Hello all. I have a 93 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has an intermittent issue where it will not turn over. The lights and blower fan will come on, the radio works, but the car will not attempt to start at all. The battery is brand new and the terminals were cleaned and are tight. Other times, it will start right up with no problem at all. This began after a cold spell, but it still happens from time to time as it has warmed up. I use it twice daily, but only for about a mile each direction. Prior to this, it was working great. In fact, I just drove it across the country with no issues.
Try shifting to neutral if this happens again. If it turns over and starts just have the neutral safety switch replaced. This is a very common problem with both the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee.
That worked to get it started. The cheapskate in me wants to know if I will do any further damage by just starting the Jeep in neutral whenever this happens, or if I need to get it replaced. Bear in mind that as the weather (hopefully) heats up, I walk to and from work and school and rarely use this vehicle.
My Cherokee has had this problem for over 6 years. It will start in park for months at a time. I use neutral if it does not start in park. Since I’ve been a mechanic since the age of 12 I never sweat the small stuff. If you are not mechanically inclined I suggest that you get the neutral safety switch replaced. At some point in time the switch could fail completely.
The neutral safety switch grounds the starter relay to allow the switch to operate the starter solenoid. If the relay leg to the neutral switch is grounded the neutral switch will not prevent starting. It’s either pin 85 or 86 on the relay, check it out. But when jumpered this way the starter will work even when in gear.