JoeFlask13

Hi, new here, love it.
I have a great but at the moment fussy 98 Cherokee Sport w/4.0 Inline Six. She's having a problem with starting. She'll crank, but won't turn over. It's a spark issue, and I've already replaced the plugs, wires, dist cap and rotor. The battery is good, just over a year old, and the starter is also about the same age. Anyway, a buddy told me that it could be a bad/disconnected ground wire. No where can I find an idea of where exactly to look for it. I vaugley (though I could be wrong) remember one around where the starter is (It's a Mitsu starter, btw), but I don't know. Could anyone give me any advice?

Thanks,
Joe

okcjeeper

there are 2..a ground strap drivers side attached to head and runs to firewall, looks like a wide braided strap.. The other passangers side on the block to fender I think.

JoeFlask13

Thank you, I found them and sure enough, the braided-looking ground strap was 3/4 of the way "eaten through". It's hard as heck to remove the nut that attaches one end to the head, but I'm thinking (hoping) that was the problem. (I also hope once I get it replaced, it'll never go bad again...it REALLY is a pain, lol)

Thanks again.

finneys98xj

replace your ground wire to elimanate it.

offroadnut36

i had the same problem. i got the duralast gold 2G wires. i dont know how to put the positive cabke in though...it looks the exact same as the negative only 6 in. shorter

BuckB91XJ

Replacing that ground would cure a no crank or charging problem. With a no spark I would be looking at:

1.) Coil
2.) Ignition Module
3.) Cam Position Sensor (inside distributor under rotor plate)

okcjeeper

That specific ground IMHO should be replaced with good solid welding wire...It is a weak point IMHO. Those braided straps suck.

BlueXJ

Look also at the CPS. This being bad will allow it to crank but there is no spark or power to the injectors.

JoeFlask13

Thank you so much to everyone who has given suggestions. Like I said before, that bolt that attached the ground wire to the head is in a VERY inconvienent place and, as with much on her, I'm sorry to say, pretty rusty, so it's being a bit of a b*tch to deal with. (PB blast, wait, make about another three dozen quater turns, till my hand feels raw, PB blast again, go do something else for a while, come back and start again...)

Hopefully, it's the ground, and if not, I'll start working on the other suggestions and pop back on here several times to update and ask anything else.

Once again, thanks so much everyone. I'm so glad I stumbled onto this forum!

XJ Stryker

Definitly do as Blue suggested and Reference your crankshaft position sensor (CPS) your problem could be as easy as unplugging the connector and then plugging it back in.

Pic for reference

JoeFlask13

Hello, again, all. It's been a while, but for a variety of reasons, I've only recently been able to get back to work on my XJ. So I replaced the grounding wire-NOTHING. I then went and replaced the Ignition Coil. Still, NO spark. Now I was re-reading this thread, and I have a confused moment. The CPS that is talked about above in one instance is the "Cam Postion Sensor", then in another is the "Crankshaft Postion Sensor". These are in totally different places (obviously), and I was wondering if someone could let me know WHICH one I'm supposed to be going after. ~Thanks

caged

crankshaft positioning sensor. it's located on the transmission bellhousing on the drivers side. there is a 3 wire connector that goes from it to around the back of the valve cover area behind the throttle body.

you could try unplugging it and simply blowing in it and plug it back in.

JoeFlask13

Okay, I found it, unplugged it at the top of the engine and blew it out (So Nintendo gerneration, lol) and plugged it back in, but still nothing. I went looking for a replacement, and now there's a new twist. Autozone has a Duralast (though one friend keeps referring to it as Durajunk) CPS replacement for $85, but Summit Racing (which is only about 45 mins away from me) has one for about $30 cheaper...however on Summit's site, they only list cables for XJs with the 4.0 I6 going to 1996, this is listed as the same engine as what I have (4.0 I6) but it says it's for the Grand Cherokee and Wrangler. Does anyone know, was that engine universal to all three? Or am I going to be stuck with having to get the more expensive cps? I'm not trying to be a cheap skate, but $30 is $30, ya know? Here are the links to the parts. Any help will be hugely appreciated.
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/cat...estions=%5B%5D

XJ Stryker

You could run into problems with the connector they changed the connector on it just about every year! I would remove the old CPS (don't let the bolts fall into the bellhousing) then take it to Summit with you so you can properly match it up.

And yes I was reffering to the Crankshaft position sensor.

okcjeeper

The Cam Position Sensor on your distributor is also called the pickup coil..