[heidabear]

I'm hoping you all can help me. I'm feeling a bit frustrated and don't have much money to take this in. I've read many of your links and I've got great information so far.

I have a 2008 Patriot- 60,000 miles. Last night I parked the car in our driveway, my husband pulled the car into the garage a couple hours later without starting it (put it into neutral). The next morning I went out to the car and it no longer starts.

It cranks and turns over, but doesn't start. I know it's not the battery, alternator, or starter. I've been bad and I haven't gotten any tune ups- so the spark plugs haven't been changed ever. However, the car has been driving fine. It's having this issue out of the blue.

Our next step is to see if it's the spark plugs (I mean, they need to be changed anyway right?) And I can hear the fuel pump when I attempt to turn the car on.

Also, thinking it might be the anti theft kicking in (thanks to some posts here) I disconnected the negative battery line for 15 minutes- to no avail.

Any suggestions?

 

[jlobaugh]

There are so many things that it could be. The first thing I always consider is fuel delivery. Since you can hear the fuel pump, the next thing is to find out whether or not the fuel filter is clogged. This usually involved disconnecting the fuel line from the rail and putting it into a collection vessel of some kind and again turning the key to the 'run' position. If you have a bunch of fuel come out, immediately turn the ignition off and reconnect the fuel line, your filter is good. It could also be the injectors, I am not sure on the testing procedure for them.

Do you have keyless entry? does it work? If you have it and it stopped working, your problem is likely the 'radio' module that allows the sentry key, keyless entry and TPMS sensors to communicate with the car. Somebody just had one replaced a few weeks ago, I believe it was in the $300-400 range.

If all of that works, it could be a timing problem, an ECM problem, a CANBUS problem, or an ignition box issue.

I would put money on the fact that it isn't your spark plugs. I've seen plenty of plugs go way more than 60k.

 

[todde702]

Definitely change the spark plugs, the Patriot uses conventional copper core plugs and 60k miles is a lot of miles on a standard plug. The dryer air in the garage could be inhibiting the ability to spark across the gap, which is probably quite large by now. Back in the early 90's my mother had an '86 Accord that started having starting issues. On rainy or humid days it was fine, but dry days, it would stumble and cough. The plugs had worn out. When I changed them they had varying sized gaps from .080 to .100 and the factory gap was .042

 

[heidabear]

I have an update- we got the car started by pushing the gas pedal down. It stayed on and idled just fine until I turned it off about ten minutes later. Although there is no check engine light, we checked the computer with OBD II and there were no error codes.

Could this still be a fuel pump or some kind of sensor issue that anyone is aware of? I'm really not sure where to look next since it seems like we've tackled all the major issues. The car has been running perfectly, so I have no prior symptoms to go off of.

HELP!

 

[TheDeadInMe]

......a CANBUS problem...

I am so tired. I though this read a Cannibals problem.. lmfao. I think what you are trying to say pack weed under the hood anywhere and it should solve the problem.. lol.

 

[Afmcronnie]

Did you change out the sparkplugs yet? Opening up the throttle richens the mixture, it's possible that the spark is too weak to ignite the fuel/air mixture because of those seriously worn plugs.

 

[klingoff]

i would look at the plugs as well because they get worn quickly. i have changed mine every 50K as per the manual and they are always very worn.

When i was at the dealership earlier this week he asked if my plugs had been changed because he said one of the symptoms these Jeeps experience when the plugs are worn is a no start situation.

 

[todde702]

i would look at the plugs as well because they get worn quickly. i have changed mine every 50K as per the manual and they are always very worn.

hmm...the 2008 owners manual states every 30k miles, not 50k. You might want to double check in your manual.

 

[miketmx]

50k km = 30k miles; Just in case I find a need to change plugs when far away from home what size torx bit do I need to remove the old plugs ? Answer T-30 Torx head bit, I found the complete thread at the Knowledge Base link shown below:

http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36996

 

[todde702]

50k km = 30k miles

DOH! I didn't notice you were in Canada!

 

[mo418]

On cherokee, Ii is a common problem.

The concern is the Crank Position Sensor, or the Throttle Position Sensor.

You should ask if the Patriot might have a similar issue with those sensors.

Best Regards,