i have an 89 cherokee. recently it started having problems starting. couple weeks ago, it turned over just fine, i drove it about twenty miles, tried to start it again, and it would barely turn over, once it was running, i left it runnin all day, thinking it was the battery, since i was showing it was charging. now, i turn the key and nothin, maybe a click. i put a full charge on the battery and nothing, i took the battery in for testing, tested good but low charge. i came home, jumped my daily driver battery directly to the jeeps pos and neg cables, no jeep battery involved, still nothing. anyone have any ideas what it could be?????

i also replaced the starter solenoid cuz it was funky, didnt make a difference and the starter tests good.

on the positive cable on the jeep, it y's off-one goes to the starter, the other goes to what look like a big relay? could that be the failing part?

 

Bang on your starter with a hammer, lightly while somebody else tries to crank it, if this frees the starter, get a new starter, or carry a hammer and a friend everywhere

 

we had tried that and thats when i found a loose terminal on the starter solenoid, so i pulled the starter and replaced the solenoid and had it tested three times, all passing. looks like my year does have a starter solenoid, im kinda tinking this could be the falure, any yays or nays?

 

Well I have an 89 as well, and the solenoid is right on the starter, you say you replaced it already. A new starter is cheap, and will put your mind to rest. If it dont work, ship the new starter to me and ill hold onto it for ya...

 

new starter was $80 plus another $32 core charge, not all that cheap. solenoid was $20, hard to throw away parts when they show they work, if this relay doesnt solve it i guess i will have to throw money away and go with starter, ive also bought new in the past and had it be the failure, new doesnt necassarily mean its gonna work.

 

Try your local jy,I find new or almost new items all the time,just bought a starter the other day for a spare and it was just put on, $20,bought a spare radiator for $25 and it was so almost new,if you know what to look for there can be gold mines in the jy,the clunker program put alot of xjs in the jy and many were in great shape.

 

FYI when I say new I rarely mean got to the parts store, I mean go to the JY, new to you