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hemi wk jeep starting problem

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hemi jeep
10K views 38 replies 10 participants last post by  attilahooper 
#1 ·
I have an 05 WK limited with the 5.7. I've had the battery tested, I replaced the starter, swapped the starter relay for one of the others.

What else could possibly be the problem?? Please help, I'm stumped. When I turn the key, all I get is a clicking sound. The clicking is a lot louder inside the jeep then listening from under the hood while someone else is turning the key. Thanks for the help in advance.
 
#2 ·
The clicking sound should be the opening/shutting of the relays under the hood. Since you've already been down the starter replacement route and have supposedly had your battery checked (the WK's are SUPER sensitive to slight variations in voltage), the next thing I'd look at is your ignition switch. Cheap replacement and most people have to replace theirs anyway during the life of their WK's it seems. :thumbsup:
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the quick reply! I really am kind of stumped! I actually had someone helping me for a few minutes today. I got the starter completely in, and am still having the same issue. Come to find out, I dont think it was the starter at all. When I turn the key to start my jeep, it's not the starter clicking, it's something else? The click is definitely louder inside of the jeep then under the hood, but you can faintly hear it from under the hood. Would an ignition switch, or neutral safety switch cause a clicking? Those two things right there seem to be the culprit though since the starter isn't turning, nor the solenoid kicking out. I already tried switching the starter relay for the ac clutch relay, so I'm pretty sure that isn't the issue.
 
#5 ·
Strongjeff,

They are tight..I spent an extra hour last night tightening them.. I even used my phone to take pictures and make sure(you cant really see in the little fox hole that you have to reach into to tighten them).. Like I said, I had someone turn the key last night while I had my hand on the starter, and the clicking isn't even the starter..
 
#6 ·
Starter relay? Swap it for another relay. When I leave my wk for a long time I remove the starter relay. There's also another relay under the center console I believe I can hear it click once when I start the jeep.
 
#7 · (Edited)
So, I took some advice from another forum, and now I'm even more stumped on what the problem could be. What I did was took a 14 gauge wire and put a female spade connector on it. I then plugged that onto the male spade connector on the starter solenoid, and touched that wire to the battery to see if I could get the starter to spin that way. Sure enough the starter spins up. BUT, with the key in the on position while doing that should start my jeep. It doesn't. So now I'm even more confused. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'd really like to get this problem figured out. I dont really have the money right now to take it to the dealer/shop...

edit-- I guess I should add all the lights and gauges light up in my dash when I turn the key to the on position?
 
#15 ·
Would a neutral safety switch keep it from starting/running? I mean I know it would keep it from turning over, but today when I hooked the starter up with a wire directly from the battery, I had my key in the on position.. So it should have started, right?? In other words, does the computer look at the neutral safety switch for more then just when its starting?? Not sure I worded that all correctly, hopefully you get what I'm saying..
 
#16 ·
You sir are correct. When you jumped it you bypassed the ignition switch and by doing that bypassed the neutral safety switch. Since there was no signal from the neutral safety switch to the ecu.
 
#27 ·
You know, I just started thinking.. My key fob unlock quit working a couple months ago.. Then about a month ago I started getting an error with a low tire pressure, but the pressure it was giving me was wrong... I'm starting to think it could be the WCM... Would it cause the problem I'm having? I usually leave my cell phone charger plugged in, and was just reading that, that can cause problems.. I'm wondering if that was causing it to mess with it's programming, and now it finally lost all of it?? I dont know if this is all a stretch or not..
 
#30 ·
I changed the ignition switch, but I'm wondering if the one I bought isn't defective... One thing I noticed, is that the jeep 'chimer', the dinging when you leave your lights on and your getting out, or leave your keys in the jeep and open the door.. It only works if I turn the key a little bit.. Like as soon as I put the key in the ignition with the door open it should start chiming, but it doesn't..

So that's kind of where I'm at right now.. Either the WCM or the ignition switch I put in was defective.. After all this happened, I read that it's not good to have a lot of keys(weight on your key chain) hanging from the ignition.. Sure enough I did.. As well as I learned from reading through forums that it's not good to leave a charger in your 12v constant on power outlet, not only because of the slow constant drain on your battery, but it messes with the WCM..
 
#33 · (Edited)
I was just laying in bed, and can't sleep.. I realized that I haven't given you guys an update as far as this problem goes..

So, I finally broke down and took it to the jeep stealership.. I'm just hoping I dont get bent over, sideways, and upside down.. I took it wednesday, but didn't get there till 2 minutes before they closed because of the tow truck driver.. Needless to say, they didn't get a chance to look at it till today.. They didn't get to look at it until about an hour before they closed though. Apparently the door lock froze and they couldn't get into the jeep(since the key fob isnt working right now).. Which brings me to another question, but I'll save that for a second. So it took them from 8 in the morning till 3 in the afternoon just to get into the jeep, which I sure as heck hope they dont try to charge me for. All they had to do was spray some door de-icer in there, use a heat gun, or patiently use a hair dryer. I'm hoping when they finally get to it tomorrow they'll hook the star scan up to it, and get the problem taken care of right away. I'll update again when I find out exactly what the problem is so hopefully it'll help someone else out in the future.

Back to my question from a second ago, does anyone else have a problem with any of their windows freezing closed, or door lock freezing?? I've only had my door lock freeze one other time, and it was extremely cold like it has been here recently(right around 0 degrees).. The windows, mostly the drivers side window, seem to freeze quite a bit though. Is there a fix for keeping them from freezing, or is it just a bad design by jeep?

I wish I could have gotten my jeep fixed myself.. This is the first time, and hopefully the last time that I ever have to take my vehicle to the shop. I've always been able to wrench on, and get my vehicles fixed. This problem just seriously stumped me.
 
#35 ·
Sorry, I thought I posted an update to what the problem was.. It ended up being that third smaller wire shorting out, I believe that's a signal wire(tells the starter to start spinning).. I didn't think that was the problem because I took a wire and ran it straight to the battery, but apparently you can't test that wire that way.. I was able to get the starter to spin that way, but it wouldn't start with the key in the on position.. So I assumed that wasn't the problem.. BUT that was the problem.. If that makes any sense.. So in other words they ran a new wire to where it was supposed to go in the wiring harness, and it worked..
 
#36 ·
Mine did the same thing. I had to tell the dealer about an updated part. The pigtail wire was corroding inside the plastic plug that clips to the starter. The new part has a better plug and some shrink tubing to seal it from the elements. Haven't had another problem in 3 years. I asked the dealer about the 300 bucks I spent for them to not be able figure it out. I also ask if he wanted me to come in and train some of their techs since they don't know what the hell their doing. I think they know I'll never set foot in that place again.
 
#39 · (Edited)
Obrigado ! So there are 3 wires. yellow/grey, red, brown/red

Fault in Yellow/Grey circuit would explain Starter Motor Relay <click> but not enough juice.

Edit: I just went out to do a test. I put car in D and tried to start - no <click> from solenoid. So now I know that the trans lockout will prevent the solenoid from being energized. Whenever I have a failure to start I do hear the click. This leads me to believe that the lockout is not the problem when <click> is heard from the solenoid.

btw, I have replaced the ign switch - not the entire cylinder. It's not that hard to do if you have small hands and well worth the piece of mind. The original started to go a couple years ago and it cause all manner of problem with the dash. Xmas tree effect.
 
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