Liberty CRD won’t start

SmashOgre · **Posted:** Thu Dec 03, 2020 12:06 pm

The site won’t let me use the search function now, so I have to ask what probably has been answered before. My CRD starter barely won’t crank. I know it likely is a bad ground but I can’t find all of the ground points. The one I know about is tight. Where else other than the large ground cable attached to the engine could I have a problem that would prevent the CRD from starting?

I have removed and cleaned the battery terminals also.

I had two different auto parts stores test my battery, starting circuit and charging circuit - all tested good while exhibiting slow crank/start symptoms. This morning the CRD would not crank at all. It acts like a bad battery but I watch the meter during a start attempt and see no deflection of the indicator. The voltage remains at 12.6vdc regardless of whether I’m attempting to crank or not. Btw - this is a replacement starter, not 1 year old.

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Thu Dec 03, 2020 1:59 pm

Have you measured voltage at the starter when you are trying to start the engine? If so, what is it dropping down to?
It certainly can be a bad battery, weak starter, bad cables, bad connections, poor ground, etc... A good digital volt meter can help you diagnose the problem.

To view the factory wiring diagrams in the Factory Service Manual, go here:> http://www.colorado4wheel.com/manuals/Jeep/KJ/
Then click on the link to whatever year model your vehicle is and go to section 8W "Wiring".
All the ground points are shown in the factory wiring diagrams in the manual.

For searching Lost Jeeps, use this trick: plug this into your browser search bar and change the addtexthere in-between the quotes to whatever key words you want to search for and hit enter. :wink:

"addtexthere" site:www.lostjeeps.com/forum/

Hint: It is very helpful if you add your vehicle's information to your signature so others when trying to help will know what you drive. :wink:

Signatures is available in the "User Control Panel" on the top right.

Billybob · **Posted:** Fri Dec 04, 2020 2:34 am

You can take a thick cable with clamps on...ie. a set of thick jumper cables.

Clamp one end to the negative post of the Battery and the other end onto the Starter Motor body.

If it now starts fine then definitely bad grounding.

Put Voltmeter across the battery.
With engine OFF the voltage should be about 12.5 volts.

While cranking voltage should not drop below about 9.5 volts.

While charging should be about 13.4 volts.

Make sure all connections on the Starter/Solenoid are on firmly.

Glow plugs working OK? How does it start when warm?

Could be a bad Solenoid contact although the battery has been replaced already.

The Negative lead on the battery goes straight down to chassis I believe then there is a cable grounding the Firewall to the engine I believe....the 2005 Jeep KJ Service Manual will show them

You sure you have a large capacity battery?

SmashOgre · **Posted:** Sat Dec 12, 2020 9:06 pm

So my problem seems to have two fold. First problem: I determined my CarQuest starter malfunctioned. Thanks to all the posters whose details helped me determine that the voltage never dropped during start attempts. I removed the starter and connected it with jumper cables to a known good battery and observed a slow spin of the starter motor with no power. - BAD. Fortunately Advance Auto Parts did me a solid and swapped it out defective (it was still under warranty) This is the third starter from Advance that has failed. The previous two failed with bad solenoids, this one went with a bad motor.

2nd Problem: I observed the fuel filter assembly seemed to be leaking, not from the heater connector, but just around the junction where the fuel filter meets the mounting assembly. I read on this forum that removing the entire filter assembly is a short cut to replacing the filter. When I clamped the filter assembly to my workbench, expecting a fight to remove the filter, I found the filter was loose (easily removed).

Could it have been leaking this whole time due to a previous mechanic failing to install the filter properly, and could all of that leaked diesel have degraded the starter motor and solenoids over the past few years? Comments welcomed.

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Sat Dec 12, 2020 10:15 pm

Glad you found the root cause of your problems.
Your post is a testament as to why no one touches my vehicles except me. Some mechanics are not what the used to be, there are some good ones, but there are some really bad ones as well. I have met and worked with a few of the bad ones over the years and would never let one of them work on any of my vehicles. But I admit, I am very picky and demanding.

See this post for details on the fuel filter head.
viewtopic.php?p=946715#p946715

Liberty CRD won’t start

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