Hey all, have an 03 WJ with 155,000 miles. Went to start it after work today, it unlocked fine, turned the key and nothing. No crank no start. Instrument cluster went a little haywire, but just needles going back and forth. I turned the key again and it cranked once then nothing. On the final attempt i heard the starter click but nothing else. So i thought battery, jumped it and it started but as soon as the idle leveled off at about 500rom, it just died. It did this 2 times before i stomped on the gas and it stayed running. I got about 5 feet and it died again. I then disconnected the negative terminal for about 2 minutes, reconnected it and it started up with a jump and ran fine. I replaced the crank sensor about a year ago. The only thing i could see wrong on the old one was oil buildup from a leaking valve cover. Would it be possible for that to be interfering again or does anyone have any pointers for diagnosing the issue? I'm all ears for any suggestions. If it matters its started up twice since not starting but I'm waiting for the issue to return

Thanks,

Nick

 

Sounds to me like bad battery cable connections. It started after you removed and replaced the negative cable. Check to make sure everything is clean and bright and is actually clamping tight. Just because the bolt is tight doesn't mean it's got a good connection. Those lead ends stretch and lose holding power.

 

Thanks for your reply. I went to start it this morning for work and it was dead again. Jumped it got to work and later in the day put a tester on it. Sure enough the battery only read 8.3 volts, so id say that's a problem. The tester came back with a bad cell, changed the battery and its started up every time since! I'll take a $125 battery over more expensive issues any day of the week

 

Do ya know what's funny? I just read your description of your WJ and it was like looking in the mirror, except for being 2 years newer. The only thing different is I'm now rolling on BFG Rugged Terrain A/T's. My Grabbers wore out too quickly for my tastes. Tenacious in the snow, however.

BTW, your rear axle is a D35, not a "c". You don't have any c-clips to remove to pull an axle. Check out wjjeeps.com

 

Same color and all? Hopefully you don't have the same rust spots I have! The generals are great, loud as they wear but I haven't gotten stuck yet, even with all that snow we had over the winter. Mine have almost 40,000 miles on them and they still have half tread left. As for the rear axle, when I first got on this forum I was slightly less educated, and only had my old xj in mind. Now I'm just too lazy to update. Heck I haven't even changed the wheel seals yet! But that's another issue for another day. Thanks again

Nick

 

Here's mine. It came from western PA.

No rust yet, 171K miles.