Have a 6 cylinder 1995 Cherokee with over 245K miles on it. It runs great - burns a little oil but that is expected. Over the past few months I've experienced that when I turn the ignition key the starter would not engage every time. Sometimes it would begin to engage & then stop, other times nothing would happen. After a few tries the engine would start.

I had the battery checked last week and found it needed replacing, replaced it & the problem continued. Replaced the starter this weekend and that didn't help. Not sure where to look next. Any suggestions?

 

i would say look at the cables. it sounds like possibly you have corrosion in the wires or maybe a loose connection somewhere. maybe a bad ground

 

Try starting it in Neutral when this happens. Could be your Neutral Safety Switch. Also check to see if your reverse lights are working - if not then that's what it is.

 

I keep hearing about a starter relay somewhere in the engine compartment. Is this a possibility?

 

most likely nutral safety switch or starter relay. next time it happens hold the key in the start posistion and jiggle the shifter around like a mad man and try to start in nutral if your jeep still does not start i would replace the starter relay.

 

Where is this relay located & what does it look like? Never had to do this before.

Thx

 

Replaced the starter relay. It helped some but the problem is still there. I tried jiggling the shifer - didn't help. Same type of start problem in park or neutral. Will start looking for a ground problem. Anyone know where a good place to check for a bad ground would be. I can see all the obviuous ground wire connects but is there some place that is hidden?