05 Jeep Grand Cherokee won't start every now and again, and BATTERY tests out...

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adeclue2002

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...good. Whats the cause? You can hear the starter solenoid clicking but it wont start, and when we take the batterey to have it tested it comes out fine. And all we have to do is give the jeep a jumpstart and it'll start up. This doesn't happen everytime we start up the vehicle. It's just frustrating. What could cause this?
 
I would personally put a rebuilt starter in it.My 2006 Grand Cherokee has some very unusual problems because of some parts being made cheaply and wearing out too fast, A worn starter drawing high current wouldn't surprise me even with low miles.
 
Two likely possibilities, a bad connection to the battery..which could intermittently cause the problem your experiencing, or a short in the battery that is intermittent...
When you take the battery to be tested it does not go into default so it checks out OK, only to leave you sitting at a later time... I would remove and clean the battery cables and the battery post/terminals and reattach tightly care full not to strip or stress a battery post. Use a battery brush tool to clean all the surfaces, then re-attach the battery cables.
Also it is possible that the connection to the starter is also loose or something, save this for last as this will be the hardest to do.
If your battery is more then 3 years old, it's time for a new one anyway, three years is the expected life span of a battery and in a hot climate like florida for instance, it can be as little as two years... So if your battery is over 3 years, replace it anyway... The place that you took your battery to be tested, may not have done a thou rough test and or they may not want to replace a battery that is still under warranty..
A good place to get a battery is Walmart, good prices, good warranty... My experience tells me it's one of these two problems...Good Luck..
 
probably need a new soleniod (also called a "bendix" any auto electric shop can check this. It is caused by a "burned out" spot on the ring that makes contact when you turn on the starter. It spins with every start so you have a "new" contact for the next start. Some time in the past someone has run the starter for a long time "minutes" because the car would not start. This created heat and left a burned out area on the ring. When the ring stops in this position (sort of at random) it will not make a good contact. In th old days this was "fixed" at least for a short time by leaving the car in gear with and "rocking" it back and forth. It does not have to actually move more than a fraction of an inch for this to work. Not sure if it works on late model cars.
ps the purpose of the spin is to clean off the ring.. it spins against a brush that cleans the ring.
pps if you have an automatic transmission the "rocking" will probably not work.
 
Just because your battery tests out good, doesn't mean it should end there for you. You've said the answer to your problem. It's gotta be one of two things, the cable to you're starter or your starter. Both of these are relatively cheap fixes. If these won't fix the problem, I'd make specific attempts to clean the ground wire. Its gotta work.
 
check all your electrical connection to the starter. if these are sound,check your starter . it sounds like a bad starter solenoid
 
check all your electrical connection to the starter. if these are sound,check your starter . it sounds like a bad starter solenoid
 
Somehow you are not getting enough voltage across that selenoid. Check your ground strap, make sure the terminals are shiny clean, there is a special brush to clean battery posts and terminals. Lastly a battery may test fine in a nice warm shop, but fail to start on a cold morning, the battery can still need replacing.
 
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