250kcherokee

Hi, I just bought a 94 for a few hundred bucks and it had been parked for about a year due to a broken alternator. I have installed a new alternator, replaced the starter motor, put on a new belt, and installed a new crank position sensor. Fuel pressure is good. It turns and turns but will not even attempt to start. I will be checking the spark tomorrow but it appears to already have new plugs, wires, and distributor cap. I'm baffled so far, any ideas?

250kcherokee

No ideas?

BuckB91XJ

This is going to sound dumb to most of you but, did you pull the Dist. cap off to see if it has a rotor inside? Something that simple would cause no spark and stop you in your tracks.

250kcherokee

I have a new symptom to report. If you let it sit for a while,the longer the better it seems, with the first turn of the key it feels like it's trying to start but after about 5 seconds nothing again. I keep trying here and there hoping one of these times it will fire up.

Fred1diver

try to get the ignition coils checked, I had a motorcycle that did the exact same thing.
or a loose connection somewhere
did you check the fuel filter and lines, if you have a kink or a packed filter it might let just enough gas pass to start, but not enough to continue running (had another bike with that problem)
hope this helps
FRED

firstxj

I would def say check plugs first and make sure you are getting fire and work backwards from there. If no fire at plugs, check to see if you are getting anything into the coil, etc etc. I don't know everything about these XJs but can tell you that this is the best forum and there are several knowledgable guys on here to help you out.

captainwoot

as others have said, check your spark, maybe it is fine, however if you haven't had the plugs out they could be fouled soaked ect. another thought is the fuel, if it has sat for a year with not much in the tank it might be bad.......'good luck

250kcherokee

It had a half tank when I got it, it doesn't smell old so I left it. Any way I could run a small amount of fresh fuel through it without draining the tank?

Willys55

Verify fuel pressure, and check for spark, we can help you from there

250kcherokee

I have already verified fuel pressure, and will check for spark today probably, although since it tried to run I am inferring it has spark.

357confederate

if it tried to run it has spark... i had the same problem on a good ole mopar dodge ram. it was the computer out...took me forever to figure it out. i had spark but it wasent sending right. id have dio. ran on it

SeriousOffroad

Check the compression and report the results.

250kcherokee

I checked the spark today and the fuel pressure again. It has plenty of fuel pressure and has spark. Although the spark it orange, I always thought an indication of a good spark was it being blue in color? I got a few more teases from it today when it tried to start, but still nothing. I don't have a compression tester but I may be able to get a hold of one. 357, what do you mean by the computer being "out"?

atomic-xj

gasoline starts to go bad after a few months. Might be worth adding a few gallons of fresh gas. If it sat for over a year, I would recommend some fuel treatment unless it was stabilized. You start getting varnish buildup very quickly.

250kcherokee

How do I go about draining all of the fuel in the tank and lines? I could siphon it out of the tank but how do I get all of the fuel in the lines out without covering my engine in gas?