i have a 2001 XJ.
Recently, my Jeep has times where it doesn't want to start. It's only done it a couple of times where it won't turn over or anything.
Initially I thought I left something on but after my dad looked it over, he said he thinks I need a new battery terminal.
It was starting fine for a while but, on the way to work the other day, the check gauges light went on and my battery gauge was at 19! I shut it down and tried to restart it but, nothing.
I wiggled some battery cables around, nothing and than when I went to go lock it up to leave it til I could get it home, my headlight ding was working when I opened the door and it started up.

Long story short, my terminals look fine. Wiggling the terminal for 20 minutes didn't do anything and I'm thinking it could be a wiring issue with a ground or wiring harness but, I didn't want to bring it up to my master mechanic dad without other opinions!

I'm supposed to take it up north in a week and I want to fix it before I try to get it up there.
Thanks guys

 

I agree with the battery terminal diagnosis. My sister's jeep had the exact same problem last week with the same symptoms and it was the positive terminal connector. It looked fine on the outside and was tight but when I cut it off, the first couple of inches of wire had turned to a white powder from corrosion. I would start by replacing both terminal connectors.

 

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Tuck your tail between your legs and change the terminals or better yet, the entire cable set. The 97-01 cable set was crap to begin with, and even worse after a couple of years.

 

Why would you wiggle the terminal for 20 minutes before deciding that was not your problem? I would think you could have made that deduction in less than 5 minutes.

 

Clean your neutral safety switch and look into your battery wiring