Starting problems - '95 Cherokee

Newbie here; hoping you can help. This morning my husband tried to leave for work, but his '95 Cherokee Sport 4.0 L wouldn't start. It tried very hard to, but the engine just wouldn't take off. All the lights come on and the connections on the battery were tight, so I don't think that's it. After he left (in my '94 Cherokee) I tried to give it a little gas, with no luck. I looked under the hood, but that's not my territory...nothing looks abnormal. Any suggestions?

First of all jadek, Welcome to AF.

Second, you said it would turn over but not catch. Has it ever done this before, or have there been any abnormalities lately?

Thanks for responding. No, it's never done this before. There have been no abnormalities lately. No stalling, it hasn't died while running, nothing unusual in any other way, either.

I did try holding the gas pedal down to the floor while cranking it. It does the same thing - tries to start, but just doesn't catch.

Any ideas on how to get it started, at least to drive it to a repair shop, would be greatly appreciated.

Hmm. I'd start with the simplest things first (and NOT to be insulting!):

Do you have gas? If you do, can you hear the hum of the fuel pump when you first turn on the ignition?

Check the plug wires to make sure they're all on snugly, and especially the coil wire.

Yes, it has gas. :) There is a very brief whirring/humming sound when you turn the key, before the ignition engages fully. I'm guessing that's the fuel pump? Like I said, under the hood isn't my area of expertise, but I'm pretty sure which ones are the plug wires, I'm not sure which is the coil wire; all the wires I can find look like they are well attatched, not loose/broken/frayed, etc.

(I don't think this could be related, but just in case, there has been a coolant leak from one of the hard-to-reach hoses behind the radiator. It's been going on for a looong time (3+ years) and is very small, so we find it easier to top off the coolant when it needs it. Don't see how that could affect the starting problem...)

The coil wire is located in the middle of all the plug wires.

So... won't start, has gas, problem occurred suddenly. Did your husband fill up yesterday? If so, the next thing I'd suspect is that he got some water in the gas. I'd try a can of HEET or Drigas.

He has about a quarter of a tank of gas, from a fillup last week.

If he had the time, my husband's a great DIY-er; that's a big "if," though. So we had a towtruck come and haul it to a local repair shop. I'll let you know what it turns out to be.

Thanks for your advice.

Well I'll be interested to hear what the problem was. Maybe a sensor.... Thanks for the update once you get it back on the road!

It almost sounds as if the engine isn't getting the gas like maybe a clogged fuel filter or possibly a bad ignition coil.

He has about a quarter of a tank of gas, from a fillup last week.

If he had the time, my husband's a great DIY-er; that's a big "if," though. So we had a towtruck come and haul it to a local repair shop. I'll let you know what it turns out to be.

Thanks for your advice.

Welcome to the forum!

Here is what I would suggest as I have had this similar problem on both my 89 and 90 cherokee.
1) first get a fuel pressure gauge and connect to the port on the fule rail. Turn the key on and watch the gauge, it should go up to 31 and hold for a split second. If it doesn't then suspect fuel filter or fuel pump, if it does go on to next step.
2) Take a big screwdriver, remove the center plug wire from the center of the distributor, stick the big screwdriver end into the wire end and hold the metal shaft close to a metal item {ports on top of A/C work good). Have someone try to start the Jeep while holding the screwdriver shaft close to the metal item without touching. If the coil is working you should see a bright blue spark (like lightning) jump from the screwdriver to the metal part.
If it is bright blue the coil is working, if you see a yellow spark, then the coil could be bad, if no spark then either the coil, ignition module or cranksahft sensor is bad.
you can take the coil and ignition module to auto zone to have tested for free.
3) it could also be the stator/pick up coil (AKA camshaft position sensor) inside the distributor.

I had to replace the cam sensor and crank sensor on my 90 for not starting (at different times)
I had to replace the crank sensor and fuel filter on my 89 for not starting

Most of these parts are less than $60.

Hope it goes well at the shop.
Mike

The answer you've all been waiting for... It was the crankshaft sensor. We had the shop do a tuneup, too, since it hasn't had one in something like 5 years. Along with the tow, it ended up costing about $400. (ouch) I know my husband could have done it himself much cheaper, but he needed the Jeep back & running before he would have the time to spend on it. The good news is that it is running fine now. Thanks for all your advice.

Glad you're back on the road. That's the first time I've heard of the crank position sensor dying all at once, usually it's gradual...

How's this for ironic? This week, my '94 Cherokee decided not start anymore, had to be towed, etc....

Since you have both a '94 and '95 Cherokee, I would definately play swap-tronics. That is, pull parts off the one that works until you find the problem with the one that is dead. It would work great to figure out those pesky sensor problems. Just think of the running Jeep as your "control" and the dead one as your "experimental" one. It will keep you from getting "taken for a ride" at your local repair shop. Once you narrow down the problem, just scamper down to your parts house to get exactly what you need.

How's this for ironic? This week, my '94 Cherokee decided not start anymore, had to be towed, etc....

The park neutral safety switch was bad. That explains why the backing-up taillights weren't working. We kind of suspected that was on its way out, but were hoping it would hold on for a few more weeks (or at least not die when we were 20 miles from home!).

Swapping out parts to find out the problem is a good idea, if only we had time to do so and a spare vehicle to drive to work... At least now we have our two Jeeps back up & running. Thanks for all your suggestions.