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92 xj-intermittent click-no start

bcmaxx

NAXJA Forum User
Finally talked my dad into a 92 xj,bought it a week ago , and now since having it at the shop for repairs it has an intermittent no start condition. Clicks but no crank, and out of the blue it'll start fine, I've put on a used starter and my trail spare and it still does it. Any probs with ign switches in this year range? each time it happened I worked the nss ,didn't make any difference. cheers all
 
If you had NSS problems you wouldn't get the click

If you've replaced the starter and the attached solenoid then I would suspect wiring or battery.

If it's a light click then it might be the starter relay. If it's a solid clunk then the solenoid is activating but not engaging the motor, suggesting ground problems.
 
ehall said:
If you had NSS problems you wouldn't get the click

If you've replaced the starter and the attached solenoid then I would suspect wiring or battery.

If it's a light click then it might be the starter relay. If it's a solid clunk then the solenoid is activating but not engaging the motor, suggesting ground problems.

going to try a battery and new cables in the a.m. , The same symptom occurs on mine if it gets full of mud, probably a bad connection/ground,just curious if ignition switches are common problems.
 
Ignition switches are a common problem for a lot of cars. Most Jeeps do ok. When you turn the key cylinder, a rod moves the switch into the start/run positions, and that arrangement has to be indexed during installation to get it coordinated. It does wear much, and not much can get to it located at the bottom of the column under the dash.

Underhood stuff, like battery cables and grounds, old starters, etc are much more likely to cause the problem. Grounds on the XJ will not be ignored like on most cars - you do have to maintain them to get a full circuit.
 
TiRod said:
Grounds on the XJ will not be ignored like on most cars - you do have to maintain them to get a full circuit.

As I learned with my 89, don't forget the simple stuff!! One tiny little ground caused me so much grief!
 
I've found the most common problem with the starter is the brushes. Either oil has seeped in and gotten on the brushes, usually from a leaky oil filter adapter. Muddy water has gotten on the brushes or they are just worn down. When they wear down the spring tension holding the brushes down gets weaker, sometimes the wire to the brushes gets a little too short and has to be rerouted a little.
Lightly (to moderatly) tapping the side and/or end edge of the starter with a hammer sometimes seats the brushes enough for a few more starts. Usually my first test. Some people recommend against this, I've been doing it for forty years (twenty on the XJ specifically) with no problems yet.
The XJ starter needs good juice (good connections, wire and ground) and a little spin to get the solenoid and bendix to seat all the way. Most often it's the brushes (or a weak battery or a combination of the two), but can be the ground, relay or wiring. I've found dirty or worn brushes to be the most likely culprit about 4 or 5 to one over most anything else.
I'm using an 87 starter on it's third set of brushes as a spare while I service the starter on my 96 now (on it's second set of brushes). I actually have three spares, junk yard starters, cleaned, the planetary gears and Bendix re greased (synthetic), with new brushes sitting on the shelf or stored in my XJ's for insurance.
 
Last edited:
ehall said:
If you had NSS problems you wouldn't get the click

If you've replaced the starter and the attached solenoid then I would suspect wiring or battery.

If it's a light click then it might be the starter relay. If it's a solid clunk then the solenoid is activating but not engaging the motor, suggesting ground problems.


Yep, what he said!! This should tell you where to start looking next. As others have said could be grounds too.
 
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