'91 Cherokee will not start

Hi everyone,

I am somewhat a newbie that could use some help. I have had my '91 cherokee for about 4-5 years. Basically, when I get in and start it nothing happens. My guages, radio, etc. come on but my engine will not turn over. I can hear the fuel pump engage, but nothing happens. This has happen since I have owned it. It might happen a few times during warm weather, but it would happen a lot during cold weather or when it was raining. The only way to get it running was to take a screwdriver to the starter and start it that way. About six months ago I put a new starter on hoping this would solve my problem. It got better, but continued to not start. This time however, I cannot go to the starter and start it with a screwdriver. I was able to put it in neutral and start it or change from neutral to park a few times and it start. That will not work either. I thought it might be some issue with the ignition, but my knowledge is limited. It has been setting for about 2 weeks now and I would like to get it running soon. Luckily, I have my '00 as a back up. If any one has any suggestions I could really use your help. Thanks

Since putting it into neutral seemed to help at times, I suspect the neutral safety switch. If you have some basic skills and had tools, you can rebuild it yourself. Be careful though, if you break it, it a pretty expensive part.

http://www.jeepin.com/features/nss/index.asp

If you search the forum for NSS, you'll find lot's of threads on this beast, including ways to bypass it (for testing purposes).