Hello all, my 98 xj will not crank at all, I was at auto zone when it died (go figure) I had them test the battery and it was fine, got it towed home and began diagnosing it. When i go to crank it, it does nothing, the brake warning light comes on when holding the key to start then goes away when i release. It wont start in neutral or park or any gear. I tried jumping the starter and no dice, took it to get tested, it works just fine. I tested all my fuses with a test light all, they all are good. Tested 12v coming to starter, all good. Main battery ground is good, cleaned battery terminals tightened connections etc. still nothing. Swapped fuel pump relay with starter since i can hear the fuel pump when i turn the key and still nothing. I haven't really messed with the nss just took it off and apart to inspect it and it looked fine, I'm gonna take it out and apart to clean it tomorrow as well as adjust it to see if hopefully that fixes it. Is there anything i missed that i might be able to try?
Any help is very much appreciated as its my daily.

 

go underneath with a long screwdriver and try jumping it one more time put bricks behind the wheel throw it in neutral then touch both the bolts together on your starter (like jumping it) see what happens.

in my opinion the obvious culprit is the crank sensor /cps i dont have any doubt in my mind that this is your issue period get a good one DO NOT PUT AN AUTOZONE PART ON. at the very least get the car quest/advance auto one

 

i would also clean all the grounds on the passenger side of the block and follow that wire from you starter to you fuse box pas side top left where your ignition fuel pump relay etc is.

then check the other hot going in make sure it nice n clean and tight

 

Nope. Not even a suspect. The CPS has nothing at all to do with cranking the engine. Not one thing. It has no connection to the starting circuit.

A bad one will prevent the engine firing, for sure, but not cranking.


Most likely culprit is a bad connection or cable.

Jroemer98, how did you test 12v to the starter? Meter? Test ;light? Those can still show voltage even if there is a lot of corrosion which prevents the starter from spinning.

If you can find a helper, try this:

1. 1 guy on the ignition key.
2. 1 guy on the meter or test light down at the starter.
3. While measuring voltage, have the guy up top turn the key to the start position.

If the voltage goes to zero or close to it, you have a bad connection. Either the cable or the connector, or both.

 

I replaced the starter and was able to get it to start by jumping the starter, but now it's throwing p1899 code

 

First place to look with a no-crank. Neutral Safety Switch.

Why didn't I think of that?

 

Romer,
I had the same issue, replaced the Neutral SS, checked starter and battery and it turned out to be a wire on the fuse box. try swapping the starter relay with the fuel pump relay and see if it cranks.