My 1995 Jeep Wrangler won't start, any ideas why??

Alright, I own a 1995 Jeep Wrangler Rio Grand. I can get it to start. It won't attempt to turn over. I can head the "clicking" sound as you whould when you have a dead battery. I purchased and installed a new battery (tested and works fine). I pulled the starter out and tested it, it also worked fine. I used a voltmeter and tested both terminals located on the starter, the "always on" terminal read 12V as it should, but the terminal which should read 12V only when the key is turned to start is only reading 0.08V. It will start fine one moment, but in most cases it will not start at all. Immediately before this problem began (one week ago), I dropped my keys in a water puddle, and poorly dried them off and started the Jeep. Since then I can't get it started. Any ideas???

[Jim_Lou]

It has nothing to do with your keys. The actual switch is about a foot and a half down the steering column; not at the key.

It's a bad solenoid, assuming that:

1) You got the 0.08 volts while trying to start it.

and

2) You were reading that 0.08 between the starter lug and the ground post on the battery.

and

3) While still trying to start it you went back and still had the 12 volts on the 'always hot' lug.

If you did it any other way it could be a bad ground connection or a bad hot connection between the battery and the solenoid, or it still could be a bad solenoid.

Actually the 'intermittent' symptom points toward a bad connection, either ground or hot.

What you need to do is hold the key in the start position and then test both sides of every connection from the battery to the starter and back.

That means put one probe on the battery post and the other on the cable connector. Then one on the cable connector and the other on the connector on the other end of the cable. Then one on that connector and the other on the solenoid lug, and so on. When you get to the starter, put one on the input lug and the other on the case. Then one on the case and the other on the block. Then the block and the ground cable, and so on until you get back to the ground post on the battery.

They will all read practically zero until you get to the bad connection, which will read about 12 volts.

If that happens to be between the input and output posts on the solenoid, it's a bad solenoid.

Don't you just love certainty? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I tested the voltage on the starter again, the voltage across the terminal on the starter that should read 12V when the key is turned did read 12V (My wife originally misinterpretted what I meant by turning the key to the start position, hence giving me the small voltage value in my previous post). So as you had mentioned, I think it is a bad solenoid also. I ordered a rebuilt starter (as I could not purchase the solenoid seperately).

Once I get it installed I'll update you on my situation. An additional thing I noticed was when I would attempt to start the Jeep, the starter was what was making the clicking noise. Can't remember if that is normal, or caused by a problem in the starter.

[WILL]

I think it is sad that the solenoid on the starter is riveted so you can't get to the contacts. With older GM starters, you could losen the solenoid contact stud and turn it around giving yourself a new contact.

I had to buy another starter last year because of a broken gear tooth. I could either buy the gear part for $50 or a starter for $60. That was another nice thing with the GM starters - the bendix was only about $15.

[Jim_Lou]

It probably is the starter, but still could be a weak ground connection. The way to rule that out is to measure the voltage between the starter CASE and the ground POST on the battery while the starter is trying to run. That should read very close to zero. If it's more than a quarter volt or so you have a ground problem.

[LEVE]

If it's an automatic, it may be a problem with the Safety Neutral swtich... pull it and clean/replace it.

Well, I installed the new started. Everything works like a charm.