So I was just a a buddies house and my Cherokee wont start, it tried at first but it struggled. It has struggled more and more the last 5 or so times i tried starting it and now nothing. we tried jumping it and charging the battery but its not the battery, thats fine. it clicks through the fuse block under hood and then next to the battery , the cylinder. is that the celenoid? it clicks and when I unblug the wiring harness nothing

does this sound like celenoid or starter?

Sounds like your starter is going going dead.

how much will that run me and how hard to switch out?

Couple hundred bucks or so for the starter.Its only a couple of bolts to get it off.Just make sure that you disconect the battery first.

You can get a starter at most auto parts places for like $60 or a junkyard one for $15..I got lucky and found one that looked like it was brand new on a Cherokee at my local junkyard..I guess whoever junked the Jeep had changed the starter hoping it would fix whatever was wrong and that turned out not to be the problem...It`s an easy change just a couple of bolts holding it on...You can try starting it directly with jumper cable straight to the starter bypassing the solenid.

huh, by auto local auto stores do you mean napa or carquest or something? does it sound like the starter if its just clicking once every time i turn the key on.

so the starter and celenoid are mounted together? when I was trying to start it, you could hear clicking all the way through the fuse block and then to that cylinder mounted rite by the battery, that chicked once. what is that piece?

Eeeehhh, all that money...

oK so what is this piece? the circular one in every pic? is this the celenoid seperate from starter?

oh and do I need a specific starter off another jeep at a junk yard or can I pull one off of something else?

That is your cruise control vacuum motor.
Your starter relay is under the black cover near that.
The solenoid is attached to the starter motor (smaller circular).
You need a cherokee starter.
But first what does it exactly do?
A, nothing
B, clicks but no cranking
C, cranks but slow
D, cranks but doesn't start.

This is what the starter looks like. Can't remember where I got this picture but I give credit to the poster.

If you hear the solenoid clicking when you try to start, you are getting power to the solenoid. You may just need new contacts in the solenoid. Take it to an auto electric shop and see. Should not cost too much. If new starter needed, Autozone has lifetime warranty on starters. I have replace one under warranty. They just give you a new starter.

To find the starter follow the red battery cable. It attaches to the starter.

the past 5 times I started it, it was really slwly turning over and starting, it sounded like almost dead battery, but thats not it, my battery is fine. now it clicks once when I turn the key. I could feel it clicking all the way through the fuse block. and it clicked in that vaccum after that. that was the only clim im pretty sure it wasnt from down where the starter is.

what is the orientation of that pic? down through hood or from underneith?

and how do you make new contacts? what does that mean?

so to try jumping the starter would I take my jumpers and hook them up to my batter and then positive to the obvious positive (where the hot comes in) and then negative to the other?

I have lost about 5 starters in vehicles over the last few years and have a method for testing them.

1. Hit the starter with a hammer or the like.
Not hard, but not too soft. When starters start to go, they tend to corrode a bit and this helps knock off any build up on there. Now try to turn it over. If that fixes it, your starter is going bad and will need a replacement in the next month or so.

2. Arc the solenoid.
Take a old screwdriver by the handle and arc the terminals on the solenoid. use the above pic to choose which to arc across. It'll spark, so be ready, but if that works, it is some sort of relay.

3. If neither of those works, buy a starter and solenoid.
Replace both, if one is going bad, the other is soon to follow. It'll be less than 100 bucks and you will have a lifetime warranty and never need to spend another buck on them. Swapping out shouldn't be hard. (My old Pathfinder's V6 was so crammed in the compartment that you had to remove the whole intake system to get to it. 4.0L's are nice and easy to get around.)

It's not a tough task, and a good one to understand how to do.