Hi,

My 96 Cherokee XJ will not start. She was driving fine, problem free until just a few days ago when she started turining over just a bit sluggishly. Nothing really drawn out to cause a concern, but just a tad bit slower than normal.

My wife came home yesterday and said the Jeep wouldn't start at all, no clicking sound, nothing, but that it had battery power. I went out and the Cherokee started right up when I turned the key, however, it was a bit more sluggish than the day before.

I went ahead and drove her down to the local Autozone and had her hooked up to the battery machine, which diagnosed a bad battery, so I had it replaced free of charge. It was a Duralast Gold only 5 months into its 8 year warranty. I then drove her home, went in to show my wife and the Cherokee would not start up at all. No sounds, no clicks, no whirs, nothing...just dead silence. But all accessories work and have power, so it is not the battery.

I just tried it again this evening to see if it was some random thing, and again, no sound at all when I turn the key, but full battery power to all accessories.

Some work buddies have said its the starter, but fellow Jeep enthusiasts know best. What do you think needs to be done to fix my problem?

Thanks, Keith

 

I went out to my Cherokee today, turned the key, and absolutely no sound...dead as a doornail. So I climbed under her with a hammer and banged the started 5or 6 times, climbed out, turned the key...and boom! It started right up with no sluggishness whatsoever!

So, does that confirm that my starter is going? How much longer will it last? Should I change it out next weekend?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

sounds like a starter issue to me. I'd change it out asap if you plan on driving it anytime soon

 

X2 ASAP so that you dont get stuck......

 

x3 the armature has a flat spot so the starter does not always engage.

 

its your starter going bad, when you wack the starter with a hammer, you knock loose alot of the corrosion inside of the starter. that will only work a couple of times. you can also arc start it by manually touching the terminals together on the starter with a screw driver. once its shot though that wont work either. im 100% sure its your starter. get a new one at auto zone for $100 and life time warranty. or get a junk yard one for 30 with no warranty

 

Is it just 2 primary bolts to remove the starter? I was looking at it and the lower bolt is easy enough to identify and has the bolt facing one direction, while it appears that the upper bolt is facing the opposite direction. Is that it, just two bolts? Looks like a snap.

 

yea it is. its easy. i just replaced mine this morning. when they go they go lol and at the most convenient of times. and the bearings in your starter are probably blown or have build up in them.

 

ya the other one is up top on the back side. If you have a flashlight you can see where the channel is for the bolt to go into, it buldges out. you will see it

 

I just got under mine to replace the starter and found a star shaped head on the bolt on the bottom of the starter. I also could not find another bolt on the top with my hand reaching up. Is it possible that someone left a bolt out of the top hole? Also, is the star shaped head the correct bolt and if so does anyone know what size it is? I am not at home and have limited tools to replace this.

thanks for the help guys!!

 

you need a 15mm for the mounting bolt, 13mm for the positive cable and a 8mm for the signal wire. Yep the starter is going out the door, almost every Cherokee we've had has done this. Mine started doing it the other day, oh well used starters will do that. You can't complain when the used starter comes off a parts Jeep. You can get it rebuilt for around 40 or 50 bucks.

 

The lower mounting point on the starter requires an E socket. i will run out with my set in a bit and get the actual size. an E socket is a reverse Torx socket. i picked up a cheap E socket set at napa for like $6 bucks with 6 different sizes.

my starter handles up to 1000amps and i run 2/0 welding cable, and even on cold mornings it will start before i even give the key a full turn. (my battery cable was corroded. A way to check is at the connectors if it is really stiff for a few inches down the cable then becomes more flexy you need new cable, and welding cable was free, and it made perfect sense for the upgrade)

 

I've never seen a torx of any kind on a 4.0L starter. My 2.5L in my comanche does. New to me.

 

the top of my bell housing AND me lower starter bolt were E sockets. all factory too.

 

I knew about the upper bellhousing bolts. To heck with those get them out and put a real hex head bolt in there.