1997 Wrangler won’t start

smcelroy

New member
Hello I am new to the Jeep thing. I recently bought a 1997 wrangler tj with the 2.5 inline four cylinder. It has been sitting for several months due to it not starting. It will crank all day long with no start. I’m not getting power to the fuel pump. I have tested the pump and it works fine. I have tried troubleshooting electrical. I’ve tested and checked all relays and fuses. No blown fuses and the relays test good. Also my voltage gage, fuel gage and radio are not working. Not sure if this is related or if this stuff was just not working before. Also my wipers will not shut off once turned on. Not sure if this is related. You have to turn the key off and reset. I ended up pulling the fuse for the time being. As far as I know everything else seems to be working fine. I also order a new crank positioning sensor. I have not gotten it yet but Iv read that this can be the issue for some I pulled the old one and it definitely did not look right. The end close to the wires appeared to be melted.

any help would be greatly appreciated.


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Are there any codes set?
Be sure your battery is in good health the next try. All the previous attempts weaken the battery. This could cause other issues.

The crank sensor on the bell housing would be the first thing to change.

Is there a security key?
This would be second
Be sure the key is programmed in.
Or it could be the module in the column needs to be replaced and key programmed.

The dash may be the connector behind the gages loosened. It happens.


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Last edited:
Thank you for your input. After every attempt on troubleshooting I put the battery on charge. It holds good voltage. It does not have a security key which on a 97 I would think it would have a programmed key. It doesn’t have any check engine lights but Iv got a buddy who’s gonna come out his snap on computer on it Saturday to tell me if it is showing any codes.


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Make sure the sensor is OEM and has a paper gasket on it. The gasket sets the spacing. Otherwise you set it in too far snd damage the new sensor on first start.

Non OSM sensors have been known to be bad out of the box.


If the key and module were not programmed together you might get the key error light. But your dash isnt working correctly.... so how would you know???

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The sensor arrived and did not have the paper portion on the end so that could cause issues I’m sure. I’m getting power everywhere and the computer is getting power in all the right areas. I ended up opening the computer and come to find out one of the transistors has sprung an oil leak and it looks as if the oil has gotten between the board resin and the circuits. I think this might be the issue but not 100% sure on it


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You could make your own paper gasket. It is there to set the spacing.
There is no oil in transistors. Only magic smoke. That tiny Can like thing that swole and leaked was a capacitor. Likely the computer is toast if the caps are fried. Post a pic of the oil. It may be something else like wax...


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