jasonpacman

Hello, let me start off by saying, I have an account here but its been a few years, and I don't remember the name.

Our GC has given us trouble over the years... Had to buy new front doors (broken hinges at both doors, and broken wiring in both). Alarm crapped out, had to buy new ecu... Speedo doesn't work, ETC...

Now we are at the latest problem. The thing stops cranking intermittently. It used to have to be in neutral to start... Then it would stop starting at all (this was only temporary and lasted not more than an hour). It has left my dad stranded several times. Now it fails to start at all.... It is sitting in front of the house dead.



I've got voltage at the big wire on the starter, but nothing on the small one. I can jump pins 87 and 30 on the starter relay connector, and it cranks. Not sure if it will start or not because I was using two multi-meter leads and sticking the pins in the socket for 87 and 30, and touching the other ends together.

Pins 85 and 86 are what triggers the starter solenoid. I am not getting voltage to complete the circuit on whichever of the two(don't remember now which one is the voltage and ground). Due to the past problems with the NSS, this is where I am looking first.




I've looked at these two links, and I cannot find the connector on the firewall. One says to look around the auto dipstick, and the other says to look around the oil dipstick.

I am not sure if the guy means "look for the connector around the dipstick on the automatic model" or "look for the connector around the dipstick for the automatic transmission"
http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoNSSrebuild.htm
http://jeepin.com/features/nss


What ever information you can provide will help. We love this jeep but there are too many problems with it. We are probably going to sell it and buy something newer. We just need it to drive around until we can find something else. Funny enough, our two early 90's ford f-150s are the ones that have never let us down. Sorry for the long story, I like to be detailed.

Firestorm500

Hello, Friend: You probably need to move this to the Grand Cherokee forum.

Basic troubleshooting would include Neutral Safety Switch as you have stated. You should buy a shop manual to find out where everything is and give you a clue on further diagnostics. It could also be battery cables or grounds. The possible causes are too numerous to list here.

You could also have it towed to your local dealership or a experienced shop. They have the tools and knowledge to diagnose it and tell you what it costs to fix it.

Please remember you have an 18 year old vehicle. Things get old and go out from time to time.

jasonpacman

Thanks. I just saw the word Cherokee and posted, sorry about that.

I do have a shop manual, I'll try to dig it out tomorrow.

-thanks

Firestorm500

Good luck. Electrical stuff can be frustrating.

jasonpacman

sorry for the delay... I figured out what it was. There was a connector in the passenger kick panel connector block that came out. Plugged it in, and it started!


I've got a another problem though. I've found a voltage drain; a rather large one. I've got 12 volts going to ground somewhere. I am pretty sure I traced it to the I.O.D. circuit. I know the IOD circuit provides power to items that operate when the key is off. I am guessing I can't simply unplug the fuse?. What would be the easiest way to isolate the problem with the I.O.D. circuit?