I have a 1998 Cherokee Sport with 4.0L and automatic trans. A few weeks back I drove to my brother's house for a visit. When I came out about 15 minutes later the Jeep would not start when I turned the key. Spent about an hour on the ground under the Jeep and wiggling wires and checking this that and the other. Finally I shorted the starter solenoid contacts and the Jeep started up and drove fine.

Since then I have replaced the NSS (old one fell apart when I was cleaning it) and the starter. I have pulled and inspected fuses and relays. I do have 12v at the starter solenoid but 0v on the green wire that engages solenoid. The Jeep starts just fine when I short the solenoid contacts. I have installed a monetary switch in the cab so that I don't have to crawl under the Jeep every time I need to start it.

I am thinking that my problem is the ignition switch not sending signal to starter solenoid. Is there an instruction string available on how to change this part/parts?

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to check next?

 

your nns maybe out of adjustment. Have you tried starting in neutral?.

 

I ohmed out the NSS in all positions. The switch is aligned properly. The battery is good and all grounds are solid.

 

I pulled the shroud off of the steering column and determined that the ignition switch actuator is broken. I have the part but I can not remove the broken piece unless I pull the ignition cylinder, and I can't figure out how to remove the ignition cylinder from the column. All the information that I can find says that there is a release but all I see is a steel collar.

Has anyone out there done this before?

 

do you have the plastic cover off of the column? there should be a little button you press with a screwdriver, and with a key in the ignition you should be able to pull it out.

my cover is still off (can't get the damn thing back on), i'll try and grab a pic for ya.

 

that little guy?

 

Thanks for the picture Noisufnoc. Unfortunately my ignition is different from what you pictured. This is what I am dealing with.



Any ideas???

 

weird, no idea...sorry

 

There is a box under the dash on the steering colum that has a rod that moves when you turn the key. It might have got loose. That makes contact and sends current to starter.

 

That box is called the Ignition Switch Actuator but before I can change that out I need to pull the ignition cylinder. I can't pull the ignition cylinder since it seems to be covered with a metal shield.

 

thats really weird, wonder if that collar is aftermarket? can it be removed?

 

I heard that the collar might be aftermarket. I am going to try to grind a slot in the head of the "pin" for a straight screwdriver and see if I can back that out. I will probably try that this weekend if the weather gets above 0.

 

Ok so the saga continues. I spoke with a real Jeep mechanic who turned me on to the idea that what I am seeing on my ignition cylinder is an aftermarket anti-theft device. Armed with this knowledge and pissed off that something so simple as changing a switch has me stumped, I decided to attack the collar. I figured that the nub on the collar in the 10 o'clock position is likely a shear bolt designed to break off under a load. I took a dremel tool and cut in a slot for a screwdriver blade and sure enough, it unscrewed (with a good amount of force applied). After that the collar slid off easy.









After that it was a pretty straight forward task to remove the switch and the actuator and take it inside (where it isn't -10F) to re-assemble with the new actuator. I am headed outside now to reassemble the Jeep and hopefully be done with this long drawn out repair.

 

Is this vehicle a previous theft recovery?

 

YEAH!!!! Success! The Jeep again starts with the turn of the key. Thank you to all who helped with this problem. If this thread sounds like I figured it all out on my own, trust me, I didn't. If it wasn't for help from those smarter and/or more experienced than myself I would still be rubbing my head and scratching my *** trying to figure this out.

And as a general reminder to anyone on this forum searching for an answer to your problem, please remember to post your final resolution for others that are having the same problem. It is frustrating to find a thread with the exact same symptoms as yours only to read three pages of post and be left hanging not knowing if the problem was resolved and/or how.