I have a 1999 Jeep Cherokee sport with an intermittent starting problem. when this problem occurs battery and fuel gauges go to zero. then the jeep can sit awhile and it will restart.

 

That sucks.

 

Does this happen with a cold engine, a hot engine, or BOTH?

It is not uncommon for both of those gauges to be affected when you have an issue with your "crankshaft position sensor".

Check out this link and you'll see the loss of those gauges as a crank sensor symptom here:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/c...ailing-639123/

Next time it happens, try this. The connector for the crank sensor is near the firewall/#6 injector. Unplug it, then check your gauges.

If the gauges work with the crank sensor taken out of circuit, you have the smoking gun proof that the crank sensor is to blame. And I think chances are good that this is the problem.

If you buy a crank sensor, do yourself a favor and buy it only from the Jeep dealer for the best reliability and longevity. Aftermarket crank sensors are hit and miss, with a LOT of miss.

Keep us updated.

 

Definitely sounds like your CPS is the problem. My 98 did the same thing when my CPS was taking a dump.