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View Full Version : Dead KJ - Immobilizer killed my car.



TK421
24-09-10, 10:12 PM
My KJ Cherokee Renegade petrol Jeep died because the immobilizer somehow cut the power to the starter relay and rendered my machine useless on the side of the road. What do I do now? Please help. I am stuck waiting for a tow but then what? Any advice will be welcomed. Thanks.

Hunno
24-09-10, 10:59 PM
try disconnecting the battery shorting the terminal together the turn the ignition to run & head lights on for about 30 seconds the same as you do to reset the CPU. reconnect the battery& lock & unlock your car.
Thats what I did for the ZJ & it worked.

TK421
25-09-10, 12:32 AM
I'll try this in the morning and report back - thanks to the guidance.

glend
25-09-10, 10:07 AM
TK, I agree that disconnecting the battery and letting whatever capacitance bleed off through turning things on while the battery is disconnected is a reasonable approach. However, I would not touch the positive and negative battery leads together to 'spark' off any residual capacitance. Relay circuits in particular have a tendancy to spike back during coil collapse and this can damage driver circuitry. Just let the charge bleed down through turning things on, with maybe just the positive terminal disconnected on the battery. Good luck

stevet
25-09-10, 12:24 PM
Do not know if you have the same related problem I had with the ZJ. Whenever/where ever I parked I would lock the jeep with the remote immediately, but if no reaction from the Jeep I had to jump in and start the car before the immobiliser kicked-in and park in another spot or I would be dead in the water. Problem-- parking in direct line of sight of any mobile telephone tower in the area, as the signal used by the jeep's remote is very similiar to the phone towers signal.. Problem reduced by learning to know where I could park & where NOT to park eg, any top level car park in most shopping centre's but go under cover one level, never an issue again, park behind a tree or a semi-trailer will do or park slightly uphill and roll down the road a short way (or get a push) away from the offending tower, or stand there hitting the remote until you got lucky waiting for a very short break in transmission from the tower so your remote signal momentarily works.......... One of those Jeep things:o:)...................
Cheers,
Stephen T.

TK421
28-09-10, 12:34 PM
Just got a call from JEEP in Camellia and the service manager said it was the wiring harness and that somewhere in the wires there was a short. It is possible? Are they pulling my leg or can this happen all of a sudden? How can my car suddenly develop a problem like this?

glend
28-09-10, 02:54 PM
I guess if something was rubbing on the harness and chaffed through it would be possible. People doing work on vehicles have been known to put screws and things into harnesses accidently. I don't know the extent of the problem, do you have more info?

TK421
30-09-10, 12:55 PM
Hey everyone - just got a call from the mechanic and it's the steering column and it's broken. I have to get a replacement and it's going to cost me $2187.00 for the repairs. Does this sound right? How can something so simple cost so much? Can the thing be by-passed and is this a common problem? It is unbelievable that it has taken them 4 days to find the fault. Anyone? It was not the immobilizer at all after all!

Maggie
30-09-10, 01:58 PM
Why don't you come to the meeting next Wednesday night and talk to Eddy Grau about it ... he does not use the Internet so is not on the forum.

Maggie

stevet
05-10-10, 10:18 AM
Hey everyone - just got a call from the mechanic and it's the steering column and it's broken. I have to get a replacement and it's going to cost me $2187.00 for the repairs. Does this sound right? How can something so simple cost so much? Can the thing be by-passed and is this a common problem? It is unbelievable that it has taken them 4 days to find the fault. Anyone? It was not the immobilizer at all after all!
Is it the actual steering column or is it the "clock spring" under the airbag that has s--t itself?? or what is exactly broken in the steering column?? Get a second hand clock spring from the wreakers eg Mascot Motors in Sth Nowra, far cheaper than from any dealer if that is the main problem. Dealers DO NOT Diagnose problems but simply replace parts on the list till they come across the problem at hand and replace the part at an exceptional price/charge rate. It's another reason why it took them 4 days to find the problem. If you could turn the vehicle, broken steering column, crap...............
It cost me around $500.00 including second hand clock spring, 2 years or so ago to have the clock spring in the ZJ replaced at the auto electrician as they use a pulley thing to remove the steering wheel etc but all decent mechanics should have it as standard fair.............
Keep away from the dealers and use for unobtainable parts only..................