Wrangler won't start, please help!

Lionheart

Lionheart

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Hey guys, I finally bought my dream car — a Jeep Wrangler TJ! Test drove it twice then drove it for 2 days fine, but now it won't start.
The details: I insert the key, turn it on, and it makes 1 "click" sound and nothing happens. Yes, the battery is good and I've tried to jump it 5 times just in case. The check engine light is on and the check gauges light is on. I've had a mobile mechanic come look at it — he replaced the starter twice-- no luck, cleaned the terminals and replaced blown fuses-- no luck. Ran codes for check engine light — didn't find any codes. He says the engine does turn manually. He ran some electrical diagnostics and says that there's a "gap" in somewhere in the harness wire. But he doesn't know where to go from there and told me to see an electrician.

Pics and vid:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByKz7USl0uOBVDJ3OF9acF8wQ00/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByKz7USl0uOBeHRCOUdSUEJfVHM/view?usp=sharing

Stuff done from mechanic:
- Diagnose of a no crank no start condition

- OE Ultima Quality Built starter replacement with 12 months warranty

- Positive battery terminal replacement

- battery positive cable corrosion cleaning

- check all fuses and relays

- 5 amp fuse replacement under the dashboard passenger side

Anyone have any good ideas?

I've already spent $400 (new starter and labor) and the car still isn't working, I live in San Francisco if anyone know a guy/gal/shop.



Please help me get my dream car up and running again!! — and without spending a small fortune;)

Thanks!!
-Mike
 
Also, I hate to ask, but how are you sure the battery is good? Has it been tested? Have you looked at the date on the battery to see when it was manufactured?

"He ran some electrical diagnostics and says that there's a "gap" in somewhere in the harness wire"
​
I'm not sure I get that. A 'gap' in the wiring harness?

I believe it is possible that there could be a short in the wiring harness, but I doubt that's the case since you were driving it for 2 days before it just crapped on you.

Sure, the break in the wiring harness could have been manifesting over time, and just given out on you after 2 days, but that would be the last thing I would be looking at as it's probably the most unlikely. Chances are if there is a break in the wiring harness, it's going to be somewhere that's pretty obvious as you'd likely see something rubbing against the wiring harness and a very visual wear spot.
 
That mechanic checked with a voltmeter and I remember it said it read 12.68 volts, and he said the battery looked new.

He ran some electrical diagnostics and says that there's a "gap" in somewhere in the harness wire"
I'm not sure I get that. A 'gap' in the wiring harness?

—— I don't know about the terminology here, but he used a small device where he "followed the current" of the harness from the beginning of the main fuse box downward and about 6"-12" down it started beeping really fast and he told me there was a a spot there where it's not getting current.

An important note here: The mechanic said he's "never seen anything like it" and mainly does mechanical, not electrical work. I read your earlier post of Jeeps not starting, and we replaced the starter 3X with 3 different ones!

Hope that helps
 
A dead battery can sometimes be so bad that it can suck the juice out of a jump start battery so it won't have enough power to jump start the engine. Try disconnecting one of the battery connectors and then connect the jump start cables directly to the battery connectors (one will have been disconnected from the battery).

Next, some jump start cables are too skinny (the gauge is too small) to carry enough power to jump start an engine like the TJ's. I bought some brand-new supposedly 4 gauge (big) jumper cables and they were actually such a tiny gauge in reality (like 10 gauge) that they couldn't carry the amperage required to jump start the engine. The bottom line is cheap jump start cables will not always be able to jump start an engine.

If it's not the battery and it's not the jump start cables, it could be a faulty clutch interlock switch. You haven't given us any details on your Jeep like its model year or whether it's an automatic or stick shift. But if it's a stick shift, try inserting a 20 amp fuse into the #20 fuse slot behind the glove box. That bypasses the clutch interlock switch if your Jeep has a manual transmission.

Then it could be a faulty ignition switch, there's a part in the ignition switch that is known to break and stop the engine from starting.

But if your starter solenoid on the starter motor is clicking, my bet is the clutch interlock switch and ignition switch are both ok and you have a dead battery or connection problem.

Turn the headlights on and have someone tell you if they stay on or dim/go off when the ignition switch is turned to Start. If the headlights shut off when the ignition switch is turned to Start, either the battery is bad or there's a bad connection at the battery.
 
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More details: 2003 Wrangler X, V6 4.0L, automatic, 94000 miles.
What do you mean by a connection problem? How can that be diagnosed and fixed? Any idea on what that might cost, any kind of range would be super helplful!:)
 
If it were me, just to be 100% certain it isn't the battery, I would take it out and then go to AutoZone or some place like Batteries Plus, and have them test it for you. They'll thoroughly test it for you and tell you for sure if it's good or bad. That would at least eliminate the battery in my mind completely.

What Jerry means by a connection problem is that somewhere under the hood you could have some sort of connection issue. For instance, the battery terminals could be old, corroded and having trouble establishing a good connection. You could also have a bad ground connection somewhere, or something similar.

Unfortunately no one on here (or any forum) can give you any sort of a range of what it would cost to have diagnosed / fixed.

That's going to be a variable that depends on which mechanic / shop you choose, and what their hourly rate is. They'll literally charge you by the hour and bill you for as many hours as it takes to figure it out.

I know I'm just repeating myself here, but it really, really sounds like a battery issue to me (either that or a connection issue).

The fact that the starter clicks makes it sound like you're getting juice, just not enough.
 
I asked for more details and my mechanic is saying: "The cable from the battery positive terminal all the way to the fuse junction box is corroded big time." Where do I go from here?

Thanks!
 
That could potentially do it.

The question is, if he knows that it's corroded, why doesn't he fix it? Can't you pay him to fix it?

Obviously it needs to be replaced, so you'll either need to replace it yourself, have him replace it, or pay another mechanic to do it.
 
Lionheart said:
I asked for more details and my mechanic is saying: "The cable from the battery positive terminal all the way to the fuse junction box is corroded big time." Where do I go from here?
Click to expand...
Replace the corroded battery cable(s). A corroded battery cable or bad battery cable connection can make it impossible for the starter to get enough power from the battery to start the engine.
 
Sounds like you need another mechanic!
I'm a licensed electrician and I'll tell you that we absolutely have zero of anything to do with vehicles...that's a mechanic. There are some mechanic shops who may focus more on electronic applications of cars but still, to charge you for something you didn't need, and replace that one when it probably was good, then tells ya to call an electrician? Something don't jive...
Sometimes a battery will check ok with a volt meter but once a load is placed on it there's no juice to push it. I'd try a battery swap from another car or friend before spending money on a new one.
Above all tho...that corroded cable sounds like the issue.
 
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