zodiac

I have a 95 ZJ with the I6 that refuses to start these past few days.

Here's the breakdown, I turn the key, there's a click in the engine bay and all power to the truck shuts off for a minute or so. The engine doesn't crank, just click and dead as soon as the key gets to "start".

Any suggestions on what this could be? If a relay which one? I'm stumped and need to get this heap running again.

zodiac

Bump?

I double checked my connections at the terminals on the battery and they're crazy tight, pulled and checked the relays in the box up by the battery and all seemed clean and fine. Can anyone hazard a guess as to what might be wrong? Would like my truck back, tired of driving the wife's Kia.

MCosta

Possibly the starter. I had the same problem on my 94 a little over a year ago. Although I have a V8 it had the same symptoms. Turned the key all power and then nothing when I tried to start. Try tapping on the starter with a hammer and then see if it starts. This happened to me while at school and was able to get it started by doing this and got home and then put a new starter in. You could very well still have the OEM started as did I when this happened to me

dave1123

Make sure there is a gap on the ends of the positive (+) battery clamp. If there isn't, the clamp may be stretched enough to feel tight, but not be tight on the battery post. It can be fixed by filing of the ends of the clamping slot or cutting it with a Dremel. OR you can cut it off and go with new clamp. I don't like to do that until the cable gets corroded enough to require it. OR replace the whole cable, seems extreme.

You can check if the cable gets hot after trying to start a couple of times. It's probably tight enough to power the accessories, but won't pull the amps for starting. It's a dead giveaway if everything goes dead when energizing the starter, but comes back on when you release the key.

I say the positive post because that's the smaller one of the two.

zodiac

Thanks guys.

I went out yesterday morning and did exactly Dave suggested, I took off both positive and negative and used a file to totally clean clean the terminals then put them on nice and tight again then coated with Zep battery sealent. Fired right up.

zodiac

Okay, this is ridiculous!

Went to take my kid to the bus stop after weeks of no problems and it's doing it again! Turn key..."click" and total power failure.

Checked the terminals and still nice and tight, no corrosion and sealed up nicely with the corrosion sealant I used. Could it be a relay or something else? I mean, this thing has around 230K miles on it what could be causing this aside from terminal connection as that's tighter than a (insert offensive joke here)?

YEAHTOM

Since you know the battery cables have been an issue in the past start there. Check the connections at the starter. Do you know how to jump power to the starter solenoid? That can help eliminate the cables if it turns over once you give it direct power. If you are not familiar with this do not try it on your own.

dave1123

If the ends of the cable clamp do not have a gap between them where the bolt is, you are running out of clamping force when the bolt is tight. The way to fix it is the remove the bolt and file the ends of the split so there is at least 1/8" to 1/4" between the ends before you reinstall the bolt. When you tighten it on the battery post, don't crank it so tight that the gap disappears. You'll have to spread the gap to get a file in there to start, that's why I said 1/4". I didn't spread mine so I used a Dremel to recut the gap to 1/8". What the problem is is its not tight on the post. It made contact after you cleaned it until it burnt where you cleaned it. The starter draws BUKU amps and needs a good contact. (BUKU is a Vietnamese term meaning "very many")

This problem is most often with the positive (+) clamp because the battery post is smaller in diameter. It may feel tight, but I'd be willing to bet you can pull it off without loosening the bolt. This is a common problem with lead clamps. They stretch. You CAN cut it off and replace it with a tin plated steel one if you want. OR use the old "farmer" trick and stick a copper penny in it. (You have to hammer the penny to make it thinner.)

Do you understand now?

Bustedback

How old is the battery? They don't last forever, you know?

zodiac

I wound up replacing the Clamps altogether since it only cost $6 and after Dave's explanation I realized they were pretty well worn. Plus I figure it can't hurt to have the new clamps seeing as there was some exposed cable where it went into the negative clamp.

Thanks again guys.

Oh and Busted, I replaced the battery shortly after I bought the truck last year.

dave1123

Well, thank you for that! Someone actually heard what I was saying and understood. This problem is not new and has been around since Christ wore diapers. Well, maybe not that long! You haven't seen electrical problems like we used to get with 6 volt systems. Starters drew twice as many amps and got hot quick! Also 2 years on a battery was a long time. Generators wouldn't produce power until spun up more than idle. Just a little bit of corrosion on wiring caused nightmares.

But, I digress. The point is you fixed it.