I have to turn the key on and get under the hood and push a broken starter relay to get my Cherokee to start. I have tried a new starter relay and that doesn't work. I have also had a neutral switch replaced. I have been told that it is probably wiring somewhere between the key and the relay. I have also been having trouble with my battery gauge fluctuating. When I am driving it shows the battery fully charged but when I am stopped at a stop sign it drops down into the red. It also drops when I turn on the a/c or the heat. I don't know if these two problems are related. Any suggestions?

 

If you have to push the starter relay, I would think that, if it is not the relay itself, then it would have to be the wires right there where the relay goes into. I mean, you are not moving wires or anything, so it has to be right there?

Jusy my 2 cents, hope it helps or helps someone get a little more specific.

 

Sounds like the coil on the relay is not getting power to pull it in. Have you
checked for a blown fuse? Pull the relay and check (with a meter) that you
are getting voltage to the coil side, if you are check that it's grounded.
It should get voltage when the key is turned to start only.

 

Yeah I had a guy with a meter check everything and it all showed good. All my fuses are fine also.

 

In the photo, the empty spot next to the relay looks like it has dirt or maybe mud all over it. Some even looks like it was wiped away.

Is it possible that dirt is keeping the relay in question from making good contact with the fuse box connections?

Sometimes those connectors need to be crimped a little, to make the connection tight enough.

This can be true with any blade type connector.

 

good eye, Buckshot, i totally looked over that, and that would be the simplist and cheapest fix. I wonder if he ever figured it out???

 

Ditto. Did you verify that you are actually getting power with the key in the start position? You will have power to one leg, but only power to pull the coil to another with the key in the start position. If you only have power at one leg, that's your problem.

 

Hey thanks for the info and advice. I haven't had much time to do anything the past couple of weeks. My wife has been in the hospital. I think I am going to start working on it next week and get this problem over with.

 

UPDATE: I had been having trouble with my battery gauge moving up and down into the red like crazy as I would drive and stop. I had just put in a new alternator but apparently it was bad. I took it out and had it tested. It failed. So put a new one in and my charge is good. I also went and got a new starter relay. I had also tried a new one of those before and it did not work. I picked up the latest one at O'Reillys and it looks totally different than the one the Dodge place gave me. I don't think the guy behind the counter at the Dodge place knew what he was doing. As of now the Jeep is turning over fine and running at a good charge.