1st time posting great forum ..well heres the problem im having, was driving home when the motor just quit was like the key got turned off tried to restart it just turns over with the smell off gas with it. had it towed home checked the coil for spark it had spark but weak also have no spark at plug wires any help would be great....new wires cap and rotor and plugs...coil orginal to jeep ...97 grand cherokee 5.2.....215k

 

first off, welcome! this site is indeed insanely awesome. second, there is a GC section that will net you more results. that said, air, fuel, spark and compression are all crucial. get it on a code reader to try and get a more specific direction.

a good tune up is probably in order, refresh grounds and leads, probably a new sensor or two, CPS, TPS, IAC, o2 just to name a few.. good luck

 

Could be your cps (crankshaft positioning sensor) same thing happen to my xj I replaced the sensor and I was back on the road

 

this was my first thought.. they will cause the jeep to not run. not many other sensors will do that, save NSS i suppose.. which makes me think- did you try starting it in neutral? if so and it starts, bad NSS (neutral safety switch)

 

Will not crank (turn over) with bad NSS.

 

Thanks guys...going to get a cps and new cap and rotor for some reason the button on the cap is worn and rotor these are only a year old and put roughly 5000 miles on those i dont drive it too
much.

 

wait.. are you agreeing with me, literally saying what i just said, or saying im wrong?

 

I could have worded that a bit better! I am disagreeing with you provided I understand what everyone is saying.

The OP said it turns over which I assume means cranks but not starts. Assuming the GC is same as the XJ, the engine will not crank with a bad NSS -- nothing happens when you turn the key to START.

 

but doesnt putting it into neutral bypass all of this and allow you to start it?

 

No, the NSS (aka, 'range switch') only allows the starter signal circuit to be completed by the ignition switch when the transmission is in Park or Nuetral. In order to bypass the NSS you need to go around that switch or simply apply power directly to the starter

 

Not necessarily. A properly functioning NSS switch will allow start in Park or Neutral. A bad or improperly adjusted NSS may or may not allow start in Neutral when it does not allow start in Park.

When working on my '85 5-sp and before I got my '93, I borrowed a friend's '92 for several days. I knew nothing about the NSS but figured out how to start it by holding the key in the Start position and moving the shifter back and forth between Park and Neutral until the NSS made contact -- a PITA but it always eventually started.

Edit: rompnXJ beat me in.