Frozen KJ?

renegadekj · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:19 am

The KJ failed to start this moring which is very unusual even in -38C like last night. My fiance tried to start it after i was already gone for work and it turned over fine but wouldn't start.She must have tried it until the batterie died and then called AMA to come jump start it, the AMA personnel jump started it by giving it some throttle while turning it over but when they tried to allow it to idle it would quit! So they tried again and this time pressed on the throttle for 15 minutes at around 1500rpm until the Jeep was fully warmed up, they let off the throttle again and it quit?? When i got home from work i didi the same thing but for about 25mins and then drove it to the nearest gas station (with the throttle on all the time!) and filled the remander of the tank which was half full with 91 octane gas. After driving less then 500ft it was fine! I purchased a bottle of gas line antifreeze and put it in the tank after. So what do you guys think it could be? Should i be using the higher octane fuel in these cold conditions? I have a block heater and keep it pluged in at all times(jeep will start without it though, did last winter anyway). Could i have moisure in my fuel filter that froze? The weird thing is that when i sat there reving the engine the throttle response seemed normal! Any and all help would be great!

Josh

slikjr · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:53 am

my best guess would be water in the gas tank/lines. I'm in saskatchewan canada, so we have the same weather here. I am always careful to fill up before I park in a heated garage or wash the KJ or anything. The empty tank can cause a lot of condensation to occur and it all goes into your tank. Getting new gas, of any octane would have helped dilute the problem and revving it would have forced more fuel through to allow it to keep going. Putting in gas line antifreeze even as preventative maintenance every once in a while is a good idea. Gas and water don't mix on there own. Adding the antifreeze will allow the water to mix with the fuel, therefor letting it be sucked out of the tank with the fuel and not building up over a long period of time.

I always plug my Jeep in when it's this cold. Just cause. I know it will start but with it plugged in, only need to warm it up for 3 or 4 minutes as opposed to like 10 without.

_UnLiMiTeD_ · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 2:19 am

a little off track her but where is the darn plug! it says on my build sheet that i have it but i dont see it anywhere

C co Crusader 2/127 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:12 am

well if she ran the battery dead then it zeroed the pcm wich would explain not being about to idle. give it about 25 miles so the computer can create some new maps and all will be well

DryBones · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:29 am

funny to hear people talk about plugging in their vehicles. When I left Minnesota back in 1983 and moved a bit south people kept asking me why I had a cord sticking out of my grill.

I can't say I really miss that cold.

snowsport · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:52 pm **Posts:** 1211

The plug should be on the passenger side of the engine bay, kind of tucked up under the air box. If it hasn't been pulled out through the grille or wherever just start looking down in there somewhere.

Gas line antifreeze is a great idea for sure. It doesn't take much water in the line to cause a blockage if it freezes. If you are finding this happens again, try switching gas stations. The one you are going to may have a diluted tank.

renegadekj · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:13 pm

Thnsk for the suggestion. I will try the gas line antifreeze more often and hope for the best. It better not do anything like that again or it will be going to the dealership and not coming back! lol

Josh

DryBones · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:14 pm

you can't blame the vehicle for having bad fuel, only the owner.

myjeepwalks · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:56 pm

Maybe some moisture froze in the throttle body or idle air control valve? Once it warmed up it was fine right? Same thing happened in my first 86' toyota pickup something froze up in the carburetor and caused the same problem.

renegadekj · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:38 pm

Drybones,
You would probably feel the same way while working on it in -40 degree temperatures! And as far as bad gas goes not sure how that is the owners fault? The KJ's owners manual says 82 octance and that what I fill it with from shell. And yes i need a reliable vehicle, especially because I rarly drive it and I would hate to have my fiance stranded somewhere in this weather.

Josh

DryBones · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:00 pm

I am just saying if you had a gas line feeze up from bad fuel that is not the veicles fault so why would it go to the dealer and never come back? That's like saying I hate this car because it wears out tire so I am trading it in. If its just a frozen fuel line then I would think a can of dry gas with every fill while its super cold out should be part of your preventive maintenance. At least that's what I did during the real cold spells we had when I lived in northern Minnesota. Plus I learned to keep the tank topped off in super cold weather as well. And I do know all about working on a car in sub zero temps. I had a radiator hose blow on me late one evening driving home from a high school basketball game in about -40 weather and I had to change it that night and refill the antifreeze before things froze up. I had taped the hose well enough to get home but all I had at the time was water so I couldn't leave that in the block overnight. I know it sucks working in the cold but really, don't blame the car unless it is the car.

PS: Aren't Jeep owners touchy about people blaming the Jeep? :lol:

Merry Christmas!

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 10:51 pm

Sometimes if the battery goes dead it will not idle till you drive it awhile. Weve had this happen on one of our Jeeps before and it was fine after we drove it awhile. You had to give it some gas all the time or it would die, even when shifting gears! :shock:

Idk why it wouldnt start in the first place.

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 11:46 pm

Jeepjeepster wrote:

Sometimes if the battery goes dead it will not idle till you drive it awhile. Weve had this happen on one of our Jeeps before and it was fine after we drove it awhile. You had to give it some gas all the time or it would die, even when shifting gears! :shock:

Idk why it wouldnt start in the first place.

Yes, this is pretty common, if the battery is pretty dead then you need to run the engine at higher RPMs so that the alt can put out enough voltage/current to keep the jeep running at idle.

really dead batteries can be worse than no batteries, they can be a drain on the electrical system

after awhile the battery will be recharged to the point where it will idle again.

mapco · **Joined:** Tue Jan 09, 2007 4:27 am **Posts:** 250

I thought we only plugged in vehicles in Alaska and Canada. Never heard of Minnesota.

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 5:03 am

emsox wrote:

:lol: I thought we only plugged in vehicles in Alaska and Canada. Never heard of Minnesota.

It's like canadia except with a weaker dollar.

And more lakes.

mapco · **Joined:** Tue Jan 09, 2007 4:27 am **Posts:** 250

I have a cord on my KJ for the block heater and people always want to know what it is.

Especially coming on post.

renegadekj · **Posted:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 2:07 pm

Jeepjeepster
That does make sense and what you explained is exactly what occured, after a very short drive of me riding the break and gas it idled. Thanks that kinda does make sense. I also should invest in a new battery someday since mine is still the original 03'.

Josh

DryBones · **Posted:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 7:15 pm

Sir Sam wrote:

emsox wrote:

:lol: I thought we only plugged in vehicles in Alaska and Canada. Never heard of Minnesota.

It's like canadia except with a weaker dollar.

And more lakes.

Ouch!

Actually back in my days in Minnesota (70's) we had real winters with tons of snow and way subzero cold. -40 with wind chills to -80 were quite common and EVERYBODY had at least a frost plug block heater or an inline tank heater on the lower radiator hose. a lot of people had both. Winters back then were nothing like those wussy winters they get now.

renegadekj · **Posted:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 7:47 pm

-40 F and -40 C = big difference!

DryBones · **Posted:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 9:24 pm

renegadekj wrote:

-40 F and -40 C = big difference!

when it gets that cold does it really matter any more? :lol:

Frozen KJ?

Who is online