Hi guys, ive been lookin everywhere and its seems like noone has been able to answer this problem: I have a 96 Cherokee 5-speed. and for the past 3-4 weeks it has been feeling like it was completely drained of power, and when i would drive it just about anywhere it would seem fine and then it would randomly start to buck pretty violently like someone was dumping the clutch, since it seemed like the power was cutting in and out like i wasnt even applying the throttle at all. so i replaced the Throttle Position sensor which seem to help for a day or two and it started doing it again randomly and started doing dropping and having a very irratic idle, so i replace the IAC, which again seemed to help for a day or two, then it started happing more frequently and worse. Untill bout 4 days ago when i was trying to get it home and on the road it was starting to buck around 35-40 and all of a sudden the power cut out completely and the jeep stalled and hasnt been able to start since, it cranks like it wants to start but just wont turn over not even with starting fluid.. it was in a cvs parking lot for about a week when i tried to also replace the Crank sensor. and still nothing, i cannot wrap my head around it because im not pulling any codes at all and all the injectors, plugs, wires, cap and rotor are all brand new. My next guess is either the Cam sensor on the distributer or the entire distributer, but i cant keep throwing money at thing tryin to fix it, so please any help will be greatly appreciated

 

It's spinning over fast? Not a low voltage issue at all?

 

I cannot find a low voltage problem anywhere I could think to check, the battery is good, its an optimum red top..and it seems like its spining quite normal, if anything its maybe a little slower than usual but nothing that seemed odd

 

Adopt a "testing" based strategy. Don't throw any more parts at it; not efficient and gets expensive in a hurry.

The first thing on your "to-do" list is to verify if you have spark and if you have spark, what the quality of your spark is

The fact that it doesn't start with starting fluid makes spark more suspect than fuel delivery.

It is very important to understand that you need a strong, BLUE spark. Pull a spark plug, keep it attached to the plug wire, place the plug electrode near a good engine ground. Have a buddy crank the engine over while you watch. You are looking for a strong, BLUE, snapping spark. Yellow/orange/white spark indicates a weak spark which may not be strong enough to start the engine.

If spark checks out (and only if), then start considering other things to test like the camshaft position sensor, etc. But check spark first; it only takes a few minutes and is absolutely the first thing a technician would do in a shop. If spark is weak, test your ignition coil.

Be darn sure your battery is fully charged when you try to start. A marginal battery itself can result in a no-start or can lead to a flooded engine.