I have a 2004 Jeep Grand cherokee limited V8 4.7. A couple of weeks ago my jeep started failing to crank everytime when i turned the key. I would turn it a couple of times and it would finally start. My first thought was the starter. But yesterday on a the advice of a friend I tried wiggling the steering wheel back and forth when I had a start failure. Sure enough, starts everytime after turning the wheel back and forth on a start failure. I just hold the ignition in the cranking position and turn the wheel back and forth with decent force and then it starts. My question is, what is wrong? What part do I need to replace? Any help is much appreciated.

 

Okay, my guess is there's a broken or loose wire in the ignition switch harness where it goes past the tilt wheel mechanism. If the PO was a large person, they may have had to tilt up the wheel every time they got into and out of the jeep, putting stress on the harness. This is merely a guess on my part. However, it's a place to start.