Jeep Repair: Jeep wont start, jeep grand cherokee laredo, jeep grand cherokee

Question
I have a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. w/170,000 miles on engine. I have had no problems w/it.  Yesterday I went out to start it & it turned over fast as usual but never fired. Any idea of what would cause this?  I did have one day about a week ago that none of the gauges worked for about a minute. Then all of sudden they were fine.
Thanks!
Don  

Answer
This could be a couple of things like a fuel pump that has quit working, a coil pack that has gone bad or a crank sensor maybe.

I can help you check a few things but you'll need access to a test light and a multimeter.  Right off I would suggest spraying a carb/injector cleaner in to the throttle body (aerosol kind of spray) and have someone else try and start the vehicle.  It may start up and then stall out.  If it does then you can try spraying while having your buddy try and restart the car.  Vehicles that are starving fuel fuel can actually be run off of just that can and so you may be able to do the same.  

If you vehicle runs you've got either no fuel in the tank, the pump is bad or a wiring problem preventing the pump from running.  Listen for a whine coming from the rear when you cycle the key from on to run.  If you have no whine then hit the tank pretty hard a couple of times while trying to restart.  If it finally catches and runs you'll need a new pump.

There's a chance your problem is electrical and spark related.  You'll need at least a multimeter to start the next part of the checking so let me know what you find there.
Doug