1988 XJ electrical problem

Hi, I have a 1988 Cherokee Limited (4.0L, Renix, NP242) and it has an electrical problem. Earlier today and it ran fine but when I entered in my driveway tonight, the engine, the radio, the a/c blower suddenly died before I turned off the ignition! The starter won't crank either. It seems that everything that's turned on by the ignition switch won't work.

The headlights, parking lights, the clock, the power seats and locks still work but the rest doesn't. I think it must be something like a fusible link or a corroded terminal but I haven't found it yet. The fusible links near the battery all seem OK, unless I missed one!

The wiring harness in this Jeep seems much worse than it was in my 1989, there's a big connetor near the firewall (which wasn't there on my '89) that seems damaged and there are a few wires that were cut and bypassed by a previous owner...

I have looked in my haynes manual and in this link: http://jeepgarage.free.fr/ownersmanual.html
but it didn't help me much so far!

What should I look for first?

Had a similar problem. The "No Crank" thing is what tipped it for me - replace the ignition switch (atop the steering column, just inside the firewall.) It's a fairly standard part, should be less than a $20 bill, and note that the "tilt wheel" and "fixed wheel" versions are different.

Mine was going out in the START circuit first. I left the hidden starter switch wired up when I changed the thing - since it's an added bit of security anyhow...

I haven't looked at the ignition switch so far. I look at it tomorrow! I was expecting it was something else like the wiring under the hood but it could be the switch itself... I'm just wondering why this has happened suddenly while the engine was running.

There's no current to the accessories even when the switch is in ACC position.

The ignition switch wasn't getting power from the red wire. I didn't investigate to find where the wire was cut but I ran another #10 wire from the battery with a 30 amps fuse (that's what I had) to the switch and it runs fine now!

Can someone tell me what kind of fusible link was used on this wire. I'm guessing it's around 40 amps. Can someone explain me how to select the right size and lenght of fusible link?