Engine will not start - help

[BufordJeep]

A buddy of mine has a '90 GW. He was driving for 2-3 hours, stopped to get gas, and couldn't get the vehicle to start. It would not turn over or anything (no clicking, nothing). I thought the battery first (its ok), wiring from the battery to the selonoid (looks ok), fusible links (looks ok), wiring to the starter (looks ok), and the neutral safety switch (have not checked). He is a couple of hours away from me, so I want to have several things to try before driving so far, and not being able to help. Does anyone have any idea? The vechicle cooled down, so I don't think it is the electronic module, but I don't know for certain. Any help or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks

[Mikel2]

If there is no power at all, and there is juice in the battery, maybe the wire that goes from the battery to the main fuse box got loose. Happened to me once and I lost all power...

[reddog]

If the ignition module was at fault it would crank but not start. The fusable link may look ok but still could have failed but something would have shorted to cause that to happen.

Bypass the solenoid with jumper cables to see if it will crank. Neutral switch would be a good guess and bypassing solenoid will crank it then also. Other than taht just the basics. Remove and clean the cables and grounds etc.


Kerry

[Marvin Gates]

That exact thing happened to me, pull the cables off the battery and clean them and be on your way. Its a maybe once in a life time thing. Do the lites come on? if not try this.

[ClarkstonGT]

Mine has an intermittent problem like this from time to time. If you look on the passenger side fender inside the engine bay, there is a small box (I think it is called a starter relay, but I am not sure). It has several wires coming out of it. One wire runs to the starter. One wire comes from the battery. If I jiggle the wires, mine will usually start. Pay particular attention to the wire from the middle of the box. It runs to the starter. Hope this helps.

[JNErotten]

Of course, I really don't have a clue, BUT..
Do the head lights come on? Are they bright? Do they dim down when you try to crank it? The bushings in the starter might be bad. Either way, try tapping the starter with a hammer, hard but don't get carried away, while someone turns the ignition first. That might do the trick.

Hope this Helps,
J

[arter]

Just looked at the Chilton book. Same as what's already been said here. Inspect battery case for cracks & corrosion, ensure good battery cable connections, test the charge of the battery, look for bad connection to ground or bad connection to starter. Then, test relay by connecting jumper from battery post of relay to starter post of relay, if no response, replace the relay. Good hunting.

[BufordJeep]

Thanks everyone. I should have said that the headlights and all work. The battery was just charged a couple of days ago, because the alternator guage was reading at the top of the red area. He tried jump starting someone a day or two ago, and it jumped all the way down to the bottom of the red when the other guy tried jumping his car each time. Therefore he charged it up. I am not sure if there is a selonoid or not on this '90. I see a box like thing where the selonoid goes on the older Jeeps that I tinker with, but this is more like a relay. Can I by pass this with cables? Where do I attach what where? Thanks

[Gladi8r]

Had the same trouble with my 88GW before. Found the cure by accident. Look under the driver side near the trans. There is a wire there that I think goes to the Neutral saftey switch. It came loose and once tightened neve had the problem again. Hope you get it running ok :D

[johnwaynejeep]

First time this happened to me I was freakin out. I thought I killed my jeep. I looked at all the connections and was ready to go buy a new battery when my buddy told me to clean my battery terminals. I felt pretty stupid when it worked. I clean my terminals once a week now or it refuses to start.

[reddog]

If the volt gauge is reading in the red then there is a charging issue going on or a bad gauge. Check those cables/connections and have the alt checked at your local auto chain store.

Some call it a relay, I call it a solenoid. Guess it is a relay. It is on the passinger side wheel well. The positive cable from the battery goes to one terminal, a cable from a terminal on the other side to the starter. Attach jumper cable to the positive battery terminal and then touch the other end of the jumper to the cable that goes to the starter (on the solenoid). If it cranks then suspect the solenoid but first make sure that 12 volts is getting to the solenoid from the ignition switch to trigger it. Use a voltmeter on one of the two (sorry can't recall which) of the small teminals on the relay while someone turns the key to start. I would first pull the cables and clean the connections and reattach. I have seen where the lights work OK but the motor will not crank which was caused by a bad connection at the battery terminal which allowed enough current for lights but not for cranking.

As for the gauge dropping into the red when he was giving someone a jump depends on the situation. If the battery being jumped was totally dead and the Wag was just idling then the dead battery/jumped vehicle cranking would pull more current than an idling Wag would put out. The jumper cables could be crossed or a major short in the jumped vehicle. If this happens check out why and be careful for overheating cables and shorts.

Kerry

[ December 16, 2001: Message edited by: reddog ]

[BufordJeep]

Thanks everyone! She is up an running! I got there and the positive cable was ready to fall off. I cleaned it, tightened it, and ... nothing. Then the wire going to the relay was flopping around coming out of the lead connector to the battery terminal. I fixed that and ... nothing. Tried everything with by passing the relay, to checking all connections for ground, etc. There was even a missing fusible link. I couldn't see the other part of the wire beyond the link, so I fiqured it was long abandoned. Then what to my pleasure did I see when I crawled under the Jeep. The Neutral Safety plug was hanging down. Popped it back on, and presto. Thanks for all the leads for me to follow. I am glad it was something simple. After a greazy lunch at the truck stop, I was ready to come home a proud mechanic. Thanks everyone.