My car wont crank all light come on but no power to the engine

Sounds like the battery or the alternator
Usually has to do with the voltage regulator in the alternator.
That tells it where to put the power and how much output to put.
If the voltage starts to fail it will put the power to the most important parts which is the engine and it will make your lights flicker.

Does the starter spin the motor at normal cranking speed? If there seems too much friction, try turning the engine over by hand to check if the engine turns freely. Put a socket and wrench on the center crankshaft pulley bolt and turn clockwise. If you cannot turn the crankshaft with a wrench easily, then the starter can't either. Turn the crank all the way around to check for something preventing cranking.
Is the battery still enough power to crank at normal speed? If it's already too low, recharge it, and try again.

This is the classic symptom of a bad battery. Your engine requires a lot of power to crank but the little lights in your dash require very little. if the battery is even a little drained it won't crank the engine, but everything else will seem to work fine. Either jumpstart the car (if it starts, then you likely need a new battery) or test the voltage at the battery terminal when trying to start the car. If the voltage drops below 12 volts you need a new battery (or at least a freshly charged one)

your missing a fuse or the ignition switch is not turning it on

it may be your battery. can you try jump starting it from another battery?

a weak battery may light up the dashboard but fail to give enough power to crank the engine.

can you measure the voltage on your battery when it is cranking?

The check engine light is interesting considering everything else is out. I would go to the fuse panels and trace power to the ignition switch. Other than the check engine light, this seems to be most likely.

hi theellisgang,

here is two of the best links to look at with your reported issue

http://www.ehow.com/video_112584_troubleshoot-car-wont.html

http://autorepair.about.com/od/troubleshooting/a/ts_no-start.htm

Your battery seems to be dead. The lights on the dash need almost nothing to light up but once you try to crank it up - the starter takes a ton of voltage and the lights on your dash die.
Have you tried to start the car with the door open?
When the door is open the dome light is on, and when you try to start the car it goes off, right?
If your answer to the last question is "YES" - have your car battery changed.

Good luck.

I HAD the same problem with 95 Cherokee for over a month, Turned out all I needed to do was Clean Battery Terms and Replace the Ground Clamp on Batt Cable.

It is a ground problem.

buy a repair manual if you dont already have one look in the wiring section and check all fusable links it is possible that one or more have blown.