1991 Jeep Cherokee Electrical Problem

The car would not start. When I turned the key I could hear a slight "pop" noise (like an electrical short). The car still started but the radio will now not work. I took it into a shop and they said it worked fine. I doubt they knew what they were doing. A couple days latter the car would not start. I replaced the battery. I jumped it and it ran good for a couple weeks. Now it will not start, completely dead, although if I jump start it it will start and run. I shut it off and tried to start it again and noticed the "pop" again. The "pop" is coming from within the key area. Once you turn the key off it is deader than a door nail. Please help.

sounds like you need a new ignition switch. (just a guess, but it's a fairly cheap fix, not hard to do, and I can't think of anything else that would cause that 'pop' from that area)

I agree on ing. switch,a $12.00 part, just drop steering collum to get at switch. when mine went out,my directional lights would not work all the time, and radio would go out now and then

i changed the ignition switch and i now have dome lights, bussers etc. but when i turn the key all the way i get nothing. is it the key itself?