i haven't had any electrical or charging issues with my '03 since i switched the alternator several months ago, but on saturday i went out to move the truck and even though all lights came on inside and the dashboard lit up correctly, there was nothing from the starter. i couldn't even hear a solenoid or relay click.
i jumped it from my car and it started right up so i figured the battery must have been flat, although i couldn't work out why that would be the case. ultragauge is showing around 14v when the engine is running. after parking it where i wanted it, i shut it off and put it on the charger. full charge in a couple of hours so the battery definitely wasn't flat.
immediately after disconnecting the charger i went to start it and again there was nothing. all lights were again good.
i went out this evening to see if i could start to diagnose the issue but it started right up. i haven't touched it since the last no-response event.


the key does take a tiny bit of fiddling to get it to turn but it doesn't seem a likely culprit since everything else goes live correctly.

any ideas where i should start looking? obviously i don't want to drive it until i get this sorted out because i don't want to be stranded anywhere.

 

The switch behind the ignition key can sometimes wear out. If you can grab another one say from a junk yard you can swap it out without a lot of fuss.

Could also be a bad spot on the starter. I’ve never had a LR do that to me, but my 04 Grand Cherokee did just that 4hr from the nearest town.... Finally hit it with a hammer a few times, bypassed the solenoid and got it to crank. I drove 4hr home, went to pickup a new starter so I could swap it out before my wife needed it for work. Went inside the parts store & of coarse it started right up.... Got home swapped it out & the entire 6 years I owned the WJ I never realized how weak it started. After the new starter it was a different experience lol.

 

does the ignition switch have multiple circuits in it? i should be able to pull the one from my parts truck if that's all it is.

 

My recent no start was similar. Turned out to be a loose battery terminal. Made enough contact for lights to work but all went dark when I tried to start

 

Oh and avoid locking the door s till you get this sorted or keep the hood popped

 

Yeah a poor battery connection can cause it as well.

 

battery connections were the first thing i checked. all is good there.

 

poking around on this forum made me think that it might be the starter itself, so i spent half the morning switching it out for the known-good one from my parts truck. symptom stayed exactly the same so i'm going to try the switch.

 

further reading made me start to consider the xyz switch. i installed the one from my parts truck and thought i had everything lined up correctly because the gear indicators all read as they should. still no start. but then i shifted back and forth through the gears once more and voila, everything roared into life when i tried the key again.
after some trial and error and using a process of elimination, i discovered that i could get a reliable start if i shoved the gearshift firmly forwards. a slight tweak to the xyz and i think i'm reliably good to go.

it really was tricky to work this one out because there was no indication at all that the xyz was the cause of the problem.

 

That is strange, given that the PRND321 indicators were all working correctly. From what I've recalled if they worked correctly the BCU should allow the truck to start since the BCU would be getting the signal that the trans was in Park or Neutral. Just curious - when it wasn't working did you ever try starting the truck with the trans in Neutral?