90 YJ Can snow kill a starter?
 

It's snowing and Syracuse NY gets snow just like Buffalo NY!

I'm sitting on an exit ramp, waiting my turn to get up to the traffic
signal, which is on an incline, and the traffic has been inching through one
car at a time.

Now, it is my turn and I'm waiting for the light to turn green. Just then a
snow plow comes by, does not raise its wing, and dumps about 2-3 foot high
snow (up over the front bumper) about 2-4 feet wide.

I figure, I'm in 4WD (high), have pretty aggressive BF Goodriches on, so I
figure I ought to be able to plow through it.

Light turns green, I can't go backwards to get a running start because
traffic is bumper to bumper up this ramp. And slowly let out the clutch and
start chugging.

Instead of plowing the snow though, maybe because I have wider tires, I
start going up over the snow bank. Still doesn't seem like a problem to me.

As I crest the snow bank and the front tires start to come down. ZAP! The
entire Jeep dies. No lights, no wipers, no fan. Nada. Zip.

I turn off the dead jeep, try to crank it, nothing. Turn it off. Get out,
no interior lights come on.

Because there was an ice storm the night before, I have to get a stick I
have in the Jeep and break a path all around the hood so I can open it.

Open it up and see that I'm in snow up to the lower part of the engine.

Get out my shovel, and shovel all the snow out from under the engine.

When I open the door the interior light comes on. I now have lights,
wipers, fan. Push in the clutch, turn key. Every thing shuts off.

Get out under Jeep, look at starter. Wires seem all good. Tap the starter
with my stick a few times.

Try again. This time lights, wipers, fan work (And I should have said
earlier, I turn them all off before I crank the engine) and I get one click
from the starter.

That's it. One click.

So after this long story (and I don't even want to get in to the rest of the
day, how triple AAA took the Jeep to the wrong garage 40 miles in the wrong
direction and then said they couldn't get it to my garage until the next
day!),

Did something short the starter out? Was it about to die and the snow kill
it?

From Oswego NY......lou