Tried to start my ZJ (loving called The Gringe) this morning in 17F degree weather. Turned over fine, but didn't seem to get fuel. I noticed there was a ticking sound coming from under the hood and it was at the fuse/relay box next to the battery. It eventually stopped and then The Gringe started stumbling to life.

Any ideas what that was all about? I'm new to the Cherokee world so learning all the idiosyncrasies of it.

 

Could have been a sticky relay ticking or the sound from the starter solenoid.
I've currently a semi frozen starter on the Hyundai, go figure, in garage thawing and drying out.
The XJ, buried in snow, fires right up.
Do add some fuel line antifreeze to the tank. Temp changes result in condensation inside the gas tank, fuel sloshes, now water in gas. Injectors are allergic to water. Need the antifreeze in cold conditions. Keeping the tank filled reduces the contamination. With a lot of ethanol mixes at the pumps, the alcohol is already in there.

 

It sounds to me like the PCM wasn't warm enough to keep the ASD relay engaged. Probably due to cold shrink on the connector pins. Next time if this happens, wait with the key on start until it stops clicking, then crank it. I'll bet it fires right up! The ASD relay needs to be engaged to energize the ignition and injector circuits. The fuel pump relay is also a possibility because it's energized at the same time.