So I put a hurting, and a few new dents, on my 95' Cherokee Country, Inline 6cyl 4.0L. Busted the two lines that run transmission fluid to the radiator to cool. Replaced those, then found that one of the inlet's on the side of the transmission where the line plugs in cracked. So after coats of JBWeld and high temp silicon I stopped the leak. So after that, dead battery. Replaced. Now i get all excited for my newly driveable Jeep when i get in to turn it on and absolutely nothing happens. The only thing i get when i turn the key is a very faint click which i'm assuming is coming from the solenoid, but it isn't the click click click like i'm used to hearing when, say the battery is low. It's just a single faint click everytime i turn the key. So i beat it, and the starter, tried putting it in neutral, nothing. Any suggestions? Battery terminals are good and clean. Could it possibly be the distributor or something in there? Bad solenoid? Bad starter? Just looking for a bit of advice before i go ripping the starter out.

 

have your starter tested,I would bet that is the problem.

 

Try tapping on the starter gently with a rubber mallet... sometimes it is just a little corrosion inside and you need to let the brushes move a tiny bit.

 

yeah, did that with my big maglite while i was under there. didn't seem to do anything. i suppose i'll try that again, if it doesn't work i guess i'll try the solenoid trick.

 

I tapped on mine several times and got it to turn a little,but I found out when it is at that point they will not work again,the brushes get alot of dust built up on them and will not make good contact and they do not make a rebuild kit that I have found. I just go to the jy and buy 2,I always have a backup,only cost $20 each and work great.

 

so you're saying go buy new brushes?

 

I'm pretty sure he's referring to the whole starter unit. They seem to fail fairly often. Its pretty hard to avoid dripping oil onto it when changing the filter. If you pull the starter out of yours, you can try clamping it in a vice and jumping it, to make sure that it is the problem.

 

okay, pulled the greasy dude out of there and took it in to advanced auto parts to get it tested. bad starter. got a rebuilt there, and the guy to told me that i needed to stop the oil leak that was leaking on it. i just kind of thought to myself, hmm 15 year old starter..

 

alright, so i put the rebuilt starter in, hooked it up. Went to start it and still nothing. Battery and starter are brand new. Whats next?? Relay? Distributor? Where do i look next.

 

Sounds like that area took some hard hits. If the cable to the starter or the one to the ground is coroded or damaged it will produce a symptom like you getting. Wouldn't hurt to take them off and really clean them up. Maybe you'll find frayed wires where something damaged them. I know you said the battery end of the cables looked ok. Do they have those pinch type terminals on the cable that may have come loose?
These would be the cheap things you can check. Do you have a different battery you could throw in there for the heck of it? Or try and jump it?
Mike

 

Well, when i hooked up the new starter, i made sure that the connections to the solenoid were clean and lubed. Now the wires coming down from the battery are encased in the plastic tubing things, i couldn't imagine those wires were too badly damaged. Yes, pinch terminals on the new battery, clean and tight. I suppose if i jumped it, it really won't get me to where the problem is. Buddy told me to check the distributor/cap/rotor..would these things have something to do with why it won't evem make a noise when i turn the key? Could it be a faulty relay? And if i go to buy a new relay, is it for a 12volt or 24volt system? 12 right??

 

Check the ground wire connection to the engine. If you were able to jump start it that would lead you to a bad battery.
Now it doesn't click at all?
Mike

 

The dist cap and rotor has nothing to do with whether the starter engages or not. You either have a feed problem to the starter or a fault in the key starting circuit.

The tip about the cables and having a good strong battery is good. To check the starter itself do the following. With a thick wire 10-12 gauge jump the starter to see if it will crank the engine. This test will let you know the condition of the starter. Have someone behind the wheel for safety. See the picture. Jump the terminals with the orange lines. If you have the key off, the engine should crank over. If you have the key on, the engine may start. Use caution. You are jumping from the large terminal with red battery cable to the small terminal on the solenoid.

If this test is good, you can move on to the key start test. With the helper behind the wheel, have him try to key start the engine. With a volt meter, you check the voltage at the solenoid terminal. The small terminal in the picture. You should have battery voltage. Test the battery voltage before you do this so you have an idea of what the reading will be.

 

No, nothing at all clicks. And the battery is brand new, so is the starter.

 

okay, um i am positive that the starter works because it is NEW. i've got a voltage meter on the way. i'm just confused at why the battery and the starter are good, but when i turn the key, nothing happens. no clicks nothing, it's like i have absolutely no power going down there when i know i do. what would i do about a feed problem? what about the key starting curcuit??