Jeep Dies While Driving but Restarts: What's Wrong?

Jeep may die when driving and then be restarted because of wiring issues, bad engine sensors, faulty ECU, bad start-stop system, poor fuel supply, or some other problems. The list can be much broader but I want to talk about the most common reasons in this article.

Engine stalling highlights

• Level of importance:High
• Commonreasons:Compression, electrical issues, fuel or air supply problems
• DIY inspection:Possible but complicated
• DIY repair:Impossible
• Price for repair:$250 - $1,500
• Can you drive?Very carefully
• Ways to fix:It's usually professional repaironlyunless the problem is with the air filter or some other part that's easy to replace.

What are the symptoms and conditions of this problem?

Given there are several possible culprits of your Jeep dying when driving, we have to focus on the symptoms first. This will help you spend much less time diagnosing the vehicle. Also, if you tell your mechanic all the symptoms, they will much faster locate the problem and this will cost you less money in the end.

Among the possible symptoms that you need to pay attention to are the following ones:

• Does the engine die when accelerating or when driving at a constant speed?
• Do you see any warning lights or error messages on the dash of your car?
• Does the power change before the engine stalls?
• Does your vehicle change its behavior when the problem shows up?
• After restarting the engine, can you drive for quite long without having this problem again?
• Does it take long to restart the engine in your vehicle after it dies?
• Has your Jeep shown any other bad symptoms lately?
• How often does this happen to your Jeep?

Once you answered all these questions, you can locate the problem or at least reduce the time for diagnosis in the dealership or repair shop. For now, I have so many suggestions that it will take me the entire day to tell you about them. So, I've decided to concentrate on the most possible issues that will cause the engine to die and then restart as if nothing happened in a Jeep car.

What are the reasons for the engine dying problem in your Jeep?

Unfortunately, there are plenty of reasons I can now think about. Thanks to the previous part, you will be able to find the most obvious reason that's causing the problem in your case. It doesn't mean you will not have to take your vehicle in for inspection, but this may save you time and money.

So, let's look at the most common reasons for this problem:

1. Crankshaft position sensor malfunctioning

Problems with the crank sensor are very common for older Jeep engines and they actually happen to show up in newer powerplants, too. When the crank sensor starts dying, it will suddenly stop your Jeep's engine right in the middle of the road. And after 2-3 minutes, when it cools down, you will be able to restart a car and then drive it for a month or two without any problems.

But after some time, the frequency of the problem grows and eventually, your engine will die without the possibility to restart it. So, you better replace that crankshaft position sensor before it causes even more problems. It's important to buy an OEM sensor and choose exactly the one that is needed for your vehicle.

2. Low fuel pressure

The engine may work well when the fuel is supplied to the cylinders with certain pressure. Once something happens with the pressure, the engine may immediately die or start working harshly. After you turn the ignition off and then on again, the problem may be gone and the engine will start as if nothing happened.

This is a clear sign of the faulty fuel pump. It may start dying and that's why you can still restart the vehicle after it dies. But on one bad day, you will not be able to start the Jeep - it will die and leave you stranded. So, if the pump is freaking out like this, the best solution is to replace it as soon as possible.

3. Wiring and connection problems

It's not uncommon for an older Jeep to develop some issues with electrical connections. For example, battery cables may lose contact, or alternator wiring may be problematic. Also, mass cables or connections can go bad. This will lead to a short black-out and the vehicle will stall immediately when this happens because it will not have the electrical power to supply the engine with the spark.

You may try to clean all the connections. Unfortunately, checking them with a multimeter is impossible, because, at the time when the problem is active, you will be sitting behind the steering wheel.

4. Overheating of something in the engine bay

The problem when your Jeep stalls and then, after some minutes, you can restart it may happen because the engine is overheating. It's not exactly the engine but some part of it is hot and that's why it stops working.

It may be connected with poor cooling but sometimes it's because a certain part is malfunctioning. For example. the ECU may get hot because it's going bad or some wire connection may get too hot because of its bad location near the hot parts of the engine.

Locating this problem on your own is almost impossible, but a good mechanic will easily solve the issue.

5. ECU dying

One more common issue for older cars with high mileage on them is the faulty ECU. When it only starts dying, the ECU may glitch and suddenly stop igniting the fuel by blocking signals to the coils. Also, some parts of the ECU may be faulty because of water damage or overheating.

Locating the problems with the ECU is always hard because it won't throw any special codes and won't show any clear signs of failure. That's why you may hunt for the problem for a long time and still have no idea of what's happening with your vehicle.

6. Other problems to consider

I should finish listing the problems, so I decided to just give you an overall look at what other problems can cause this issue. I know about cases when water in the fuse box caused this stalling issue. Also, the distributors of older cars could be the culprits. Some guys on forums say that power cables in Jeep cars can cause the issue and need replacement if this happens with your vehicle.

So, I've not written about all possible problems but tried to outline the most common ones. They are harder to locate than the more obvious culprits, and most of them will require professional help to get rid of.

Can you still drive your Jeep if it stalls suddenly?

Well, I can't tell you that it's a good idea to call a tow truck, in this case. Just because you won't listen to me. So, yes, you can drive your car but you should make sure that your driving is safe. It's not a good idea to drive on highways at high speed. Also, you shouldn't drive in places where the traffic is very active and dense.

Try to follow these simple rules if you have the risk of your Jeep stalling:

• stop at a safe place and arrange a visit to the nearest repair shop;
• start your car and make sure it works well and nothing fails right now;
• get to the right side of the road and drive very slowly to avoid issues when the engine stalls;
• turn the emergency light to let other drivers know something is wrong with your vehicle;
• don't drive long - just take your car to a safe place and park it till you may solve the problem.

Of course, I recommend driving directly to the dealership or to the repair shop. Otherwise, you may end up having a completely dead vehicle at the roadside and the need to pay for the tow truck.

Before you go to the repair shop, register all the symptoms that your vehicle shows. Also, you may use the OBD2 scanner and see whether there are some special codes that you need to know about. Sometimes, this may help you locate the issue on your own.

Final thoughts

The problems with your Jeep stalling and then restarting are not that rare. Many Jeep owners claim they had this issue but all of them are talking about different possible problems. You should pay attention to the list of issues that is given above in this article and check your car in accordance with this list.

If you can't locate the problem, your best solution is to take your car in and have it inspected as soon as possible. The issue may develop and on one bad day, it will leave you stranded at the side of the road somewhere in the middle of nowhere. To avoid this, try to solve such issues before they affect the safety and reliability of your car.