ok so im new to grand cherokees but i my friend she took he grand cherokee muddin a few days ago and got it pretty muddy then just this morning it wouldnt start. at first i thought it was the alternator but she has 14 volts and everything turns on fine. it wont crank over or even try to. it sounds like it might be the starter or starter solenoid because it spins but doesnt connect to the flywheel to crank it over. Thanks in advance.

 

If you're hearing the starter/bendix gear spinning but it's not engaging the flywheel then your starter solenoid could be spent or maybe the starter got jam packed with mud and debris. It could just be a broken wire down at the starter though so a close inspection is definitely in order.

I'm curious about one thing, you didn't mention removing the alternator for testing so how did you check it and come to the conclusion it's putting out 14 volts if you can't get the engine started?

 

im not an expert but i have had alternators go out before and the battery gauge never dropped and after sitting all day we went to it and put key in gauges all lit up and still had 14 volts like normal. and we tryed jumping it to see if it was the alternator cuz when u jump a car with bad alternator it will still start up but we just got the same thing. i will be doing a better inspection within the next few days since i had limited time when i was at it yesterday. thanks for the advice to check if its packed with mud

 

could be mudd on the starter. Same thing happened to me. I went mudding then the next day it wouldent start.

I took off the starter and cleaned it up, wiped off the connections and put it back on. It fired right up. i later invested in a started cover