My 92 XJ starter is not responding.
Battery is good.
How do I tell if solenoid or starter?
If original; starter best to rebuild original or buy rebuilt or new?
Thanks

 

Have you tried jumping the starter ?

 

Your starter solenoid will have 3 connections. Two big ones and 1 small one. One big one comes from your battery and will have the big red battery cable on it. The other big one goes to the starter motor. The small one is the "trigger" wire that comes from the ignition switch (goes through the NSS and the starter relay).

First, make sure your NSS is good. Try starting it in neutral. Also, with the key OFF, move your shifter back and forth through the range a few times, then try again. You can also use a VM (or noid light) to test for 12V at the small terminal when the key is turned to START with the shifter in PARK or Neutral. No voltage, again points to a wiring/relay issue. Be careful not to jump across the 2 large terminals or jump the battery terminal to ground.

You can also jump from the battery post to the small post on the solenoid. This will energize the solenoid and should spin the starter and crank the engine. It's important to do this with the key off and in park. This will bypass the NSS, relay, ign switch and all other wiring. You should hear a loud click. If it fails to crank, then it something with the starter or the solenoid. If it does crank, you can try with the key in the RUN position, make sure you're in PARK. If it runs, then it's a wiring issue.

One last thing is to use a hammer or other heavy tool to tap on the starter body itself. Not like you're pounding a big nail. Sometimes the brushes in the starter motor stick and a few taps can spring them free. If this works, your starter is going.

 

Take the starter off and head to the parts store. They usually have a machine that can test. I always recommend getting a "new" one with a lifetime warranty if possible.

 

be aware that even taking the starter out will not prove out a bad solenoid, this has happened to me twice, took the ****er out, spun good on a battery

so I assume it was a bad solenoid in both cases, they can be bought seperately, at least for the '96 model

Luckily I have 2 x spare '96, and I bought a quality NOS starter motor of a forum member who had sold his XJ

 

Wow, thanks for the great answer. Turns out all i needed to do was wiggle the trans lever and it started right up!
1,000 thanks!

 

Look forward to your future post titled “Turns over doesn’t start.”

 

If its an auto, its probably the NSS switch is all corroded inside.

This is a very common issue which can be fixed by removing the NSS, dismantle and clean, there is many Youtubes

If that is your problem, it will gradually get worse