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buddy of mine has a jeep, think it's a older cherokee ( late 90's early 2000 ). He's hard for cash so i've been trying to help him figure out whats going on with it. He starts the thing up, it starts easy, sounds good, can rev it through the rpm range and all sounds good. After it warms up to about 210 he says it shuts it self off. He showed me last night and it warmed to 210 and kept running. I jumped in and moved the steering wheel and the air bag light blinked on i heard the normal audio beep that comes (like when you leave the keys in the ignition and door open) and then the car just shut off. He said the air bag light has been comming on randomly for a few months. He said when the car dies that everything just shuts off, all the gages on the dash. This is what happened when i moved the steering wheel. The car doesnt stumble like the fuel was cut off or anything, it simply just turns off, like if you turned the key off. After that if you try to start it it just cranks and cranks and cranks. Seams like the ignition is off or no fuel, not even a quick stumble.
Anybody know what might be happening or seen this before?
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no check engine light btw, he's replaced plugs, fuel filter so far.
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Well the fact that it just shuts off with not even a sputter (as if you turned the key itself off) tells me that it's something electrical.
The fact that moving the steering wheel seemed to trigger this...well the ignition switch is located in the steering column...I would start there.
Maybe somehow the ignition switch housing is cracked or broken so that when the steering wheel is moved it moves the switch a certain way to where the common is no longer contacting the "run" terminal in the switch.
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I had a fuseable link problem like that before.
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Damn, I HATE electrical problems. I would also start with the ignition switch also. Reach under and start to move wires and connectors when it's runnung. Sometimes ya get lucky and can reproduce the problem that way.
Darrell.
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Def electrical, pull off the steering wheel housing and check out the wires, sounds like theres a short somewhere. Could be ignition switch but start cheap and then if you have to replace the ignition switch do it. If all else fails and you want to go half ass, see if there is a sensor or a fuse for the airbag that you can disconnect, don't know if there is, not sure on crysler vehicles. You although would not have a airbag it would keep it from tripping the cpu or sensor.
