xjcarolina

Hello everyone!

I recently bought a 1994 Cherokee with the 4.0 inline six and AW-4 automatic off Craigslist. Seller had bought the truck as a project but had some personal issues come up and decided he would rather sell. This is my first Jeep (all of my other 4x4s have been GM products, K5, Tahoe, etc.), so I'm dealing with a little bit of a learning curve.

It had sat up in his back yard for close to a year when I went to pick it up, but he dropped a battery in it and it fired right up. Engine runs good, good oil pressure, doesn't get hot. He told me that occasionally the NSS would act up and it wouldn't crank but that it was uncommon. I noticed that the lower trim panel under the dash was sitting in the back seat but I didn't really pay it any mind.

I drove the Jeep on the trailer and noticed that when I put it in gear that it seemed to rev rather high before it got moving but it didn't set off any alarm bells. Once I got it home, though, I realized that the Jeep was starting off in Overdrive instead of 1st gear. A little online research led me to find out that the computer on the trim panel is actually the Transmission Control Module, so I reconnected that. No start.

I disconnected the computer, and it cranks right up. I connected the computer with the Jeep running and the tranny shifts perfect. Cut the Jeep off, left the computer connected, went to crank it back up, and no start. Disconnect computer, cranks fine. I'm thinking the NSS is gone but I don't understand what difference the TCM being hooked up would make to it, so I'm trying to figure out if I should swap the TCM for a salvage yard one first or replace the NSS.

My name is David, by the way.

toasterknight

Odds are the nss switch needs cleaned or adjusted. It starts because the nss goes through the tcm first I believe. Try putting it in neutral then starting with the tcm connected. If that's the case it likely is just the nss.

xjcarolina

Thanks for the quick reply. I tried starting in neutral with the TCM hooked up and it still didn't turn over. Does that make it more likely to be an issue with the TCM?

toasterknight

I would start with cleaning the nss and adjusting it. From there others may have more advice. Do the reverse lights work at all?

xjcarolina

Yeah I'm planning to take the NSS off as soon as I get a chance and clean it. The reverse lights actually work like they're supposed to, and as long as the TCM is disconnected the Jeep cranks every single time, in Park or in Neutral.

4WD4EVER

Welcome to CF David.

If you haven't already, I would recommend checking to see if there are any codes stored. It may help you determine what part(s) may need attention before throwing time/money at it.

http://www.jeep-xj.info/HowtoECUcodes.htm