Alright so here's the skinny. Been having a weak start with the XJ lately but got it started with ease this morning. Nothing to be too alarmed about.

Then I'm going to go to the car wash and I insert the key turn it over and woosh all my lights are out and I don't get a crank or anything.

So I figure it could be the battery...right? Wrong.

Tried to jumpstart it and it wouldn't go. So I ripped that yellowtop optima out and toted it up to autozone to have it tested and what do ya know the battery tested good. It's perfect. It should be...I bought it monday.

I don't think it would be the starter because I'm not getting power. It would be the starter if I was getting power and it wouldn't start.

Then I'm wondering how it could be the alternator since well my battery is fully charged and that must mean it's recharging.

I'm at a total loss and to be honest I'm a little pissed since I just got it two weeks ago. Now I have 2 vehicles that won't start instead of 1.

Thanks for the help.

Check the Power Distribution Center under the hood. That black plastic box, about 3"x 10" long, hinged on the long side. It contains relays, circuit breakers, and fuses. On mine, the under-side of the lid is marked with contents description.

What should I be looking for? Blown fuses? I'm going to run down and go check it out right now.

Alright I pulled off the cover to the fusebox and all the fuses that are in there look to be good but I noticed that the ABS SOL, ABS MOTOR fuses were missing and also ABS light fuse was missing as well as some of the smaller fuses that don't have descriptions included. I'm a little lost here. I've got no idea about electric systems pretty much.

I wish this was a change this part and it be fixed problem but until I can figure what is wrong I have no clue where to go from here.

You probably don't have abs so that is why those fuses are missing.

Also check that the fuses under the dash are all good.

Do you have ANY power?

In the PDC, check the "engine starter motor relay". Also, My WJ has an IOD (ignition off draw) connector in slot #15 that if removed acts just as you're seeing. I don't know if you have that, but it's marked 50A if you do. It carries a lot of amps, so if it went bad it could be your problem. Sorry I don't have a diagram of xj's on here. Still trying to come up with something else if that doesn't help.

have you checked to make sure you have a good ground to the vehicle. you may have a new battery but a old ground or some blown fuses even a bad connection in the fuse box could cause this

I checked grounds to engine block, battery, and body. Body ground was nothing. Checked all the fuses in the box and they are all receiving power and are good.

Alright I went back down and I think the body ground might be good. I was checking it on the painted surface and I switched to a ground where the dufus before me has his wiring grounded too.

Anyone have any ideas on where to go from here?

how tight are the connections to the battery? are the cables in good shape?
find a wire thats constant 12 volts and test with with a volt meter of some sort and see how much voltage it is getting. have you done any wiring of anykind before this happend?

No I didn't do any wiring but I removed some. Mind you this was wiring the previous owner wired in for aftermarket junk. It was a bad job of wiring and served no purpose. I traced all the wiring to ensure I wasn't clipping vital wiring. And it started just as it did before after I removed it.

Voltage is good on all grounds and all fuses. I'm thinking that even though the battery cables don't look too terrible they ought to be replaced.



That's the previous battery but it shows the connectors. I think those connectors are kinda cheesy. Maybe someone with a little more expertise can chime in on whether they're bad or not.

Those battery cables are junk! Get you some good ones so that you won't be stranded somewhere next time it decides not to start.

Would it be okay to buy some cheapies until I can get some ordered? Seems like none of the part stores around here actually carry high quality cables.

Oh and I made sure to check that 50A. It's good.

That's what I would do if new end's cure your starting problem then you could buy new cables

Sounds like a plan.