tomerall

I have a 95 cherokee sport 4.0, wont start. just got a new battery, new rotor and distributor, new crank sensor, fuel lines are good, sparks are working, no check engine codes after fixing these things, but still no turnover. its cranking and trying to get started and all, but nothing. i've done over 1300 in repairs since i got it 8 months ago and I'd hate to see it die so soon! any suggestions?

Tural

tps, iac. did u check those? btw, what do u mean trying to get started? will it start if you floor it and keep it cranking?

HCCAFan

Fuel pressure?

tomerall

no, idunno about the tps, the fuel pressure if fine, the starter is fine too. it cranks for about 3-4 seconds but no turnover when you hit the gas. the car used to not start on the first try, but a secondd later or so i'd try it again and if i got nothing id hit the gas a bit and that always worked. this has been a gradual problem and since its gotten colder its much worse, could just be coincidental tho, cause it wouldnt start in the garage after a few hours. what i started having to do was turn the car electric on, wait about 30-40 minutes, try and start it and after about 15-20 it'd start. it takes 2-3 hours plus and a lot of luck to get it started now. ugh

Tural

take off the throttle body, take off all of the sensors and clean it really well, especially in the IAC part. if the IAC itself is really dirty, clean it up. that should be your first step.

Kmart164

Make sure the distributor was stabbed correctly. You may be a few teeth off. That's exactly what happend to me.

tomerall

just kidding, the cars turning over, just not starting (im not very mechanically literate). also, i had just bought a new battery about a week or two ago, i haven't tried to start it or anything for a few days, and the battery was dead today. any possible connection to the starting issue there?

tjwalker

You need to adopt a methodical, testing-based strategy of determining root cause for any no-start.

#1 is to verify your battery. LOAD TEST it. If that fails, replace it. You must be certain that you have a good battery that is FULLY charged before trying to start your engine.

After battery, verify spark. Pull a spark plug, keep it attached to the plug wire, place the plug electrode near a good engine ground, have a buddy crank the engine while you watch. You are looking for a strong, blue, snapping spark. Yellow/orange/white indicates a weak spark which may not be strong enough to start the engine.

If spark checks out, spray a small amount of starting fluid into the intake. If the engine starts and runs with this technique, you have just verified a fuel delivery problem.

Determining whether the problem is spark, fuel, or BOTH is absolutely necessary in narrowing the suspect list.

Oh and you should post in the tech. section for best response.

Good luck!