Hello,
I know there are quite a few no-start posts but I'm going insane trying to get my XJ running again after sitting for 2.5 years. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.. it's extremely frustrating not being able to get it fired up at all.
Back in 2017 I bought a 1994 Jeep Cherokee XJ 4.0 Auto 2wd. It was my daily driver for over a year, and it ran strong, never had an issue starting or anything. It did have some electrical issues however, the power windows would rarely work and a few times they sparked up and caught fire while driving...Also I believe the NSS was going bad because every now and then it wouldn't crank, unless I rocked back and fourth. I usually just kept the windows where they were since the switches were so finicky and would sometimes cause the engine to shut down if I used them. Eventually it started overheating, the radiator was gushing water, there was a leak by the thermostat, and the valve cover had a slight leak I believe too. Its been a few years so its hard to remember. I didn't have time to fix everything at the time or have a down vehicle so I bought a 2015 Jeep Cherokee for my new DD.
It has been 2.5 years since the XJ has been started or moved. My wife totaled our 2015 Cherokee this month so I have been trying to get the XJ running for the past few weeks. I have swapped the CPS, Ignition Coil, Spark Plugs, Battery, Oil, Radiator, Thermostat, Water Pump, Fuel Filter, drained the gas, and I bought a new Distributor but they gave me the one for the 2.5, so I haven't installed a new Distributor yet. I also checked all fuses and relays look good.
When I tried to start it initially this month, it wouldn't crank at all. With just the new battery installed, the lights and everything would work but it wouldn't crank. I eventually got it to start cranking after shifting from park to drive a few times. After trying to crank it for awhile one of the bolts from the starter fell off and obviously the teeth weren't grabbing at that point. I reinstalled the starter and it seems to be holding up, but no start. I started reading the forums and checked the grounds, CPS, etc and haven't had any luck what so ever.. I have fuel going to the engine too, I can check at the fuel rail and it sprays out if I remove the connecter.
I cleaned the grounds listed in another post and added a ground to the frame since I didn't have one.
I took a quick video of the spark test and the sound the ECM is making, and was wondering if both look normal? The ECM has a high pitch electrical whine to it and I wasn't sure if that was normal.
Video of ECM sound-
ECM sound
Video of Spark-
Spark Test
Here are the fuses in the cab, not sure if anything is missing, but it looks good?
The gas gauge shows empty, even though I have 5 fresh gallons in it.
The radio interface doesn't really show anything now, I am pretty sure it used to show all the digits.. radio does work however.
I know there are quite a few no-start posts but I'm going insane trying to get my XJ running again after sitting for 2.5 years. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.. it's extremely frustrating not being able to get it fired up at all.
Back in 2017 I bought a 1994 Jeep Cherokee XJ 4.0 Auto 2wd. It was my daily driver for over a year, and it ran strong, never had an issue starting or anything. It did have some electrical issues however, the power windows would rarely work and a few times they sparked up and caught fire while driving...Also I believe the NSS was going bad because every now and then it wouldn't crank, unless I rocked back and fourth. I usually just kept the windows where they were since the switches were so finicky and would sometimes cause the engine to shut down if I used them. Eventually it started overheating, the radiator was gushing water, there was a leak by the thermostat, and the valve cover had a slight leak I believe too. Its been a few years so its hard to remember. I didn't have time to fix everything at the time or have a down vehicle so I bought a 2015 Jeep Cherokee for my new DD.
It has been 2.5 years since the XJ has been started or moved. My wife totaled our 2015 Cherokee this month so I have been trying to get the XJ running for the past few weeks. I have swapped the CPS, Ignition Coil, Spark Plugs, Battery, Oil, Radiator, Thermostat, Water Pump, Fuel Filter, drained the gas, and I bought a new Distributor but they gave me the one for the 2.5, so I haven't installed a new Distributor yet. I also checked all fuses and relays look good.
When I tried to start it initially this month, it wouldn't crank at all. With just the new battery installed, the lights and everything would work but it wouldn't crank. I eventually got it to start cranking after shifting from park to drive a few times. After trying to crank it for awhile one of the bolts from the starter fell off and obviously the teeth weren't grabbing at that point. I reinstalled the starter and it seems to be holding up, but no start. I started reading the forums and checked the grounds, CPS, etc and haven't had any luck what so ever.. I have fuel going to the engine too, I can check at the fuel rail and it sprays out if I remove the connecter.
I cleaned the grounds listed in another post and added a ground to the frame since I didn't have one.
I took a quick video of the spark test and the sound the ECM is making, and was wondering if both look normal? The ECM has a high pitch electrical whine to it and I wasn't sure if that was normal.
Video of ECM sound-
ECM sound
Video of Spark-
Spark Test
Here are the fuses in the cab, not sure if anything is missing, but it looks good?

The gas gauge shows empty, even though I have 5 fresh gallons in it.

The radio interface doesn't really show anything now, I am pretty sure it used to show all the digits.. radio does work however.
