Hello,

I have a 98 XJR. When I turn the key I can hear the starter click but the car won't turn over. All the dash lights come on and everything seems to work but the car just won't start. The battery is good and I just cleaned the negative ground and the positivite terminal cables. I checked the fuses and they're fine also. Is it the starter or a starter solenoid? Also if I keep turning the key after like 50x it sometimes starts which is weird.

Thanks for the help, greatly appreciate it.

 

Ok, lets start with your statement on just cleaning the battery terminals. Was there corrosion on either? If so, that corrosion gets down in the cable and isn't removable and should be replaced. It will also prevent the proper amount of power from reaching the starter.

In saying, this also tells me your battery may not be up to snuff if there is corrosion. Good batteries don't put off corrosives unless they are below the charge level which deteriorates the electrolytes to a depleted state. Recharging only brings back a % of them, the others are dead. This process done over and over, kills more and more to the batteries inability to provide enough power. Meter your battery, if your below 11.5v, you most likely don't have enough power for the starter.

Check for swelling on the battery, usually on either or both ends. A battery tender will eliminate this issue. Just the other day I changed my 15 yr old battery out, it finally gave up the ghost. The terminals were clean, but there was swelling on both ends and the negative terminal.

...and speaking of negative, check your grounds....if after a few attempts to get the starter to engage, go back and feel the negative lanyard to see if its warm. That lanyard could be bad.

 

One possibility is some corrosion in the in-line connector on the wire going to the starter solenoid (marked on the attached pic). Disconnect it and clean its pins. It should be easily accessible if you remove the air intake pipe.

 

I will try this and let you know!

 

got it fixed up boys, much thanks!

 

What was your solution in case someone runs across this thread with the same issue?

 

call me an idiot but you were right about the battery not having enough to crank for the starter. I assumed when turning the key that everything coming online was a sign of a good battery but I got the battery tested and I was at low 800 CCA. The car needs minimally 900. I got a new battery and she started right up. I went with a quality battery because before an Oreillys piece of crap battery was in.. Cost me 200$ but I'm happy she's running again.

 

Cheers!