem is gone as easily as it came???

I am glad but that's very strange. So I am worried.

Only thing I noticed was it seemed the starter dragged just a hair when I fired it up. Battery checks out fine, but it must be a tad weak to drain from the interior lights while loading up.

If you have any ideas let me know.

 

[LibertyTC]

With the KJ ..acting weird and battery problems go right together..."start" with the battery..
Have a load test done on it. Voltage first thing in the Am should be 12.5 volts.
If you have a battery charger try charging it overnight and if you have removeable caps and a hydrometer get a reading on each cell & is good info to know about the battery's state of charge.
State of tune comes next...how many miles do you have on your current spark plugs and what kind do you have in the Jeep?
Fuel is fresh I assume...ethanol fuel likes to absorb moisture and a water remover can be added to fuel ...or even Sta-Bil.
The list goes on..

 

[Duster]

Yeah, my thought at first was water or something with the fuel. Both because of the fact I have started getting gas in other places when up until recently I would pump from only one station... and because the way it acted. But it didn't run rough or spudder or anything. It was smooth running, just would not get up and go on to get up speed at all.

Later though I took that load on and unloaded. She wouldn't crank back. I had to boost off. Got home and the battery has been holding fine. Was 12.96v for a long time. Down just a little from that after many hours. But I haven't had it load tested or had the cells checked. On the list for tomorrow....

It has ran out fine since though even after the boost off. It's almost as if the ECU got haywired... and it reset when I shut it off in the driveway and cranked back up.

I do wonder if it may be a battery cable issue though....

 

[David Kelm]

Same thing happening to me right now, any resolve here?

 

[JeepJeepster]

Checking the fuel pressure under load would be a good starting point.

 

[02kjtoleeedo]

does an 07 have a throttle position sensor?

 

[Duster]

Well it has to have one, but the 07 does not have one of the replaceable type. It has an electronic throttle body.

To answer the question to the resolution... this was in 2014 and it was the battery.

While I am thinking about this, and thinking about batteries, I am going to say something that I ordinarily wouldn't say.

I am going to say, QUIT buying NEW batteries. I know sometimes batteries are luck of the draw. But I am one that puts a hurting on a battery stopping and restarting so many times a day. I used to buy new and they would last until the warranty was gone or about gone, then short out and they couldn't be recharged. Now, I am lucky to get 2 or 3 years out of a new battery. I have noticed other people are pretty much in the same boat. If you are going to buy a new battery, buy a fresh Interstate battery as that seems to be the only brand of new battery still worth a crap. Otherwise, go over to your local refurb shop and get yourself one of those cheapie 6 month batteries.

There's a place by me that the used car lots use to put a batteries in their cars. I got 2 this way. Both have been killed several times from issues. They are both small. I have recharged them both and still have both right now. Matter of fact, I have the tiny one out of my daughters car in my Jeep right now. It's a year older than my last new Jeep size battery and has lasted 2 years longer so far. It's dated Jan 17 so if it makes it to the new year it will be 6 years old. The other 6 month battery I have is the same age.

I am starting to feel like the refurb guys are putting out better batteries than the new batteries. The one in my Jeep my daughter killed so many times I thought it was done for last time and bought her a new one (which has already been replaced again). Other one in my RDX has been through a few stuck relay discharges, and an bad alternator.

Since it charged up again I was actually keeping the one from my daughters car for an emergency swap out for her or my RDX. But my Jeep battery went bad and shorted, wouldn't charge back. So...