I bought a Jeep WJ with a possible bad NSS
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Hey guys,
I bought a Jeep WJ last night at an awesome price. I paid $720 plus $25 in trade to my online fishing tackle store. Its a 2000 Grand Cherokee with 129,000 miles on it. The owner orginally had it listed for $1500 stating it had a radiator leak and intermittent starting issue. When I texted him I found out that he could no longer start the Jeep and he couldn't find the title. I asked him if he was the registered owner and if he would mind meeting me at the DMV to do the paperwork. He ended up going to the DMV and getting the title. I showed up, called Triple A, and had the Jeep towed home.
I did some troubleshooting early this morning and was able to get the Jeep started by jumping the starter relay in the relay box. It runs absolutely great, no missing on the engine, and the transmission shifts great. I am suspecting a neutral safety switch since this a common Jeep problem. My other thought is possibly the ignition switch. Can you think of anywhere to narrow the problem down? Also is there another possible culprit that I am not thinking about?
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Here are some pictures of the Jeep. She is truly beautiful for the price. The interior is in good shape, too but its really dirty. Its probably going to take me an entire day to detail it.
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@IRJ
It seems pretty clean for having 129k miles on it. Seems like an exceptional deal.Sadly I can't think of anything right off that would prevent you from starting it. Bad relay, blown fuse, and the things you specified. By bypassing everything and getting it started 'on it's own power' means that it's something between the ignition switch and the starter relay.
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That's a lot of dust and crap built up on the rims, make sure you check the brakes carefully.
This post brought to you by things I've learned on /r/justrolledintotheshop
Sweet deal though man!
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@MattSpeller said:
That's a lot of dust and crap built up on the rims, make sure you check the brakes carefully.
This post brought to you by things I've learned on /r/justrolledintotheshop
Sweet deal though man!
Yeah the previous owner told me the brakes were kind of sticky. Luckily like almost everything else on Jeeps the brakes are really easy to change. It only takes an hour to do the front and an hour to do the rear and that's if I am taking my time.
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@g.jacobse said:
@IRJ
It seems pretty clean for having 129k miles on it. Seems like an exceptional deal.Sadly I can't think of anything right off that would prevent you from starting it. Bad relay, blown fuse, and the things you specified. By bypassing everything and getting it started 'on it's own power' means that it's something between the ignition switch and the starter relay.
The interior is absolutely horrible, but I think 90% of it will clean up. The leather seats are still good. Only a couple tiny tears on the driver seat and all the other ones are fine. The carpet on the passenger side looks like it may be shot, but who knows what magic powers good carpet cleaner will have.
Side note: Do they sell armor all by the gallon?
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@IRJ Just take the battery out, caulk shut the doors and fill it with 100% alcohol cleaner through the sunroof. It's the IT way.
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So even if the brakes are completely shot..
$19.80 for the front pads
www.amazon.com/Dura-International-BP945-Front-Ceramic/dp/B0049U1BHI/ref=sr_1_6?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1422985364&vehicle=2000-42-349------------4-0&sr=1-6&ymm=2000%3Ajeep%3Agrand+cherokee&keywords=brake+pads$16.20 for rear pads
www.amazon.com/Dura-International-BP791-Ceramic-Brake/dp/B001UC9RDI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=01QJCARSTX11R9GA1R0D$29.00 x2 for front rotors
http://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-18A937A-Advantage-Front-Brake/dp/B0031I2SO4/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1422985339&vehicle=2000-42-349------------4-0&sr=1-2&ymm=2000%3Ajeep%3Agrand+cherokee&keywords=brake+rotors$21.25 x2 for rear rotors
www.amazon.com/ACDelco-18A938A-Advantage-Brake-Rotor/dp/B003YMTJBC/ref=sr_1_3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1422985339&vehicle=2000-42-349------------4-0&sr=1-3&ymm=2000%3Ajeep%3Agrand+cherokee&keywords=brake+rotors -
So $136.50 for an entire new brake system, but its HIGHLY unlikely to have to replace all 4 rotors at once.
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I found a service manual for my jeep. Here is the wiring diagram for the starting system. I am jumping the Engine Start Motor Relay to get the jeep to start. Honestly, I wiring diagrams are tough for my to read. Maybe someone here can help me narrow down my problem
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I can also tell you that the relay itself is not bad. The windshield wipers use the same relays with the same part number. One controls windshield wiper on/off and other windshield wiper speed. I know the wipers work and the jeep still wouldnt start when I swapped relays.
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Man, you got a sweet deal on that ride. That is dirt cheap and not high mileage at all.
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@StrongBad said:
Man, you got a sweet deal on that ride. That is dirt cheap and not high mileage at all.
Here are some interior pics. I spent a good 4 hours to get the interior to this point. It will clean up even more, but I was burned out at this point. You can see the dash and seats look good for the most part. The carpet in the back and the rear will definitely clean up and look pretty good. I think some of the spots on the front carpet may not come out, but I can't really complain too much. The before pictures are almost disturbing....
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Before
Yes that is crust all over the carpet. I am not sure how it got on there, but suprising some good scrubbing and heavy duty carpet cleaner took it out. The coins in the center console came out as one huge sticky clump. This thing was really disgusting
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After
Alot of this is just loose dirt that i scrubbed out, but its just too much work for my little vac. I will need to use a shop vac to really finish it right
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@IRJ said:
After
Alot of this is just loose dirt that i scrubbed out, but its just too much work for my little vac. I will need to use a shop vac to really finish it right
This is basically a new car. I'm amazed that you were able to clean it up that well. Did you ever figure out the starting issue?
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@coliver said:
@IRJ said:
After
Alot of this is just loose dirt that i scrubbed out, but its just too much work for my little vac. I will need to use a shop vac to really finish it right
This is basically a new car. I'm amazed that you were able to clean it up that well. Did you ever figure out the starting issue?
I have more updated information about the troubleshooting in this thread
http://community.spiceworks.com/topic/773032-i-bought-a-jeep-wj-with-a-possible-bad-nss?page=1
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95% of the specks on the seats and carpet are just loose dirt. I really need a highpower vaccuum to finish the detailing
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KBB says its worth $2824 in good condition. After I replace the radiator and faulty NSS and possibly the igntion switch, I will have less than $1k in it. I would consider the vehicle in good condition after I finish the detailing and replace all the faulty parts because it runs absolutely great.
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Well done!
