98 ZJ 4.0L

OK, this thing ran fine and always started the last two years in my driveway.. would occasionally start it. It's the replacement vehicle for my XJ.

Late last summer i gave it a complete tuneup, oil/filter and transfer flush. It ran after this.

During the winter my son needed to get his Jeep closer to the garage for a cord to reach and he moved my ZJ back closer to garage. He left the ignition on and rig in neutral.. killed the battery.

I put in the batt from my rig, and all i get is the click at solenoid. Wont turn over, gauges do nothing, power windows will not function. Cleaned terminals and no improvement.

Just swapped ASD relay with ac clutch relay.. no difference.

Think it's possible the starter fried with the ign on for god knows how long?

Whats your thought? I'd like to get this running so i can move it and get to work on my camp trailer.

 

Does the starter itself make any noise?Sounds like the batt is dead or you have a bad connection on the battery.Even if the starter was bad the gauges and everything should still respond.

 

The batt starts my rig fine. I just get a click at the solenoid indicating insufficient voltage.. right?

What puzzles me is dead gauges.. nothing on the volt gauge.

 

something could be wrong in the column? is the key really worn? I have had issues with my toyota cressida where I can unlock the column but none of the gauges came on. maybe something like that is happening here. did you check all the fuses?
does the security system work differently from an early model? wondering if it is that. Mine flashes the head lights though and will crank over and almost start if I dont reset the alarm.

 

I doubt something just happened to go wrong in my column at the same time the key was left on.

Let me update on the gauges: I get the chimes, the lights at bottom of cluster go on and then off as normal. Just no indications from fuel, volts, etc.

 

Have you had the gauge cluster out lately?If so then maybe you didn't reconnect it securely.Might have had something come loose.

 

Just found my issue... loose positive at starter. Thanks guys.. should have checked that earlier.

I hooked charger to the original batt, then checked the pos cable by pushing at the starter.. it rotated slightly and i went and tried to start it. It turned over very slow and then started clicking again. I'm confident that cleaning and tightening batt cable at starter will fix this with a charged battery.

I have another question however..

I have a Chrysler keyfob with this Jeep. It only has lock and unlock doors buttons along with a panic. Is this typical of the ZJ's without a factory alarm system? I get no blinking headlights etc when batt is reconnected so i'm assuming i dont have the security.

 

Thats all my fob has on it. When I lock the doors with the fob it sets the alarm. I get a honk of the horn and a blinking light on the dash. When I lock it with the key the alarm is not set. When I unhook and rehook my battery it doesn't honk flash lights or anything. Get a build sheet for it and it will tell you if it came with alarm along with everything else.

 

I get no "security" flash on gauge cluster when i turn ignition on.. unlike the wifes ZJ which does.

It's cranking over strong now, have fuel but no spark. Gonna grab a CPS next.

 

My security light is up on top of the dash diectly in front of the driver. I don't have a security light in the dash cluster. It only comes on when I lock the doors with the fob.

 

Got back on this again yesterday..

Replaced the CPS.. no start.

Today i replaced the ignition coil.. no start.

Thought maybe i fuel fouled the plugs, swapped new set in. No start..

Swapped starter and ASD relays.. no start

I do have fuel pressure, released pressure and turned on ignition to reprime rail. Good pressure when depressing schrader valve. I noticed the fuel gauge low icon, so i dumped in 4 fresh gallons. No start..

What else can it be? What could have been damaged by leaving the key on a few weeks and totally discharging battery?

Working alone so i cant verify spark at the moment... need to wait till someone gets home.

Any ideas?

 

pull the battery cables out of the heat shield and check them all the way down.

 

So right now, its cranks slowly and then you get the clicking like its a dead battery? I know this is random but maybe more details will be needed. With the ket left on for so long, you could have drained and warped the plates inside the battery causing an internal short INSIDE the battery. Maybe even cause a reverse polarity. Did you try swapping out the battery from another vehicle.
See things dont loosen from being parked and the key left on. Give it a try. Dont try jumping the battery, just swap it from another car or try a new battery.

 

For what?



I trashed that old battery that was in when the key was left on. Installed the Optima frm my rig.. cranks over strong. Still no start..

 

[QUOTE=OverlandXJ;669141]For what?





Check for Burnout or decay of the insulation. This is cheap and easy and can easily mask starter problems.