1995 jeep cheerokee 4wd 4.0l 6cyl This morning we went to fill up and the gas station we used didnt have an auto-stop when the tank is full, so when the tank was full the gas continued to spill out. shortly after, we started it and then we parked again in the same lot and it wouldnt start. the key goes foward i can feel the pauses in the tumbler so i know its good, the cables are good,the battery is fine it just turns forward and does not try to even crank over. almost like an anti-theft would do. any suggestions im pretty mechanically inclined i woud like to think but im baffled

 

here, i made this just for you:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/non...writeup-71401/

 

try starting your jeep in neutral.

you may need to hold the ignition in the crank position, then slightly move the shifter around in the neutral position till you hear it start to crank.

 

Check any connections to your starter. Or like he said, try and crank it with the tranny in different positions. Your TS could be off, or bad.

 

Good write-up!! Especially for the guys who haven't been around cars for as many years as on old fart like me. My neutral switch got finicky a few months ago and I didn't feel like reworking it. People looked at me funny when I'd get out of the Jeep with a screwdriver, open the hood, stick the screwdriver down on the passenger side of the engine compartment and the engine would start.

I finally decided it would be a good idea to fix it when some guy at Home Depot thought I was stealing the vehicle. I was afraid the cop wouldn't understand what I was doing, either.

 

haha thanks man

 

Ok so I've got this problem too. However I tried the screwdriver method, but it did not work, it just sparked. So where do I go from here. I was told to check the ignition switch or relay and the starter relay and the nns. Ant ideas? Thanks.

 

if the screwdriver method didn't work, your starter is shot.

 

Ok update. Screwdriver method worked only for the motor. I could hear it spinning just wouldn't engage. Here's what we did, key was in the on position and I bridged the positive and negative poles of the starter. Again, all spin no engaging. Thanks for the quick reply dukie. (post *****) ahem...... But really all help is greatly appreciated, this is our daily driver with minimum wage salaries. All help is great! Thanks.

 

Pull your starter off and take a look. May have issues with the Bendix. Autozone will test and inspect it for free.

Really easy to take off two bolts and a positive and negative.

Something is wrong I would think if it spins but doesn't crank the engine.

You can all use a BFF and see if that helps.

 

Just buy a new starter

 

That was a worthless reply.

I guess with people with disposable incomes it is easier to do Part Changing troubleshooting isn't it.

Me I would much rather figure out what is wrong and replace the part Once.

 

you don't have a neg on the starter. it's grounded by mounting bolt.

you have a pos wire from battery and a signal wire from the starter relay.

and a wire from the solenoid.

i think you were jumping the wrong bolts/wires.

i do it all the time with my 93 when holding the key in start position while wiggling the shifter in neutral fails.

try again. just make sure the key is on and jeep is in park.

 

I never said I had a disposable income? I have 0 income at the moment actually...

But anyway. Here is this. Grab your DVOM and crawl under there and get a buddy to crank it over. It might help to have some jumper leads. Check the control circuit, which is from posi on the battery to the ignition post on the starter and crank. If there is more than a drop of .5v, then you can conclude either the relay or solenoid are bad. If this checks under a half a volt then you are okay. Next check the ground circuit... which is from negi battery to the case of the starter. Should read 0v. When cranking should be .2v or less. If more, something in the ground circuit is bad. And lastly the power circuit which is from posi on batter to battery terminal on starter. If its .2 or more while cranking, something therw is dropping too much voltage.

 

Just touching on what others have said,
I had problems with the NSS on my 92 XJ AW4 and I used to put it in park and rock the jeep back and forth a few times. It seemed to get the job done lol.

Another reason as to why your Jeep isn't starting is probably a starter related issue. If you feel up to it, pull your starter out and take it apart. My guess is you have a bad shift fork.