96 Grand Cherokee quit while driving. Now gauges won't work and it will not turn over. it has power to radio and other components, lights, blinkers. Please help!!

 

My '97 did something similar . . . was running fine, I parked and went in a store (shut it off), came back in a few minutes and when I turned the key, nothing. Radio worked but the gauges didn't move. The starter solenoid didn't make a noise, it was d-e-a-d.

I had owned it for about a month and with being out of town for work, I hadn't touched it. I noticed that it had replacement, "bolted clamp" type battery cable ends. I took the negative off and saw that the wires inside the clamps were green and had some visible "corrosion fluff" on them. I took the clamp apart, brushed it and the cable end real good with a wire brush, put it back together and Varoom!, fired right up and ran fine.

 

^ This first.
If the cables are corroded/loose/bad ground, then power may be enough for radio and lights but not for starting.

 

The positive battery cable clamp is a known problem with jeeps because the lead clamps stretch and don't clamp tightly because the positive battery post is smaller in diameter. If the two sides of the clamp are closed where the bolt is it can't tighten any more. It may feel tight with a wrench but not be clamping the post tight enough to carry the starter load.

I took mine off, took the clamp bolt out, and used a dremel to cut the slot wider. It worked like a champ.

 

Thanks for those of you who replied to my post. I already ruled out the battery terminal. one of the first things we did. Not sure what else to look for. just stumped!!

 

Check the fuses, in the fuse box by the battery. My 97 ZJ did the same issue i replaced the Crankshaft Position Sensor. Got nothing... Looked in the fuse box had a blown fuse changed that and she fired right up.