Jeeps...........

I just wanna know what is it with these late 80's model jeep XJ's and wagoneers and their starting problems? I just recently purchased an 88 Wagoneer Limited that I have been through hell and back with trying to get it to start. Everyone seems to have the same problem but no one seems to know how to fix it. This forum is packed with "my 88 won't start". Ive asked every question I could think of and tried all the suggestions that were given and still no luck. Are all jeeps like this?? Is there something they did wrong in 1988? I've had my 85 K5 with 8'' of lift and 39.5 TSL's for over six years now and never have I had anywhere near the trouble that I've had with this jeep and I did a complete engine swap in the K5 as well as a new wiring harness. I guess my question is are all jeeps this shitty or did I just happen to be lucky enough to come across a lemon?

Lucky you!!!

From what I can tell there are more XJ's of various years 84-96 still running strong than most other common mass production vehicles...

Especially here in colorado...

On my street in front of my apartment there are 6 XJ's not counting my own..

All ranging in age from the two 87 2 doors to a nice 01....

They all run and drive as far as I can tell....

That said I would get a factory service manual for your year Jeep

and start from teh top..

Air?
Spark?
Fuel?
Starter function?

Do you have all four?

Once you have all of those and it still won't start there are like 4 or 5 things it could be...

The most common solutions seem to be

Throttle Position Sensor
Transmission Control Module
Crankshaft Position Sensor

And obvoiusly the associated wiring for all of the above..

Also the Fuel pump ballast resistor is another option.

TBLimited said:

I guess my question is are all jeeps this shitty or did I just happen to be lucky enough to come across a lemon?

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Yes, all Jeeps are this shitty. You really don't want to try fixing it because that will just add to the shittiness once it does actually run. Please put it on a train to L.A. and I will recycle it for you for a nominal fee.

Seriously... You've bought a 17-year-old vehicle; there are bound to be problems. Further, just saying 'it won't start' doesn't help us much... Is it cranking over? Getting fuel? Flywheel looks OK? Compression's healthy? There's a reason behind any problem like this, but whining about it isn't going to fix it.

Not meaning to whine just kinda venting. I have good fuel pressure at the rail, I have healthy spark, and I just checked the compression and its got good compression, and its getting air. Here is a list of the things I have replaced: The TPS, CPS, MAP, Coolant temp sensor, bypassed the ballast resistor, new injectors, injector o rings, new plugs, new coil, new distributor, new distributor cap, new plug wires, complete engine gasket kit, a vacuum hose, and a fuel filter. I have made sure all the wires to each sensor is complete and not frayed/grounded anywhere. It would turn over fine and the starter would actually turn the engine over like its supposed to but it would not start up. So I checked again for spark, compression, air, and fuel, everthing was fine. Now it won't turn over at all, I tried the ole screwdriver to the starter trick where you touch the two poles with the ignition on and all it would do was wind the starter motor like an electric razor, it wouldn't engage the gear to turn the engine over. So I'm guessing I have a bad starter, only I don't think thats my problem because when it was turning over before it still wouldn't start it. Maybe I am wrong maybe it is something with the starter I don't know. It has some cobby wiring BS that the guys who owned it before me messed with and I can't find out where they go to, I posed a question titled "help please" about an hour ago but no response. I gave pics and wire colors if anyone knows. I checked out the manual but could not locate their position. So if anyone has any other ideas that I haven't tried I would greatly appreciate them cause I really want my "new" jeep running.

TBLimited said:

So I'm guessing I have a bad starter, only I don't think thats my problem because when it was turning over before it still wouldn't start it. Maybe I am wrong maybe it is something with the starter I don't know.

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Pull the starter, take it to Autozone, and have them bench-test it for you. It sounds like either the starter's dead or its not engaging the flywheel properly (though I'm leaning towards the former in this case). Note that if you do end up buying one of their starters that you should check the gear on it to make sure it matches the one you're replacing. It's not uncommon for the remanufactured units to not match up accurately.

As for the starter turning it but it not catching... If the starter's on the way out, you're likely not turning the engine at high enough speed to get it to catch. It sounds like it finally burned out, but check the flywheel for missing teeth as well.

It has some cobby wiring BS that the guys who owned it before me messed with and I can't find out where they go to,

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If any of those flaky connections are on the starter's circuit, you'll burn it out in no short order. If I were in your shoes, I'd start tracing those out ASAP - once you know where they go, you can start making decisions on how to proceed a bit better.

I posed a question titled "help please" about an hour ago but no response. I gave pics and wire colors if anyone knows. I checked out the manual but could not locate their position.

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Sounds like you'll need to manually trace them back. If someone monkeyed with the wiring, you can probably assume that the manual won't be of much help in this case.

Well I'll give the starter wires and connections a look and see what I can come up with. I think I'm gonna run to vatozone today and pick up a new starter, hopefully I can get the beast to turn over again.

You bypassed the ballast resistor ? how do you mean 'bypassed', they did not put a ballast resistor in there just for an exercise. I had a 75 Dodge van with a ballast resistor, it was escentially 2 resistors in parallel, when one side went the ignition could not develop enough voltage to fire the plugs at full power. They would spark like they were firing but only at half voltage. Had half the engine torn down that sunday at the jersey shore before I got lucky and the guy at the gas station a mile down the road said 'oh, it's your ballast resistor' gave me a new on out of his tool box and said 'try that' , he was right...from then on I carried two spares and a year later used one.

Welcome to "The Club"! LOL


I have threatened my 90 XJ with the junk yard almost on a daily basis... And I only drive it about 2-3 times a month! (H-D is my DD)

But I am determined to not let it kick my ass, much to my wife's confusion. She keeps begging me to junk it and pay $50k for a new diesel 4x4 double cab.

I hate washing vehicles and have never washed my XY. The daily NW Florida rain takes care of that for me...

I just figured out the RENIX ignition system (NOT!) but at least it's running again and now the damn brakes are acting up. The brake pump is running constantly and the brake pedal goes to the floor when trying to stop. YES, I checked the fluid level, it's full. Like most gremlins, it happened all of a sudden-like overnight!

I replaced the CPS and fixed the "no spark" problem and now the damn brakes are acting weird... Go figure!

Good luck!

RDX4ME

Aahhhh, the beauty of the Bendix anti-lock brake.
I'm not 100% sure how it works in the US. But in Europe certain parts of the system are covered under a lifetime warrany. Meaning they will throw new parts in for no charge. It's maybe the same here.
Check with your local dealership.

Yeah my buddy has an XJ and he bypassed the ballast resistor cause his was junk and it has worked flawlessly for about two years now.

TBLimited said:

Yeah my buddy has an XJ and he bypassed the ballast resistor cause his was junk and it has worked flawlessly for about two years now.

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In the case of the XJ the ballast resistor is used only to lower voltage to the fuel pump while it's running. It wasn't present at all on the 87, and it was dropped again in later models. In theory, I guess it makes the pump quieter, and lengthens its life. My 87 went past 235 thousand miles without one, and my current 95 is at 232+, also without one.