So I hop in my jeep today getting ready to go to school, and the SOB will not start. No click nothing. All the electricals turn on like it is getting ready to turn over, and then when I go to twist the key nothing happens....any ideas? I need to figure this thing out!!!

PS 1996, 4.0

 

if all the guages and everything turn on my guess would be your starter motor took a crap. Try hittin it with a hammer. Sometimes works. No promises on that though. Worked on an old chevy plow truck we had. Froze up sometimes

 

your battery could of went to ****... i had the same problem everything would turn on and would go to start the jeep and would loose everything and not even get a click.. i got the battery tested and they told me it was fine i borrowed a buddies battery and his battery started my jeep just fine.. my battery had lost all its cold cranking amps

 

I wis it was...just got a new battery!

 

that doesnt mean anything...mine wasn't that old either...sometimes you just get a junk battery with no explanation it just happens sometimes

 

my dads does this some time he just wierd up a button to bypass the ignition switch. we have done that with three xjs we own

 

I had a similiar issue... not sure if its the same as yours though. I used my dads Focus for a week and let the XJ sit, and the first time I drove her, she did fine until I stopped for gas. When to start her up, nothing. No click, but gauges and radio worked. When I turned the key to start the starter, all the gauges would start to run up. So, I disconnected my negative terminal for a minute, put it back on, and no problems since thank God.

 

Happened to me also. Your problem is a bad ground to the starter most likely. Check the ground:
1. Battery - to jeep body
2. Engine block to firewall (behind valve cover)
3. Remove starter - clean contact area where it touches the engine block - reinstall.

Remember that just because the connection "looks" ok doesn't mean it is. Clean and wire brush everything, including battery terminals

 

I am going to try that one tomarrow, I just tried the smacking the starter thing, nothing...

 

Take a screwdriver and cross jump the connections on the starter

 

There is 3 terminals on the solinoid, which two do I connect. I tried the top one with one of each bottom two and I got nothing. I had the key in the on position?

 

jumping it won't work if he has a bad ground...

 

sounds like your nss.

you can try jumping the lower 2 (larger nuts) on the starter to jump it while the key is in the on position.
just be careful not to touch the oil filter with the screwdriver while you're jumping it. you will quickly have a gusher once the engine kicks over. (ask me how i know lol.)

or, you can shift into neutral and hold the key in the start position while ever so slightly moving the shifter around in the neutral position till you hear the starter click. it may take a minute of fussing with it.

 

Yeah I was gonna say NSS too. Before I changed the fluid in my transmission, it would only start in neutral...but now, for some reason, it starts everytime in Park like it's supposed to.

 

Is there any way to confirm that it might be the neutral safety switch? I tried starting while in neutral and moving the lever around I did not hear any clicks?