Starters

[Serbonze]

I'm pretty sure that I narrowed my starting issues down to the starter. I need to do a few more checks with a volt meter today based on the thread that I found here:

http://wranglertjforum.com/threads/jeep-wrangler-tj-wont-start-read-this.1201/

If it is the starter, or even if it's not, is there a general consensus on a quality replacement starter?

 

[TJ4Jim]

If you can (not daily driver) find a local shop and have it rebuilt. They usually turn around in a few days and you wind up with a good starter for a fair price.

A lot of people theses day forget about having things rebuilt but its still available and a good option.

At times shops will have rebuilts available also.

 

[Serbonze]

The starter in there now is from Autozone, so it does have a lifetime warranty.

 

[Chris]

If you can (not daily driver) find a local shop and have it rebuilt. They usually turn around in a few days and you wind up with a good starter for a fair price.

A lot of people theses day forget about having things rebuilt but its still available and a good option.

At times shops will have rebuilts available also.

I agree with this completely. Most things like a starter can be rebuilt numerous times without any issue. I had the starter on my old Nissan SR20DET rebuilt two times by a local shop. Not only was it cheaper than a replacement, but the turn around was same day and I basically got to keep the OE starter for the most part (probably better than some Chinese starter from autozone).

It's a very viable option worth looking into.

 

[Chris]

And in regards to the Autozone lifetime warranty thing... That's hit and miss. I've replaced numerous starters, alternators and other accessories on previous vehicles with Autozone replacements. Now granted I never owned any of those vehicles for longer then 4 years, but I can tell you in those 4 years I never had any issues at all with the parts failing.

 

[Serbonze]

I kind of have two threads on this since it morphed into something bigger than I thought, so I'm going to try and consolidate.

Problem: Turn the key and electronics turn on but the Jeep won't start. No clicking, no cranking. Searches took me to a number of threads that pointed to the ignition. I replaced the Ignition Switch, the Ignition Actuator Pin Assembly, checked and cleaned the grounds, and had previously replaced the battery.

All of the voltages looked good, and once my wife was around to turn the key I could check the starter directly. Sure enough, I heard a "click" and it was getting power, it just wasn't spinning.

I pulled out the starter and I took it back to Autozone this morning and they exchanged it with no questions asked. I installed the new one this afternoon and it started right up. Hooray!! Except when I shut it off and tried again, it didn't start. I tried again and it was started. I took it out and drove around the neighborhood, came home, shut it off, and it restarted again just fine. So hopefully maybe it was a fluke? I'll try again tomorrow and pray that it starts.

I did learn some valuable information during this, mainly how and where to check for proper voltages. The first thing that I should have done was check for power at the starter. I ended up doing this entire process backwards since the initial search results came back as an ignition problem, I mistakenly started in the steering column.

I am in no way mechanically inclined so just replacing the starter today, for me, was an accomplishment.

Thanks @Jerry Bransford for your help with this. Your expertise popped up in almost every search that I did spanning several different forums. So even though you didn't know that you helped, you did.