cma1996

Let me give a little back story to this first. I got a 1998 XJ on Halloween. I was told it just needed a NSS so I decided to take mine off and clean it instead of forking over $200+ for a new one. I screwed up by breaking everything there is to break in the process of cleaning the neutral safety switch. I broke the bolt running through the NSS and I also broke the threaded part that goes over the part that comes out of the transmission. But I got the NSS cleaned and back on and it worked fine for months. In January, it started acting up and I would have to get under the jeep and twist the NSS so it would be in the right position and it would work fine. Yesterday at the mall I did the usual routine and tried to start it but something funny happened. It tried to start but it just cranked for a couple seconds so I turned the key off and tried to start it again and it started right up. Today I was going to run to Walmart while everyone was occupied with the super bowl. I once again did the usual task of twisting the NSS to the right position and I tried to start it. And again it just tried to start like yesterday so I turned the key off and tried to start it again. This time, it wouldn't start. It gave a click sound (only one click, which I've never seen a vehicle do before) and that's all it would do. The lights on the dash came on like normal but it would only give a click sound every time I tried to start it. Is it the battery going bad and it only has enough power to turn the dash lights on? Is it the starter going bad? Maybe its the alternator? Or could it be something else that screwed up? I tried for a good 15 minutes to start it. I even tried readjusting the NSS but still nothing. After the very first time trying to start, it would only click. Does anyone know what to do/what's wrong? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Radi

I'd do a rudimentary battery voltage check. Headlights on, should still read roughly 12V. If the headlights drag it into the single digits, there isn't enough to turn the starter.
If that is OK, bypass the NSS to get that out of the equation temporarily and try again. If it still won't start you'll have to test item by item. Battery load test, jump the starter terminals, etc.