have a 92 xj 4.0l. so jsut recently had starting issues. found out it was my starter had that replaced. worked fine for a couple days when al of a sudden it jsut dies going down road. no stall or anything jsut dead. checked all fuses and relays, they were fine. was acting like i didnt have keys in ignition. got it to start back up with a jigle or 2 to the stearing column. but then would die. all of a sudden it just worked fine and was able to get it back home. was able to hotwire/jump it started but as soon as i put keys in ign to unlock stearing wheel it died. now it wont start at all. get no check engine light or anything. fuses are all still good, so i replaced ignition switch. still nothing. i can crank it over by jumping it, but nothing at the key/ignition. jsut wondering if you guys think it to be ignition assembly or somethiing else

also when i replaced igntion switch one of the connectors had heated up and you could see the dam on old switch(melted/browned plastic) around a pin.

 

It must be something in the steering column.

For starters, if you see a burnt connector, that could in and by itself be the root cause. Burnt connections are bad news. So resolve that first. You may have to splice in a new one.

Besides the ignition switch, the key tumbler I suppose could be in play here.