2000 XJ 4.0 Intermitent start problem

About 85K on my 2000 XJ.

First started noticing something about three months ago. At first, the Jeep wouldn't start immediately all the time. Five out of six starts it was perfect, but that one time it would crank about five or seven seconds before firing.

About two weeks ago, it started to happen more frequently. Then, about a week ago, the thing cranked for about 30 seconds before it started. It did the same thing yesterday.

It cranks strong, but just doesn't fire or even sound like it's trying to, then suddenly it will come to life.

Once running, it runs like a champ -- good power, no rough idle, no miss.

My plan was to start looking into the fuel pump. I'm guessing since it cranks strong and battery seems OK that if it were something to do with the spark, I would have other symptoms (could be wrong, of course). But I wanted to ask first to see if this is a common problem or something others have encountered -- maybe save a couple steps.

Thanks!

Edit: forgot to mention it does this hot or cold.

I'm curious as to what causes this as well. My 94 does the same thing. I was thinking maybe the coil was going bad?

Before starting, turn the ignitoin to the ON position. Wait about 3 seconds then try starting.

If this works, then you've got bleed back in the fuel pump or injectors. Most likely the fuel pump.

Since my '98 works this way, I've gotten in the habit of doing the same procedure in my '00. As long as it works, I'm not worrying about it.

Thanks, guys. I'll follow the three-second-wait trick for awhile and see if I still have the problem.

I know it has been awhile since I originally posted this, but I just wanted to follow-up since it might help anyone else out there. Basically, I've been doing the three-second wait deal since June and I haven't had one starting issue since. So, I think it's a darn good chance that was the issue.

Is this something I should try to correct, or can I just leave it like this and keep waiting the three seconds indefinitely?

Thanks, again.