Hello all, just hoping someone can suggets what might be wrong with my jeep. Basically it just wont turn over occationally, seemingly at random. Less that one in forty times, but thats enough to leave the wife well stuck.

When it wont start, you get the loud clunk of the solenoid, but nothing else happens. I would suspect that it was a contact missing on the starter motor, but if that was the case, once it lined up with the bad contact surely it would then never start at all? Whereas, if you roll it back and forth in gear, or bump it, its fine for a few more weeks.

Which makes me think it might be a dodgy tooth on the flywheel. Is that at all plausible?

Battery is fine, i've just started it 40 times on the drive no probs - just when i was about to remove the starter!

There is surely nothing more annoying that intermittant faults.

Any ideas?

which jeep is

Starter solenoid sticking.

Starter sticking tooth on flywheel / starter solenoid sticking on starter
Thats my guess

Or a sticky starter motor.

Try the "bang it with a stick" method when it won't start - just knock the starter a bit whilst cranking. if it makes a difference, it's likely to be the starter motor sticking - refurb or replace.

Had this on my old mini. Just had a mallet mounted on straps on one of the inner wings in the engine bay - got it going every time without fail

So next time it wont start, i need to carefully turn the crank nut, that will tell me if its a flywheel tooth of the starter/solenoid. Or indeed, just bang it and see

Cheers!

If it was a tooth on the starter ring the starter would engage and spin. It would make a terrible noise in the process. If it were me I would be looking for a dead segment on the commutator or a dodgy solenoid. Replace or recon the motor.

next time it happens stick it in 5 and rock it to see if it is the starter

Just buy and fit a new starter. It's obviously leads,connections,terminals,solenoid,starter brushes,comutator,windings,blah. Do the sums. One episode of wife stood by the roadside = potential cost(might be her life). One recon starter = £50. No brainer.

on a similar theme, ive never before seen a vehicle so hard to bump start! My van, you could do it in a few feet on a gentle slope. This needs someone pushing hard... again, not the wife! esp at 22 weeks pregnant

quote:

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Originally posted by JoelP
on a similar theme, ive never before seen a vehicle so hard to bump start! My van, you could do it in a few feet on a gentle slope. This needs someone pushing hard... again, not the wife! esp at 22 weeks pregnant

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i dont think she would see the funny side of that!