Help Needed: 5.2L ZJ won't idle

[k7mto]

History:

ZJ had been running fine. 5 gal water jug spilled in back of so I left the rear hatch open for a few days to dry it out (silly me, forgot to disco the battery).

Yesterday, I hooked up cables to recharge the system off the CJ. Came back a few minutes later and the batter cables were smoking (yes, they were connected, properly). Quickly disconnected them and let things cool down. Picked a new pair of jumper cables and resumed charging.

The ZJ now holds a charge, starts fine on it's own, and runs as long as I apply acceleration, but it dies immediately if I let off the gas. I assume something beside the old cables got cooked yesterday, or maybe the computer just needs to be rest?

Any ideas or info greatly appreciated, or if anyone in the East Valley has a chip reader that can tell me what's wrong, I'll buy beer or your favorite beverage!

[1BLKJP]

Matt, maybe you need to disconnect and completely reset the computer. Sounds like it was overloaded. Spiking it will return to stock settings and in my estimation should solve the idling situation.

[k7mto]

Worth a shot - so how, exactly, does one disconnect the computer to reset it? I'm not too familiar with the ZJ and don't know where the computer is located and don't have a ZJ FSM.

[jeepin_in_az]

Disconnect the battery for 10 minutes and let it sit. Then try it again. If the Jeep won't start on its own, you might have to get a new battery.

[1BLKJP]

Worth a shot - so how, exactly, does one disconnect the computer to reset it? I'm not too familiar with the ZJ and don't know where the computer is located and don't have a ZJ FSM.

Yeah sorry Matt, you want to do what Mike said above. I looked at what I typed again and I must've went stupid at the moment I was typing. I am blaming it on the DBacks.

Just disconnect the battery like Mike said and it will reset the computer.

[nate]

I had some cables do that to me while I was on a hunting trip in N. AZ. My starter had a short in it which caused a HUGE power drain and set the cables on fire. Changed the starter and everything was alright. Something had to short to cause the breakdown of that thick of a gauge of wire. Too weird.

[k7mto]

I went out to disco the battery per above advice, but before I did, I figured I'd start it up once more and see how it acted. Lo and behold, itstayed running at idle. I shut it down and restarted it a few times and it seems to be OK now. Maybe just sitting for a few hours without running helped? I hate gremlins like this that suddenly go away and you don't know if they're going to sneak up and bite you again later (especially when you're away from home).

Thanks for the advice. For now, I'm happy that it's working. At some point, I'll try to get a chip reader on it and see if any codes indicate problems.