So your Jeep wont' start all of the sudden and you're confused.  Well, it just might be your crankshaft position sensor.  I did this in the late summer of, um, 2007 I think.  This, just like all of my write ups so far, have been on my 1996 Cherokee.  Here's the culprit.


First of course disconnect the + (red) terminal on the battery.  Secure away from battery.

Now since you're on top, here's a pic of the wire plug that connects into the wiring harness.


Okay, before we move on, I highly suggest getting an assortment of extensions and 'socket u-joints'/swivels.  I found a good deal on an assortment at Sears and I got those along with a 3 foot or so extension.  See?  Men go on spending sprees too.
The above comment about men was added for the sake of our female readers.

After trying a number of different arrangements, I found that this setup worked best.  It's a 3/8" ratchet for scale.


I don't have any pics of how I routed this whole assemblage, but I think the ratchet was just fore of the transmission crossmember.  Some may find it easier to turn the ratchet and extentions from behind it as well.  Each to their own.

Well, get on the ground and roll under the Jeep on the drivers side.  Looking up into the darkness here's what you'll see with a good light.


The little black thing with a wire that goes up up and away near the exhaust manifold piping is what we're after (top left of photo).  It has 2 bolts, I don't remember the size of them.  Remove the top bolt first and install the bottom bolt first.  This will prevent the bolts from falling into the gap left with the crank position sensor out of place.


Once the sensor is hanging on the end of the wire, pull it up through the intake manifold and disconnect from wiring harness.  Send the new one down the same way, and connect to wiring harness.

Line it up and install bottom bolt, then top bolt.


Remove tools from near vehicle, re-attach battery cables, and see if she starts.

-- Edited by ChevelleSSLS6 at 19:54, 2009-01-19