Hey guys. I got an xj about a week ago.96 4.0 aw4 4x4. Has been great until yesterday. Went to start it and would just click. Checked battery connections and still would just click. Tapped the starter made some noise and smoked a little. Replaced the starter this morning and the jeep fired right up. Drove around today a little no problems started up multiple times. Went to go to work and just one click again. Then no click at all. Tried starting in neutral and nothing. Ran the shift lever up and down through the ranges and still nothing. Any ideas? Im thinking nss.

 

Nss or camshaft sensor. I believe you can unplug that to check? Search it. I might be wrong.

 

Check the resistance of the battery cables.
Was your old starter soaked with oil? If so the new one will die a similar death if you don't fix the leak.

 

Thanks guys turns out i just got a bad starter. Took it in and got a different one and the jeep has been fine since. The original was not soaked in oil. Looked more like road grime. surprisingly no oil leaks on this Cherokee yet.