I have a 98 Cherokee. Was driving along and the volt meter went to zero. Pulled into a lot. While parking I drove over a speed bump and also lost the rest of the guages except the speedo. Also lost the radio and lights. Shut of the Jeep. Attempted to start it again and got nothing. Jump started the Jeep and drove away. Jeep went ten yards and died . No start again. I'm thinking alternator but would welcome any input before I remove the old one and spend the money. Thanks!

 

Charge the battery or put a known good battery in it. Start it. disconnect the battery while it is running if it dies its the alternator, if not you might have a loose ground.

 

not a good idea,on newer vehicles disconnecting the battery while its running can damage the computer.

 

If the alt is working it will maintain as if nothing is wrong. If the jeep dies it will not hurt anything because it will instantly die as if you cut the key off. Yes it could be bad for some vehicles with more advanced computer systems but an xj is not that advanced.

 

it may not damage the computer in xjs,but is still a good rule of thumb to go by for those who may not know a whole lot about this kinda thing.its just as easy to get a cheap multi meter and check the voltage out put.