greetings
2004 auto wont start. Plenty of battery power but the key just turns and nothing happens. Swapped starter relay and ignition fuse but still nothing. I can hear faint click behind the fuse panel in the glove compartment. Funny thing is when i stopped, the jeep was in drive and for some reason i shut it off then realized in wasnt in part so i put it in park after. Just got home and plan on going back in the morning to see what i can do. Thought maybe the connections to starter selonoid is bad. Will jumping the selonoid work.plan on cleaning the connections but beyond that , i'm lost. Any ideas where to start looking.thanks

It could be the park/neutral switch is not properly positioned so try holding the key in the start position & move the shifter slowly back & forth from park to drive a couple of times & see if it tries to start.

It could also be the starter so either jump the solenoid small wire with 12v or do this:

To check the starter & wiring to it make a short jumper wire, MAKE SURE THE JEEP IS IN NEUTRAL OR PARK, pull the starter relay, verify that terminal 30 has battery power (from fuse 6) & jump between the 30 & 87 terminals (terminal #s usually marked on the side of the relay). That should crank the engine & with the key on it should start. If that works the switch may not be sending the power to the starter relay.

Then if it starts that way, and this is the most common problem, it is possible you have a broken ignition actuator pin tip which is between the key cylinder & the ignition switch. That will keep the switch from turning all the way to the start position. Sometimes it is intermittent especially if it is cracked & not yet broken all the way. The best way to tell is to take it apart. You will need a security t-10 Torx bit or you can break the security tab off with a small punch or even a common nail & use a standard bit. There is only 1 t-10 security bolt holding the ignition switch on to the actuator assembly & with that removed you can slide the switch off & see the actuator tip (without removing the whole assembly). The switch snaps onto the actuator so you may need to pry it a little but be careful not to bend the flexible rod that goes into the switch. If that rod gets damaged it may hang up & the "key in" chime may come on even when you take the key out. Just be careful to go straight away from the actuator until the rod clears the switch & you should be OK. When apart you can see if the pin tip is broken & you can turn the switch with a screwdriver to test the switch & the rest of the circuit.

Here is a link with good photos. If the tip is broken then you can remove the rest of the assembly.

Photo of broken pin tip & of assembled cylinder, pin & switch
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/tj...crank-2163585/


U-tube video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=7SKQpbn9Zjo

I'll add that a Phillips and T-20 are also needed for the actuator replacement.