2007 Jeep Compass 2.4 4WD intermitent start

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Hey all,

I’m trying to help my friend with his 07 Jeep compass. The problem is most of the time it’s no crank no start. We will get one click from the starter and that’s it. The battery is charged, jumping won’t help. On ocassion, it starts just fine. I looked up a wiring diagram and found from the TIPM 1 wire that goes straight to the starter and supplies voltage when the key is turned. I disconnected it from the TIPM and found the wire to be grounded. I’m assuming that means there’s a short somewhere. The question I have is, would the short be somewhere in the wire, or could it be the starter itself shorted? We did replace the starter recently with a Reman from Advance Auto. Let me know if I’m way off course with this.

2

The simplest first thing to do is just to pull the main cable connections at both sides - the battery terminals, starter connection, and main grounds - clean them up and reinstall wrench tight. This just sounds like classic bad connection stuff. (Of course, the starter got replaced but did anyone clean up the wires terminals - like with some sand paper or something?)

And you can’t go by how things “look” or “feel” (aka “they look clean and feel tight”). Pull them off, clean them up and try again.

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3

That’s the starter solenoid being energized.

But for some reason battery voltage isn’t operating the starter.

Either there’s a bad connection from the battery to the starter, or a bad starter was installed.

Tester

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4

Clean the ground connection from engine to body at the body end. When that fails, go on to the next step that seems appropriate.

5

Did you replace the starter before the intermittent start started or you replaced the starter because of the intermittent start?? recently is a little vague…

6

We replaced the starter because of the problem.

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7

Are the voltages at the starter correct?

8

Update. I pulled the starter (in these, huge pain) I took the starter to Auto zone and it passed with flying colors. I cleaned all the contacts, I measured 12V going to the starter end of the positive battery cable. I measured a ground on the ground cable. I put everything back together and it’s still not starting. I still get just one click. I’m at a complete loss as to what’s happening. Does anyone have any other ideas what could be happening?

9

Is there 12 volts on the solenoid wire and the battery cable while the ignition is in the “start” position?

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10

Update. Problem solved! I originally cleaned the terminal for the battery real well, I didn’t clean the actual positive cable where it goes into the terminal. I pulled the terminal off to find the classic green surprise, cleaned that up and she’s consistantly starting now. Thanks all for the help.

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