Hi Everyone, I'm trying to figure out ALL possible causes of continued starter failure on my 88 XJ limited. I've put 3 rebuilt starters in and they have all failed after about a month. I've replaced the battery, so that's not it. Some of the copper on the battery cables is exposed near the terminals and I've been told various things by mechanics--most think they're ok, and 1 thinks it may be the cause. I'm also thinking maybe the voltage regulator is bad? Should I just get a new alternator? I've looked into the typical causes of starter failure but am not a mechanic so I could be overlooking something, or maybe there is something specific to XJ's that I am not aware of that you guys with much more experience can cue me in on. Most mechanics by me say it's just a bad starter, but I highly doubt that. I'm having my engine rebuilt soon but would first like to get this starter issue taken care of. Please help! Thanks!

 

Can you describe the failures??

 

After about a month or so the starter doesn't work, i.e. doesn't start the Jeep, just gives the ticking sound. I put a new one in and it works fine until about another month or so later.

 

Start by cleaning ALL of the grounding points. One bad ground can cause a lot of elect problem including no start conditions.

 

Ok cool, thanks, will do. If you can list any other possible causes that would be great. I want to try to investigate and correct any possible issues all at one time. I'm sick of buying starters and occasionally getting stranded when the good ol' tap doesn't work. Thanks.

 

Where are you getting your starters?......RR

 

If the copper is exposed, the corrosion is already at work. Replace both battery cables, they are cheap.

 

Click on the pink link" in my signature. Do post 1 thoroughly.

 

Thanks for the great info everyone. I was hoping it was a simple part swap, but it looks like, besides a possible battery cable replacement, it just needs a good cleaning. I just wish I could tell if what I do works before buying a new starter, but it doesn't go until a month later, so I guess I'm SOL and should just keep at it. I'll do the cables and ground refreshing and hopefully that will do the trick.

Question: while I figure out if I've solved the problem, would you guys suggest getting a used starter for like $30 off of ebay to save a few bucks? How long will a typical starter last? A new one goes for about $55 right now so it's not a big savings, but if I have to go through a couple more before I finally get it solved it will start to add up.

Thanks again!

(And by the way, I've been getting the starters from Autozone...they've replaced them all for free so far, but they're getting suspicious, so I doubt I'll be able to do that anymore. But I highly doubt I've been given 3 bad starters.)

 

Do post 1 in my links before spinning your wheels any more.

 

I once had a no start on my 88 kind of like this. I was working on my xj and accidentally placed a wrench on top of both terminals. Sparked and crap you expect and quickly took the wrench off. I noticed that I couldn't start my jeep after. I would turn the key but the second the starter tried to engage all the electronic stuff stoped working like a dead battery. So I took the terminals off the posts brushed them up and wala, it started. I then started getting intermittent no starts like the one above. So I took my terminals off the battery cables and when I dropped that wrench it pretty much melted the copper wires together. Don't know why that would cause a no start but new 2ga. Cables and nice lead terminals did the trick.
Good luck