my jeep from hell

we bought a 2002 jeep grand cherokee recently,on the way home we stopped to eat lunch(chinese buffett),after lunch it wouldnt start,after using the remote door lock several times to no avail i tried the key in the drivers door to lock and unlock,IT STARTED!!!,since then (a couple weeks) the transmission went south (42RE),i was replacing the brake pads on all four wheels,did you know jeep had two different caliper designs that year on the front!!!,ordered new calipers for the rear and while pushing the piston back in on the old rear calipers the brake line that goes to the rear decided to exit fluid all over the floor due to rust,so i replaced it,now have great brakes,also put on a new set of tires,and of course when the transmission was being done the coolant lines were so rusted that they had to be replaced,so finally we thought it was all ok,nope!,went on a short trip and the security key light was ojn most of the way,on the return trip it was off ,so today it started right up,wife run a errand and locked it with the remote,it took several tries both with the remote and using the key in the door to get it home,now after several tries it will start and die (part of the security im told)im going to check the ecm plugs for corrosion tomorrow, as well as clook at the grounds ,if i can get it to start im seriously thinking of sending in the ecm and having the security disabled,then i can unplug the SKIM module and MAYBE it will be safe to drive!!,im open to any ideas or help i can get!!

so this morning i locked and unlocked the drivers door twice and it started right up,i think its time to disable the security in this jeep,what say you?

IMHO, I would do it.
I'm about to pull the dash in my Durango to replace the blower motor (and heater core, evap. core, and resistor while it's out) and think I'll disable mine while in there. I've been lucky- owned it for 2 1/2 yrs. now and only had the alarm go off twice when opening the hatch. Ran to the drivers door both times to shut it off. Now I just unlock one of the front doors to disable the alarm before opening the hatch.
PO didn't have the remotes but called after I left saying he had found one and would mail it to me. Guess what never showed up? I wasn't too worried about it so I never called him about it.
I had printed out the way to disable the alarm on mine. Guess I need to find it. IIRC, on mine all you have to do is ground one wire in the L kick panel?


Tim

Rhad, so you bought a 16 year old Jeep and had to do some maintenance on it? Gee, sorry!

After the 1st time I had an issue with a remote lock, I probably would have quit using it, but at least you know what makes the truck work after you do use the remote, at least for now.

I would say that if the undercarriage is sound, you are ahead of more then 1/2 of the other SUVs on the market. Gene

Gene,i knew there was things it needed,thats a givin on a used car,its the theft alarm that is givin me nightmares,as for the undercarriage,it was sold new in ohio ,so that should tell you something!!,outside is nice and clean as is the inside,underneath the rust worms have been doin some damage,ive seen a lot worse,but they were plow trucks!!

I used to do rust repair at my welding shop (now retired). I have seen other makes of suvs and trucks that were less then 10 years old the had unrepairable frames, and a large number of those were not plow trucks.

The manufacturers have really stepped up the planned obsolescence and they have figured out making poorly designed under carriages is the fastest way to sell new trucks. when the bottom rots out, no one can use them. To their advantage, they get to blame the road salt and other chemicals used to clear the roads.

I wouldn't buy any used truck without climbing under it with a pick hammer and hitting questionably spots. If the pick hammer blows through, that section is gone. Pick until you find something solid, and see if a patch can be welded in. If a patch can not be easily welded in, walk away from the truck.

In the next 10 years, all those fancy electrical components going bad will be the next vehicle killer. Gene

i got the ECM out today getting ready to send it in for a SKIM delete,turns out its a mopar reman sold on June 2018,so i guess i got bent over big time as nothing was mentioned about problems with the security when i bought it
if i wasn't so crippled up i would have looked underneath and seen the rust,and if i would have drove it i would have known it was starting out in second
all in all it should be a nice jeep after i get the money pit full!1

i got the PCM sent off for a SKIM delete today,and im smelling antifreeze and the overflow jug is low,hope its not the radiator,i need a easy fix this time,the heater core needs a backflush as it only puts out lukewarm air,gee,i wonder whats next?

Sounds like a guy I work with had all those same problems with his grand cherokee, except for the security issue. Yes, two different calipers for some reason. His heater started blowing luke warm, problem was the blend door got stuck. His security hasn't acted up but he's had no shortage of other electrical troubles.

i should have the ecm back in a few days,then we will see what other problems pop up,im gonna backflush the heater core with hot oxi clean pumped thru it

Had similar issue with my 2002 Jeep WJ, I removed the ASD rely and jumped it out, viola! no more SKIM problems. I believe the SKIM activates said relay to allow fuel & ignition to work, jumping the relay contacts accomplishes the same thing - fuel and ignition are still ultimately turned on-off by the key anyway.

I'm sure some nervous nellie will be chiming in to tell me how terrible my "fix" is, I don't care, it's been working fine for over a year.

looks like ill get the ecm back on monday via USPS,then ill find out if the BCM has a player in this cluster#%&*

i got it goin 2day,no security problems now!!!, t stat and heater flush 2morro