GarrettJ

I work 14 on and 14 off at my job..so i came home on my last days off and noticed that when i started the jeep is seemed kind of weaker while cranking before it started..well a few days ago before i came back to work i drove to get breakfast started back when i left and went to the store, when i came out of the store it wouldnt crank at all..everything came on like normal but no crank at all. Tried for a few minutes then walked home to get my brother thinking it needed to be jumped, well when we got back to the jeep i decided to just try one more time before when went through then motions and it cranked up..? ? What the heck was that?..haven't had a chance to look into it cause i had to come to work the next day..any ideas would be appreciated!

C H E R O K E E 98XJ

Does it literally do nothing? Not even a slight click from the solenoid on the starter? If there was a slight click it could be your starter and next time it does the "no crank" get under the Jeep and hit the starter a couple times with a wrench or hammer. If it starts after hitting then it is most likely your starter.
On the other hand, if it acts normal and then just does absolutely nothing when you turn the key then it may be your Neutral Safety Switch (NSS) which can be taken off of the tranny and cleaned or replaced.

C H E R O K E E 98XJ

Forgot to add above:

When it fails to crank again you can also try shifting the tranny to neutral and start it. (Move back to park, try it, move back to neutral, try it etc.) The NSS gets dirty inside and the contacts do not contact very well which would make it think the Jeep is not in park or neutral to start up.

jmrec100

If nothing , It's the NSS, Neutral Safety Switch. It's a bugger when it happens. There's a post all about it. In a bind, can jump the B-C on the NSS connector to get by. But find out what's wrong first. Hit the starter, starts. It's probably bad as Cherokee says. Get it tested before just buy parts if you think it's the starter.

here's a thread about the NSS.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f5/no-...sories-192015/

RTorrez1

First thing is make sure that your battery is fully charged. I say this because you said it "seemed kind of weaker while cranking before it started" also make sure that the batter terminals are clean and tight. While you are at it clean all of the grounding points. Yes try the other things the the guys suggested too. YOu can have the battery load tested at any parts store for free. Just because you have 12 volts at the battery doesn't mean that it doesn't have a bad cell causing your problem. A weak battery can cause a lot of the symptoms that you have mentioned.

GarrettJ

Yeah the battery looks like crap..has been my intention to go get it load tested..ill also take a look for the nss and report back what i find