noboundaries.jd Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 ok. I had a feeling my starter was about to go and yesterday, it happened. thank God I was home. it took me an hour to find one on Oreilly's website, pull mine, call a friend, get it tested and buy a new one, go get groceries for dinner, and reinstall. love those 4.0's! however, when I went to start it this time, I got a click and then lost all power. please help. waiting for rain to stop so I can start checking fuses, relays and wires. the complete loss of power has me a little lost though. any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComancheKid45 Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 Check the positive and ground connections at the battery 1st.......sounds like something just isnt making good contact ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oyaji Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 :agree: After that double-check connections at the starter, supply and energizing connections both. Don't forget to make sure the starter is mounted properly and snugly - that's how it gets its ground. While underneath, rap on the starter a couple/few times with a wood block. Maybe the new starter brushes haven't settled in to the commutator yet. Rapping the starter body a few times may just settle them in so they make a sufficient connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noboundaries.jd Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 checked all my grounds and theyre good. opened the cab and dome lights work. makes me think a relay has reset. turned the key and BAM, lost everything again. pulled the neg battery cable and let it sit for a few minutes. opened the cab again and dome lights on again. looking at my '88 power supply diagram it looks as if the starter relay were to go, so would everything else. can I ohm it out to test it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noboundaries.jd Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 it would be blowing fuses if I had a short on the switched side of that relay. right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 On some Jeeps there is a Ground wire going direct from the negative post to the starter mounting bolt. Then there is the Pos cable going from the starter relay to the solenoid on the starter. . I once saw these two cables get switched. Both cables were the same color. Black.Just something else to check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oyaji Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 Come to think of it, I had an identical problem on my XJ - more than once, too. Check that the wires are attached snugly to your battery terminal clamps. My wires from the positive terminal looked good, but when I took them apart them it was plain to see they were corroded and not securely attached to the clamp. I had to cut off about 2" to get to good clean uncorroded copper wire, then reattach - after that there was no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noboundaries.jd Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 after I thought about it my starter relay theory did not make sense. was checking for shorts when I got a zero ohm on the F terminal on the starter relay. the corresponding relay checks out however, the corresponding sockets for 86, 87a and 30 all zero without the relay in place. I am waaaay outside of my comfort zone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noboundaries.jd Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 battery terminals are good. starter is mounted right. I did readjust the cables to be certain nothing was rubbing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 If you jump the solenoid on the starter, does it start? If so, then your starter relay has most likely failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinkrun Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Could be a bad NEW starter it happens trust me stuff is made as cheap and quick as it can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepsouth Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Could be a bad NEW starter it happens trust me stuff is made as cheap and quick as it can be.Sinkrun is right could very well be a bad starter out of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oyaji Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Could be a bad NEW starter it happens trust me stuff is made as cheap and quick as it can be.Sinkrun is right could very well be a bad starter out of the box. x3 I've run into this a few times on various vehicles over the years. As a result, I always test new starters with jumper cables to the terminals before installing them. I've found that what seem to be bad starters new out of the box will oftentimes work properly after rapping them with a wood block and then cycling them a few times. The new brushes just need to settle in before they make good contact, I reckon. If they are hanging up just a little after being assembled, they won't make contact and the starter won't turn, but after a couple whacks they work fine. This has saved me the trouble of returning what is really a perfectly good starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnuck Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Another possibility is the battery post has melted off inside. Does a jump start have power at all times? A cable can look great on the outside and still be greener than an Irishman on St Patrick's day on the inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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