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142 Posts
I had an incident when my Commander only had about 200 miles on it. I was driving downhill on the Interstate when my engine quit and the speedometer and tach went to zero. I wish I had taken a moment to check out the instruments and exactly what was going on (mainly the ignition key). More about that later.
However, since I was rolling on the highway at 65 MPH, without thinking, I immediately reached down and turned the ignition key to start. The engine immediately restarted and the speedometer and tach came back up to normal readings. As to whether the key was in the "on" position, "off" or somewhere in between I haven't a clue. At that moment, I just wanted to get it running ASAP. I was more than a little shaken the rest of the way home waiting for it to happen again.
Back to the ignition key. I have several keys (probably too many) on my Jeep key ring. I suspect that perhaps they were over weighted to one side, putting pressure or at least a basis toward the "off" position. Now, stepping into total guess land, I'm wondering if the ignition key was not totally in the "on" position and my knee pressure might have been enough to move the ignition key to the off position.
Not taking the time to check where the ignition key was when the engine quit is the key to this problem. The reason I suspect it was in the off position is because the speedometer read zero at 65 MPH. Even if the engine had quit, if the ignition key was in the on position, I would think the speedometer would still read the actual speed instead of zero.
This is the only time this has happened to me. I now check to see if the ignition key is fully on after starting. Since this one incident, this has never again happened to me while driving my Commander.
I'm wondering if anyone else has ever had a similar problem with the ignition key cylinder in their Commander or any other Jeep? Would it be possible for the engine to run if the ignition key was not fully in the on detent?
Sorry about the lengthy report, but I wanted to describe the incident as clearly as I remember it.
However, since I was rolling on the highway at 65 MPH, without thinking, I immediately reached down and turned the ignition key to start. The engine immediately restarted and the speedometer and tach came back up to normal readings. As to whether the key was in the "on" position, "off" or somewhere in between I haven't a clue. At that moment, I just wanted to get it running ASAP. I was more than a little shaken the rest of the way home waiting for it to happen again.
Back to the ignition key. I have several keys (probably too many) on my Jeep key ring. I suspect that perhaps they were over weighted to one side, putting pressure or at least a basis toward the "off" position. Now, stepping into total guess land, I'm wondering if the ignition key was not totally in the "on" position and my knee pressure might have been enough to move the ignition key to the off position.
Not taking the time to check where the ignition key was when the engine quit is the key to this problem. The reason I suspect it was in the off position is because the speedometer read zero at 65 MPH. Even if the engine had quit, if the ignition key was in the on position, I would think the speedometer would still read the actual speed instead of zero.
This is the only time this has happened to me. I now check to see if the ignition key is fully on after starting. Since this one incident, this has never again happened to me while driving my Commander.
I'm wondering if anyone else has ever had a similar problem with the ignition key cylinder in their Commander or any other Jeep? Would it be possible for the engine to run if the ignition key was not fully in the on detent?
Sorry about the lengthy report, but I wanted to describe the incident as clearly as I remember it.