1997 Jeep Cherokee Car won't start

LJWALSH

MEMBER
1997 JEEP CHEROKEE
6 CYL
AWD
AUTOMATIC
238,000 MILES

Yesterday, my car started, but my wipers (front and rear), interior fan, radio, and turn signal would not work. The headlight worked as well as the interior light. When I arrived at my destination, I restarted the car and all my system worked fine.

Today, when I tried to start the car, nothing happen on the first turn of the key, but then started properly with the second turn. However, I lost all the systems as I lost yesterday.

When I arrived at my destination, the car would not restart. Dead silence when I tried to start the car. When I put the key in the accessory position, all the above systems were operable. I tried to moved it from neutral to park and restart but nothing.

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,871 POSTS

Hi ljwalsh. Welcome to the forum. This sounds typical of burned contacts inside the ignition switch. Also check the connector and wires for signs of overheating. Usually there are only two overheated wires in the connector. Cut them out and remove about 4" of those wires. They will feel hard in the overheated sections and must be removed because solder will not stick properly to that part of the wire. Splice in 4" of new wire and solder on new terminals that can be plugged into the new switch individually.

This problem tends to occur in vehicles where the heater fan is used on the highest speed quite often. The very high current leads to overheating of the switch contacts.

Caradiodoc