Hey all,

I can't tell if this is an okay place to ask a non-ford question, I thought there was a forum for non-ford issues but I can't find it if this isn't it. You guys have always been so helpful I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on this for me...

I'm trying to figure out an issue with a 2008 Jeep Patriot.

She told me it had been not wanting to start when it was wet out for a while, and now it's not starting at all.

It "tries" to start, but after it starts to turn the motor over it stops turning over and just grinds. I already replaced the starter and it made no change.

Could it possibly be electrical? It sounds to me like the teeth in the flexplate, but I hate to tell her we have to pull the motor. I can't quite see the flexplate, what I can see looks a little "shiny" but I can't tell if it's enough to cause an issue. There is some body damage and some wires kinda hanging on the side, but none of them appear to be directly starter related. They appear to have been that way for quite some time and I don't think they are the origin of this problem, although I'm not certain.

Anyone have an idea?