Ok , I have the same problem, I was told to replace the ignition module i just ordered it. also a friend of mine works at a dealership and he said this is very common on 97 sports, The computer goes out, cost 214.97 to replace i had the same problem and the a mechanic said it was the computer, but i still thought it was a crank sensor. i replaced the crank sensor first and the Jeep runs great. My 98 with the straight 6 did the same thing, and the mechanic at the dealership told me I needed a new computer without looking at it. A friend of mine with an computer reader plugged it in and found both a bad crank sensor and a bad O2 sensor (not in that order, however), replaced both (one at a time) and it runs like new now, even if it has 120k on it.
I was browsing for the same info and came across this article. http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/feb99/techtotech.htm I think is worth reading because I spent a lot of money/effort/hours on the problem that I had with my '95 Cherokee (which was almost the same you have). Good luck solving it
it could be the coil pick up in your distributor
Yes. The Crank sensor monitors the position and rotational speed of the engine to determine timing for ignition. if it is not functioning you will get no spark.
Check to see if you are getting spark (coil) and fuel
An ignition coil is an coil that is used to change the volts in a battery to ignite the spark in the spark plug. This is necessary to get the engine to start up and the car to run.
It could be in need of a new set of ignition wires (spark plug wires).
there are several problems that could cause this on a jeep one is the ignition switch, the starter, the gear changer on the transmission.
plenty of things could be a starter, alternator, ignition switch, bad spark...
The most common failure associated with those symptoms is the Crankshaft Position Sensor.
A bad ignition coil will cause your engine not to have any spark. Without any spark the engine cannot start or run.
Depends on the motor, 4cyl or V6, but it could be the ignition module, or the crank sensor
If it is getting fuel, try a new spark plug. The old plug could be fouled.You start by determining the reason why it won't start. Ignition, compression, and fuel... you need all of them in order to get the vehicle running.
It could be the coil - it could be the spark plug. If it has electronic ignition it could be weak