I just got a 1990 Cherokee 4.0L with a manual transmission. For a long time, it was cranking but wouldn't start. I replaced the CPS, plugs, wires distributor and rotor, and the ignition coil. It finally fired up. I drove it for about ten minutes, shut it off and went to start it again.

When I went to restart it, the battery seemed dead so I charged it up. The battery is full (and new). When I turn the key, the starter clicks once and the entire jeep goes dead (the lights and radio go out the gauges go dark). I can turn the key to the off position, wait a few seconds and turn it back on, I can hear the fuel pump fire up but as soon as I turn the key, everything turns off. I can hear the starter try to turn momentarily, and it almost sounds like a dead battery to me if I didn't just charge it up.

I am not a very good mechanic whatsoever, but it seems like a grounding issue possibly? Maybe an alternator as well? I am planning on replacing the battery cables to the starter and the ground cables to the engine block.

Anything else I can check to help diagnose the issue?

 

Clean the battery terminals and batter cable connections very well with a wire brush. Remove the ground wire from the engine block and clean that stud very well (until it shines). Probably, you have a weak connection that is broken as soon as power runs through it.

 

Yep^^. It's battery power oriented.

 

Yep, times 2 ^^^^^^^^

 

Battery gasses have a nasty habit of helping a thin, hard crust form on the bat post's and clamps. They can look pretty good, but that micro-thin layer is a surprisingly good insulator. SHINNY! Lead is what you want. I use a pocket knife, (gently), for the insides of the clamps. For the posts I might use one of those post cleaner wire brushes, but still scrape it with a blade. If you have a condition where you have power, (dash lights ect.), then when you hit it power goes out altogether, that's a common result of a layer of oxidization there. Btw, a half *** connection could be expected to get hot during cranking, or while it's trying. Cleaning those is something to do now and then anyway, so if you are having starting problems, you might want to make sure you have bare lead on lead. Might save you some grief!

 

Thanks guys, I cleaned the terminals and all the connections and it will turn over. It still takes a long time to actually start up if I let it sit for a few days. I might have to crank on it for a minute or two to get it to fire. Any thing that could be causing that?

 

Good job so far.

Good chance your injectors are leaking down after you shut it off.

Try this:

Key On for 10 seconds, key Off for a few seconds. Key On for 10 seconds and then to Start. Report back with your findings.

 

If I let the fuel pump run 2-3 times, it will start. It still takes 3-5 seconds but I think that is normal for this Renix jeeps? I would assume its a bad pressure regulator at the fuel rail or the injectors need to be replaced. If it is the injectors, does the entire injector need to be replaced or just the O-ring?

I am no mechanic by any means and I would prefer to address the problem instead of throwing parts at it. I think I will also replace all the battery cables this weekend as well.

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

If running the pump makes it start quickly it may just be the check valve in the fuel pump assembly.

 

Renix Jeeps crank for a few seconds normally.

Their injectors are notorious pieces of junk.

Get some 746 Volvo injectors from Programbo here on Cherokee forum. They will come with new o-rings.

 

I sent Programbo a message on here and will see if I sent the message right... I also have a buddy of a buddy who owns a shop that has a set of 0 280 155 710 injectors he would sell me cheap. He says they are basically the same thing as the 703 and 746 injectors but don't have the retention clip grove. Is that the case? He says he thought the retention clips were really there to hold the injectors in place during assembly but didn't do much once the fuel rail was installed on the Jeep.

 

I don't think the clip groove will make a difference but there is a drop in fuel flow compared to the other. Check out this post first.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/did...44404/index10/

 

Thanks, I will find the 746 injector. I seem to have more problems than I thought. I have a crank but no start condition again. I'm not sure what else their is to replace other than the ICM or the ECU itself? I have checked all the ground I can find and unplugged everything and plugged it back in. Any ideas before I go replacing parts randomly?

 

O-ring problems will make the vehicle run rough. A simple squirt bottle test will show if o-rings are leaky. It sounds like an electrical issue.

What does battery voltage read while not running? You need to use a multimeter for that.

What about while running?

 

To be more specific, I don't have spark out of the coil. The coil is two weeks old. The battery I checked a week ago and it read 12.4v if I remember right after trying to start it a few times. If I could get it started I could check it while it was running. I also cleaned all the grounds at the dipstick and replaced the battery cables. This seems to be an intermittent no spark condition. It did start yesterday after I cranked on it for ten minutes but later in the day I couldn't get spark at all. I also tested the voltage and resistance of the cps and they both checked out 191 ohms and .65 v while cranking it over. I'm lost!