My first post on any forum. I'll do my best to give some background on the situation. For the last few months my jeep ran fine, no problems whatsoever except the radio would shut on and off. More time not working than functioning. No idea what triggered it. I recently moved to Georgia and had my jeep on a trailer for the drive from Pennsylvania. Got to Georgia started up great and now my radio, wipers, and air condition all worked. About 2 weeks later I stopped at a sign and it shut off. Started back up and made it home. The next day I went to drive it and it won't start up. The wipers, a/c, and radio work but it will not start. I am not mechanically inclined but from what I understand it is not even attempting to turn over. When I got to start it all I hear is a faint buzzing sound for a few seconds and then nothing. Makes getting a job difficult when you don't have wheels. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Hows your battery?

 

The battery is good. I had it tested before I moved which was about 2 months ago. It sits at around 12 on the gauge.

 

What year is your jeep and what motor does it have? How did the cables look? Search for a guy on here "cruiser54" hes got a few threads on cleaning up the electrical systems, which sounds like your issue.

 

Its a 96, sorry

 

I"d take a close look at the ignition switch and connector too, see if you find any signs of overheating. Causes all sorts of oddball intermittents.

 

Thanks a lot for the replies. I'll do some more research and check out my wiring and ignition and keep you guys posted.

 

The wires look good I think for as old as it is. I had the ignition replaced shortly after I bought it about two years ago. That isn't to say the latter isn't the problem. Anything real specific I should look for?

 

Also it is a 4.0L inline 6

 

The faint buzzing sounds like your fuel pump, especially if it only lasts a few seconds once you turn the key to the position right before you turn it to crank. Perfectly normal, unless you've never heard it do that before, then it may be going bad.

Since it died as you were stopping, it sounds like a loose connection, likely a ground.

 

what about your crank positioning sensor??
mine went out often. replaced it 3 times in two years..
pain the the butt but part is only $27..

 

It deff sounds like a connection issue to me. First thing to try if its an automatic is put it in neutral and try to start it. If its starts you have a bad neutral safety switch. If thats not the problem have your battery checked again just because it was checked two months ago doesn't mean its good now. Another thing you can do is have someone hold the ignition in the start position and start moving wires around keep your hands clear of the fans belts and any moving parts while doing this. And make sure all your grounds are tight. Some ideas to get you started.

 

If you were still in Pa we could have this problem fixed in no time lol. Check the battery connections and make sure everything is clean and tight. Could possibly be a starter issue maybe. You could try to pop start it since its 5 speed and see what happens. Also could maybe be a bad ignition switch. Just some suggestions.

 

My brother and I are going to put a shift in and check this stuff out, process of elimination. I'll have this app up as a checklist. Thanks again for the replies.

 

Turns out a connector from the ignition, although connected, was slightly out by less than a quarter of an inch causing the problem. We adjusted it and started it up and were able to shut the jeep off just by touching the connector. Hopefully that was just the problem. Must have not been plugged in all the way when the ignition was replaced and it just worked itself out overtime.