mikefitz00

I went out to my jeep the other day and turned the key, nothing happened. no click, just nothing. Lights, stereo, everything working as normal.


-Replaced battery with a brand new one yesterday, same issue.

-NSS - pulled off, disassembled, cleaned, put back on, adjusted 10 different times, still nothing.

-I just noticed I can shift through all gears without even pressing the brake.

-Also noticed that reverse lights are not coming on leading me to believe it is the NSS.

Is this a bad NSS? Is there a way to test it?
Starter?

Any help would be great.

Jeepin'_Aint_EZ

Did you try to jump the starter to make sure it's still functioning? Start there. My reverse lights don't always immediately come on when I first shift to R. Jiggling the shifter gets them to come on. I'm not worried about it right now. Still fires up fine.

1JeepJeep

I just went through this. I have a different jeep but I would say that if the reverse lights are not working, but they were before, then that is pointing to that NSS. I read on here that one guy had to turn it all the way clockwise to get it to work.

I would also do what the previous guy suggested and see if the starter is ok by arcing the solenoid or hitting gently with hammer and then seeing if it will start.

But this is what mine did. Working fine, then nothing. It turned out to be a corroded wire on my NSS connector, but I do not think you have the same set up as me if you took it off and cleaned it, you probably have a V-6.

That reverse light thing plus the no start thing sure sounds like a NSS though.

got this from somewhere else but believe it to be true:
On the starter solenoid, there are 2 terminals. A large one and a small one. The large one is the battery lead to the starter, the small one is the lead that engages the starter. Using a test light or voltmeter, see if you have power at the small wire when you turn the ignition to crank. If you do, you have a bad starter.

Also. (it's a shame how many videos I watched on V-6 NSS switches), but I saw one guy who took it apart and stretched the 2 springs out a little so the metal connector things stuck out a little further and he also added a layer of dielectric grease on all his contacts inside the NSS, Might help you get a good contact in there?

mikefitz00

After re-cleaning the NSS and having the same issue i decided to test the continuity in the female side of the plug in each gear and it looks like the NSS is making contact where it should be without issue.

This is leading me to believe it could be the starter.

Going to test a few more things and report back

1JeepJeep

So did your reverse lights start working? A bad starter isn't going to affect the reverse lights.

mikefitz00

Long story short -
-It is the NSS
-Used a multimeter and had my wife try to start. No power coming to the starter.
-Check for power on ignition switch and power is present.
-Went back to jump the NSS to see if I could start it and put it on the computer side of the switch and sure enough, started right up. Some forums were saying to put the jumper on the NSS side which didn't really make sense to me. Should have trusted my gut in that one.

So now I guess I'll just be replacing the switch as I have already cleaned it and tried adjusting multiple times.

The revers lights do come on when in reverse now, but I did notice that I cannot line up the "guide line" on the switch with nuetral. There is not enough room to adjust the switch that far.

I may disassemble and reassemble the switch just in case something came loose.

1JeepJeep

All right. Good job. Not a good idea probably, but you could grind out some metal and give yourself a little more adjustment room with a dremel tool and a grinding attachment. Or simply drill hole and file a little extra room. Never read anyone doing this before. But if you just need a little more tweaking, make the adjustment slot a little bigger. Just by looking at the part on videos etc, it doesn't look like anything can go bad with that part. It's mechanical in nature. And if your reverse lights are working, seems like maybe you are close, plus I heard they are fairly expensive parts. My point being, can this part go bad?

mikefitz00

Ok, makin.mg progress. Here's what I'm dealing with now.

When I connect the switch in the engine compartment I hear a faint, intermittent, high pitched hum from the fuse panel in engine bay. I assume from the starter relay.

-if I connect so that there is no hum, jeep will not start. Same as original issue.

-if I connect and fiddle with it until the hum comes back, jeep starts right up
-BUT -
When I turn key off, engine shuts down, or possibly is trying to shut down, sort of contestant hesitation, and I hear the starter (I assume) continuing to try and turn over.

I'm lost. Ground wires? I have no idea

mikefitz00

I was able to locate a loose ground wire and that stopped the noise from the fuse panel. It is a GPS thing from the dealership I bought it at. One of those things to make sure the jeep doesn't disappear without paying for it.

I still have no start.

I decided to try the jump wire again, since everything is grounded and now even the jumper is not working. I rechecked all the fuses. Everything is good.

I think its time to get it towed to a mechanic.

1JeepJeep

Okay well, good luck. One more suggestion would be that the starter where it is bolted is actually another ground. You could try to take the starter off and clean up that site and rebolt and see if maybe that isn'tmaking a solid ground.

Best of luck to you. I hope the mechanic doesn't stick it to you, but that's what they are good at.

If you are able to wiggle the wires and get it to start, that sure looks like the problem. Look in that bundle and find the bad looking wire.

mikefitz00

After further review I believe I have a wire issue on the computer side of the NSS/Starter switch.

I found this because I was unable to start several times, i moved the cables some as I reseated and then she fired up after holding the ignition for 2-3 seconds.

I knew it wasn't resolved, moved those cables again and then tried to start and nothing happened.

Exact same scenario happened today as well.

I am not totally sure what i need to rewire that side of the harness. Any advice? or can I replace just that harness set instead of all the wires?

freegdr

Get donor plug and splice in... Or....New connectors....

freegdr

Or splice in new connector....https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...sch+Connectors

mikefitz00

I'm giving this a few last tries before the mechanic. Here's where I am at now.

-for a while I had Intermittent starting when I hold the key down for several seconds. Very intermittent. Seemed to be affected when I move the harness around. Now I can't replicate that

-Removed the b-c cables from the harness in an attempt to "jump" and rule out nss.Still intermittent starting.

-checked the ignition wires, when ignition is turned 12.5 volts are coming through.

-checked the starter, has 12.5v on the constant hot, but there is nothing coming in to the ignition wire on the start when the key is turned.

-All fused and relays are working

-removed and sanded down ground points on the engine mount, and frame just to the side of the battery.

I have no idea where these wires go as they route into a larger group of wires.

Could I have a computer issue? Or just a bad wire somewhere between that switch and the starter? I don't know what else is between the connection and power getting to the starter

mikefitz00

For anyone interested, after all of that trouble shooting, I needed a new computer. I'm not really sure what happened, maybe in the process of jumping the NSS, and replacing the position sensor something shorted? No clue. Bought a computer on eBay, installed, flashed, and everything works great. Thank you guys for your help!