Your knock sensor or CPS might be bad also and both of those have a part in the ignition of the jeep... atleast on the renixs they do.

 

+1 on the crank position sensor...

 

No..please don't give info that isn't correct. If the CPS was bad, the engine would crank but not fire. The OP has a no crank situation.

 

Tighten the battery connections. #1 no-start condition on planet earth.

I know you checked...check them again. If you have some power but no-start, the lead-to-lead connection is not strong enough to pass the kind of amperage that the starter needs. In most cases, you won't even get a solonoid click...just nothing. A jump won't help, crossing switch wires won't help.

A half-inch wrench and five minutes. Don't freak out on tightening the bolts and don't put excessive leverage pressure on the top of the battery - they are plastic and won't take the abuse. Just a solid connection with maybe 10 - 15 pounds of torque on the bolt, max.

 

I had the same issue as you, and this is what solved it. On a side note, if your battery terminls are correded, pour steaming hot water on them, it helps clean it up for a better connection

 

I don't know what to tell you, I didn't have crank at all or a click but all my electronics came on. Someone told me the CPS so I replaced it and cranked and turned over first try... Just offering ideas to research..

 

What he said, have had the same problem, the NSS is on the side of the trans and could either be bad or out of adjustment

 

Thought I would share my story as it might be helpful. Had I looked on this board years ago it would have saved me a lot of grief.

It short, took about 5+ years to solve my NSS problem.

0. Only in hind sight did I discover this was part of the beginning of my issues. Went to the dealership to get a new bumper after ordering an after market bumper that was horrible. Car did not start. Paid dealership to fix it. Guy was able to start it after we pushed it into the bay. $80 to basically clean battery terminals that were pretty clean but who knew it started after that right. That night no start in parking lot - late. Replaced starter in parking lot. No start - crap. Half hour later it started. No issues for months.

1. Occasionally, once a month, would not start when the weather got really cold. (umm, to us down here that would be freezing or below ... but it rarely gets below freezing.) That went on for about 2 years. So maybe a half dozen no starts. It would start after doing what amounted to a bunch of voodoo stuff like fiddling with battery cables, thinking that might be the cause.

2. The next year more no starts when it got cold and then the occasional no start when it was hot. Finally discovered moving the shifter would help. I thought this was more voodoo until later.

3. Year 4 - Started to discover the link between moving the shifter. Move the shifter through the positions and it would start. Again, not much more than a dozen times did this happen.

4. Year 5 - December cold and more frequent no starts. Discovered this forum. Cleaned NSS. Seemed to correct the problem.

5. Year 5.5 - Summer. No starts became so frequent I was having to plan around them - ok, what if my car does not start can someone help me. Went back to thinking jiggling cables was the issue as after that I could get the car to start. Also thought lifting the hood to let the car cool down was a cure - again voodoo. Starter tested fine. Battery fine. Still no starts continued. A mobile repair guy looked at the starter while at the auto parts store- no problem. Oh, wait see how this piece on the starter moves. Replaced starter. Cleaned NSS switch

6. Year 6 - No start (period). Bought new NSS switch. Problem solved.

I hope this helps ... someone. Intermittent problems are a pain.

 

I've had that issue with alot of jeeps. it's usually the neutral safety switch, or even simpler...the battery terminals are coroded and make contact only well enough to turn your accessories on.

 

I had a no crank problem just last week so I replaced the knocck sensor and it started right up first try.

 

how did you diagnose that?

 

In order to get a good start you need a good battery, good battery cables, a good ground, and a good ignition starting circuit.

Have your battery load tested to make sure it is good. Clean your battery cable connections and make sure they tight. Make sure all connectionn are tight. The starter makes a contact ground when it is installed. If all this is good, you can jump the solenoid termimal at the starter and the starter should engage. If no starter action, you may have a bad starter.

The ignition circuit also has to be good. When you turn the key to start, battery voltage goes from the starter relay to the starter solenoid terminal and the starter engages. The NSS provides a path to ground only when in the park and neutral position. With this path to ground the engine starter relay is able to activate and send voltage to the starter solenoid.

Try moving your shifter thru all the gears and try starting in park and neutral. This sometimes gets the NSS right and the engine will start.

If the NSS is bad nothing happens. Disconnect the small starter solenoid wire. The engine will not turn over with this wire disconnected. Attach a voltmeter and have someone turn the key to start. You should read battery voltage. If no voltage you found your problem: a fault in the starting circuit. Probably a bad NSS the usual suspect.

For anyone having starter issues, doing a voltage test at the starter solenoid wire helps determine where to look.