1997 Jeep Cherokee Won't Start

Kris Gandillon

Kris Gandillon

The Other Curmudgeon
_______________
Son drove it to Best Buy this evening...

Came out, got in and it wouldn't start...

Cranks fine but one thing that is obvious is that ALL the gauges are pegged to the left/zero...they do NOT register ANYTHING.

Usually the gas gauge and voltmeter would at least register IIRC but no, nothing.

Any ideas at what this could be? Would the ECM cause this scenario if it went out?

Kris
 
CTCStrela

CTCStrela

Membership Revoked
All the gauges are at Zero?

Throw a different battery in it, see if they are still at zero.. if they are, open the manual and check EVERY single fuse/fuseable link...there are some in the car directly, and some outside of the car..

let me know..
 
B

Bigbng

Inactive
Yup, sounds like battery may be DEAD.

Computer will now have to "re-learn" all settings, may take 50 miles or so. Same thing happened when I had a stereo installed. They disconnected the (weak) battery for a few hours, and the car ran like crap untill I took it back out on the highway for a few hours. (The battery was very old, replacing it certainly solved a lot of problems.)
Damn, I have the same problem I had when I had new tires installed, the computer has to LEARN all the normal setting so the lights can blink on he dashboard..........

Battery test, see if it holds a charge, maybe your alternator is not charging it?

I had a Honda that sat in the back 40 for a couple of months. When I went to start it up, the alternator was "seized". After cranking it with a pipe wrench and insane amounts of WD-40, the puppy ran fine, although the belt was chewed a bit. But what I'm trying to say is that while the belt is squealling, it is NOT charging tha battery. If you leave a battery for more than 2 months, you may end up in the same sceanario....
 
D

don24mac

Veteran Member
If it's cranking fine, battery shouldn't be dead. Could something have been stolen from under the hood while your son was in Best Buy? Nothing looks disconnected under the hood? Bad (or missing) ECM could cause that.
 
H

hughmanity

Veteran Member
Not a mechanic but

seems that there are two things a car needs to start, spark and fuel. If you have spark maybe you are not getting fuel to the spark. Have you been offroading. If so the fuel filter could be clogged. I would also check the spark plug wires at both the plug and the distributor cap. Also a cracked or loose distributor cap could be allowing moisture to collect in the cap fouling the spark.

Hope this helps.

PS it would be a good idea to check the fuses, if your instrument panel is also not working. I have two cherokees and when my son and daughter return I can pull the manuals and let you know which fuses are most likely a problem in this scenerio.
 
WFK

WFK

Senior Something
just stopping by...
is he STILL standing outside Best Buy?

Just asking because this is a goodie.
 
nanna

nanna

Devil's Advocate
I don't know if this is the case on the newer Jeeps (hehe), but jiggling the gear shift to make sure it is firmly in "PARK" sometimes makes the difference between the truck turning over or -nothing- happening.

I hope it is this simple :)


nanna
 
biere

biere

Veteran Member
On a gas engine you need fuel, spark, and proper timing for it to run. On these new cars simple electronics can mess any of the above up.

On a diesel engine you just need fuel and timing since it is normally a compression engine so there is no spark, some diesels have weird things so I won't say always.

On something like this I think fuse, prank from fellow "friends" if the car was not locked or someone could have gotten keys, or thief who wants some specific high dollar easy to sell parts. And of course it can be other electronic parts, as mentioned the lovely electric fuel pumps are known for this.
 
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