Hey all,


I'm having the dreaded XJ starter problems. Over the summer the starter seemed to be getting weaker. Occasionally it wouldn't start at all, but when I'd try it a day later it'd start like there was never a problem.


Anyway, last week it quit starting again, and I figured I'd finally do all the usual stuff. New battery, cleaned the terminal cables, new starter, new relay. However, now it's getting weird.


With the key turned to on, all the electrics work fuel pump does it's thing, etc... As soon as I turn to start there's a click, then all the electrics die and they stay off until I pull the negative terminal to reset the whole system.


Thoughts?

 

Did you check the ignition coil, distributor and CPS ( crankshaft position sensor)?

 

Start by cleaning ALL of the grounding point which include Both battery post, Battery to the fender, oil dipstick, two on the coil, rear of the head to the firewall, and you may want to remove the starter and clean the cable post ant the mounting surface since that is also a grounding point. Make sure to check you battery cables really good. If the feel brittle when you try to bend them the may be going bad inside under the insulation. Do those thing and give it a try. Let us know if it helps. If not we can go from there.

 

Bingo. The often forgotten side of all automotive electrical circuits. If the grounds ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.



Bingo again. Visual inspection isn't enough. Corrosion can wick up the cable and make a mess of things, even though it looks okay on the ends.

 

I had some corrosion right where the positive battery cable connect to the fuse box. The corrosion was hard to see but I replaced the fuse box with one from the junkyard and clean the terminal end.

 

Have you tried cleaning all of the other grounding points yet? Just because they look clean doesn't mean that they are. Clean them all wit a piece of sand paper or a wire brush and make sure that they are nice and shinny. One bad or dirty ground can cause a lot of problems.

 

Yep! A lot of problems, and a lot of really crazy problems!


Take them apart, clean them up, and put them together with some dielectric grease to prevent corrosion.

 

Finally got some daylight to work on the problem. Had an electrical savvy buddy come over with the multimeter. Checked all over the place, and the readings were confusing. Started checking every connection we could see when we finally found the problem.


When the problem initially surfaced, I replaced the battery. In replacing the battery, I managed to snap the bolt in the negative battery "connector thing" so I picked up a new one. Installed it in the dark with a flashlight.


Turns out the black paint wasn't completely removed from the groove where the wires were supposed to sit.


So (wire brush + swearing + cigarette + a good laugh at my expense) = a running jeep.