Jeep XJ Starting Problems - Check Your Grounds

Starting problems almost always jump to battery, starter, or alternator as the supposed cure. Sometimes after swapping these components, and things do seem to go back to normal. Please keep your money in your wallet until you check your connections and ground locations. Often, these are at the root of the problem and it is free and relatively easy to add these to your maintenance regime or things to check when you have starting problems.

[@mikenew701]

After a new batt and starter, new relays, etc I was pretty close to rolling into a shop. I found your video last night...cleaned up all the grounds today and she fired right up, stronger than ever. Huge thanks for the video! Much appreciated.

[@sonofmaniam]

That's great! I'm glad it helped. If I could offer one skill to the person that wants to go to the next step from this video it would be to buy a multi-meter ($20-30), and learn how to do basic measurements for voltage, resistance, and most importantly voltage drop. Knowing those simple things (could be learned on a saturday) could save a person a bundle of cash and time over the life of a car.

[@MarkMcCabeMarkMcCabeVideo]

I trusted you instantly when I saw your engine, dude. Only someone who cars and knows their shit has an engine as clean as that. Anyway got some brake cleaner and steel brushs and cleaned them and it started. My jeep is currently covered in salt, and never gets cleaned underneath. You make me want to take more pride in my jeep!

[@Late80s]

Thank you so much!!! I came to the conclusion that I needed a new battery. I bought a new battery assuming this was the problem. Turns out it was the ground cable closest to the battery. Literally right next to it. Tight it up real good.. and the big boy started up and ran much better

[@96XJ_MM]

Jordan thank you so much for your video! You put an end to my year long frustration with my 96 XJ. I was having issues with my electric door locks and windows intermittently. At times some of my door locks would open and others would not, sometimes they would work for half the day and then work on and off. My windows would roll down very slow and other times like normal. I even took apart my door panels, sprayed silicon spray on all the hardware and took apart my window switches and cleaned them and it made no difference. Today I found the ground that was tied to the windows and door locks and cleaned the ground connector, took a wire wheel to the inner body of the Jeep were the ground connects to and instantly they all work as normal and how it did when I bought it over four years ago! I also cleaned the other grounds you mentioned in your video and the Jeep seems to be running better than ever! Thanks again!!

[@deanslegos1990]

Sold my XJ 4 years ago and my Hyundai now is reminding me of the importance of grounding

[@BrianVonClick]

Ugh…hopefully this is what’s keeping my new engine from firing up. 1991 4.0 XJ Briarwood. Fingers and toes crossed.

[@tb3780]

Replaced the cylinder head on my Jeep 4.0L and decided I didn't need that braided wire connected to the hood during re-assembly... thought it was a safety retainer wire for inadvertent hood release at speed... Big mistake! Had increasingly worse starting issues after that and thought maybe it was a bad battery, starter, etc. TY for this video clarifying each of these grounds and how they serve the vehicle.

[@gunny5067]

Saw your video yesterday. Cleaned all the grounds and the ole girl fired right up.

[@58BowNut]

Have a 88 jeep Comanche 4.0 runs fine until you put the headlights on and it would die instantly. Watched your video and found the engine strap to the firewall was loose on the engine side. Cleaned all the grounds and works great! Thank you for your video!

[@Rootythe1st]

Thank you for the great advice. Really appreciate the time and trouble posting this kind of information.

[@thefeatheredfrontiersman8135]

Oh wow... I'm glad I found this video before I went ahead with a new alternator for my limited 98 grand Cherokee! I did buy a new battery but definitely not a loss, it definitely needs replaced. When I first bought it, it was doing some weird stuff! Display flickering, automatic car door lock was trying to lock....lock....lock...lock. When I change it I'm definitely going to locate all the grounds and have a look! You may have just saved me 170$$$!

[@killswitch_556_3]

the one on the valve cover is is on a head bold or valve cover bolt

[@earlbucklin8323]

That is the tops......... thanks........... great lighting

[@nevamind3334]

Thank you I will be doing the cleaning soon I have a crank but I don't have a start and now my gauges do not work.

[@jerryd9801]

This is my problem too. Did you ever get it to turn over after trying this?

[@nevamind3334]

@@jerryd9801 I did just reconnect everything

[@TopNoTchVSOP]

I wish I had seen this video before buying a new alternator and dual battery setup.

[@Slobberdog66]

Smart guy good tips

[@cv4wheeler]

Good info! '96 XJ Country 4WD will not turn over, nothing happens when I turn the key, but all other electrical works OK. Cleaned battery terminals, nothing. Battery weak, so I tried to jump it, nothing. Tested fuses, all good. Swapped around relays, looking for a bad one, all good. Tested ground all around with a VOM, good, but I realize this test is not definitive. So I jumpered directly from the battery ground to the starter case with my starter cables, guaranteeing a good ground, working it in through the corrosion, verifying contact with the VOM, nothing (seems like a good diagnostic before playing with all of the grounds). On my aftermarket starter, there is no good way to jumper + to the unit, it is all insulated, no getting around that without more work than I am capable of doing these days. So it is time to use my AAA and get it towed in for a new starter or possibly work on the oft-defective transmission position sensor. But now my favorite mechanic is so booked up he refuses to do the work, a consequence of him being far better than anyone else around. So off to Nextdoor and Yelp to see if there is anyone else who can actually do the work.

[@jacecosby4351]

I’m curious if you ever figured this one out. I’m having the exact problem with my 96 Cherokee

[@cv4wheeler]

@@jacecosby4351 Yea, but it was a one-off--I had forgotten that the XJ was equipped with a kill switch, which had gone bad.

[@johanybotero]

I’ve got some homework 👌🏼 thank you

[@antigen4]

what a great locussed flash light you have there!

[@sonofmaniam]

It is the COAST G20. My favorite. I have one in every vehicle, tool box, tool bag, go bag, every day carry bag, etc. You get the picture. 2 AAA batteries seem to last forever in those things as well.

[@georgemullin7772]

Vary good advice my 93 zj 4 liter is stalling at stop signs and starts hard this could be it.

[@tyberlong]

you are a legend

[@jamiebuckley1769]

hello jorden i bought a 1998 yj jeep the other week started it up after sitting from thanksgiving 2018 drove it home no problem didnt miss a beat shut it off and have not been able to start it since. now that i watched your very informative video on grounds i will be cleaning the heck out of those. but i did take out the crankshaft position sensor and noticed the felt .030 spacer was still on the sensor it started i drove it home with that felt still on there. i was just curious what your take is on that one. should it have even run? always the first revolution wipes off that felt when you put a new one in as you well know. very interesting any feed back on this would be good jordan. thanks.

[@sonofmaniam]

Could be any number of things. If you mean it cranks...but doesn't start, the first place to look is fuel pressure. Make sure it is within spec using a gauge if you can. You can also use starting fluid spray in the throttle body to see if it temporarily runs, if it does, this is an indicator that fuel is not being provided by the pump.

[@motoboostin4561]

@@sonofmaniam im having that problem, i have fuel and to what i think pretty good spark, cranks but doesnt start. Could that be a bad ground??

[@montanabuck]

I took a wire brush to the battery terminals (very rusty and corroded). Ground wires looked surprisingly clean so I let them be. Hooked everything back up and still no start. What should I do? Replace battery?

[@montanabuck]

I don’t think it’s the starter or alternator because the jeep jumped fine when hooked up to jumper cables. Soon as jumper cables were removed it won’t start in its own.

[@GRatsVideos]

You da man!

[@LRS1434]

Thanks

[@twistedwired]

Those block right side terminals @2:50, I could not get the nuts off, the whole terminal turns.

[@BMoooore]

How difficult should it be to remove the ground that’s connected to your negative on your battery?

[@SimplyG00Dvids]

Not hard at all, I actually just did it, took me 5min or less to take apart and clean and put back together

[@teninchrichard4016]

thank you !

[@antigen4]

the big question for me is HOW do you check engine grounds? from fusebox to frame?? or do you go through sensor by sensor etc (to be thorough)?

[@gustavokatayose4905]

Great video. Thank you

[@lavychipper2944]

How did you get the engine bay so clean?

[@jimmys_dashcam]

I cleaned mine and it looks amazing! It just takes a lot of time and patience

[@TikeWates]

He cleaned it

[@2badger2]

Bad grounds cause voltage drops and like you said most electronic devices don't work or work as good running on lower voltages. The same thing happened inside of computer chips, I worked in Silicon Valley for 43 years designing IC chip.

[@robertsullivan2483]

Is their a ground connected to the power distribution box in between the power cables?

[@sonofmaniam]

There will be some ground wires going into the PDC, yes. Because there are a few relays in the PDC, and they will require both voltage and ground to operate. Where the grounds come from, and how they connect will depend on the each relay and how it works in the system. For example, the ASD relay gets its control side positive from the ignition switch being in the START or RUN position, once the computer is happy with the start RPM and signals from the CAM and CRANK position sensors, it will provide the control side ground to the ASD relay, this will close the relay and allow positive voltage to feed the ignition coil and spark plugs.

[@kodiak7438]

@@sonofmaniamplease if you can help me on this , here is my situation. I turn the key to start but it just turns over. This is how I get it to start #1 turn key to on # 2wait till I here a pulsing sound at the fuse box under hood #3 then seconds later I hear the fuel pump activate #4 seconds later the check engine light comes on , NOW it will start. I know it’s not the pump because I connected the wire plug to a new one and the same thing occurred. It’s a 1993 jeep xj. Also the colder the outside temperature the longer this cycle takes when the temperature is warm I have no problem starting it.

[@jamiebuckley1769]

i have a 1998 yj sahara jeep. when i do press the odometer button and turn on the key all of the gauges light up and go through there cycle no problem. i see the check engine light lites up no problem so i know the bulb is not burnt out. my problem is when i turn on the key it does not light up and i heard in order to be able to get codes with a ob2 scanner that check engine light has to light up or it will not retrive any codes and this is what is happening here. any ideaas on where i could go from here? and possibly why the check engine light does not light up when i turn the key on? thanks any direction here would be much appericiated.

[@kodiak7438]

Did you resolve this ? I have a 93 jeep and it will not start until the check engine light comes on , this can take 2 minutes or 20 . The colder out it is , the longer the wait . Very annoying.

[@saadmstf]

Hey I am in a real trouble these days. My recently replaced my engine along with a new starter and since the I am having starting problems. My jeep usually starts but sometimes it cranks but doesnt start and when it starts then it misfires a for 10 seconds. Not sure what is the problem

[@jlr0799]

great video. would a long crank on the first try be caused by a bad connection? if I drive for a bit, go into a store, come out and turn the key . . . . it starts right up. 99 xj

[@sonofmaniam]

Typically, this is more associated with the fuel system. The fuel lines are not staying full of fuel as they should when shut down for an extended period. So you get a long crank as the fuel pressure has to try and build up. You can try to get the pump to prime a few times by rotating the key to the run position and off again. On my 96 though, this doesn't necessarily cause the pump to prime on each key turn. It can be a few things, but the most common is a failed check valve in the fuel pump. It is stuck open and letting the fuel drain back into the tank (slowly).

[@dylantaylor1027]

I’m having a problem if I hit a big puddle of water my 94 Jeep xj will die moments after and is hard to get cranked back. Could ground issues be my issue?

[@marcuschambers1319]

I’m thinking this is my problem with my 97 XJ when I got it it had a starting problem like it could be the starter usually would crank after the 2nd try just a few weeks ago it stopped starting and out of nowhere it started and ran time for 2 days now it’s not starting once again

[@jas3598]

Thank u bro

[@dizzyweezy9023]

Hey I have a question that is driving me nuts, I changed the head gasket on my 2001 Jeep Cherokee(4.0L) and now the throttle is wide open and I can’t figure it out. I figured maybe the throttle body, but i changed it out completely and still no luck. It also continues do stay wide open even when the throttle cables to the foot pedal is unhooked. Any help??

[@sonofmaniam]

The motor is getting air that you weren't intending. That is the only way it can create higher rpms. When you reinstalled the intake manifold, the rear section of it got hung up on the locating dowel, so there is a gap between the intake manifold and the head. You can't see it because it is in the rear. You need to redo the intake manifold, and ensure that it is properly seated on the head. This question and answer is actually very common, and almost certain to be the cause.