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Help No Start After Messing With Gas Gauge

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by dave dear, Jul 11, 2018.

  1. Jul 11, 2018
    dave dear

    dave dear New Member

    MS
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    Ok. I was replacing temp gauge and in the process fried the gas gauge. Now after getting new gas gauge Jeep won't start. Battery is good. Turn key and no click sound no dash lights and no headlights. Will a fried solenoid cause headlights not to work? Other than dash work ,nothing has been touched on jeep. Jeep is All stock with the solenoid on starter .
     
  2. Jul 12, 2018
    GeoffreyL

    GeoffreyL Well-Known Member

    moorestown, nj
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    Is the battery charged
    Does it turn over
    Is there 12v at the "activating" terminal on the solenoid when the key is turned?
    If not was a wire to or from the ignition hit.
    If it turns over but doesn't start does it have spark, if not is there power to the coil when key on, if yes if there spark at plugs, if yes is there fuel?

    Just some places for you to start
     
  3. Jul 12, 2018
    dave dear

    dave dear New Member

    MS
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    Battery is fully charged does not turn over. A wire from ignition could have possible been hit. Would that burn up ignition switch? Solenoid or both?
     
  4. Jul 12, 2018
    47v6

    47v6 junk wrecker! 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    Look at the back of your starter switch and fix the wire you pulled off.
     
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  5. Jul 12, 2018
    dave dear

    dave dear New Member

    MS
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    No wires off or removed. If solenoid is bad will headlights come on?
     
  6. Jul 13, 2018
    PeteL

    PeteL If it wasn't for physics, and law enforcement... 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    Do you have factory service manual (FSM)? A wiring diagram and a few minutes study would be useful for diagnosing with systematic and logical approach, not scattershot guesswork.

    A "bad" solenoid should not interfere with power to anything but the starter. However the power to the rest of the vehicle probably is tapped from the battery cable at the solenoid.

    Do you have any power to anything? Battery connections clean and tight, including ground to frame?
     
  7. Jul 13, 2018
    47v6

    47v6 junk wrecker! 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    Ok, so if your jeep started and ran before you fried the gas gauge the first things I would look to is what you just did and the associated wires you touched or moved. Old wiring is prone to "wire rot". Its where it the connections turn green and brittle. It can seem as though there is a good connection where in fact its not. Touching one of these wires can cause a failure.

    If you fried the gas gauge, how did you do it? What did you ruin besides the gauge?

    Whenever something doesn't work after you performed some sort of service, 95% of the time its something you did, at least thats what happens to me.

    A wiring diagram can help you, but in my experience, look to the simplest things first.
     
  8. Jul 13, 2018
    timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

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    Get your multimeter or test light, turn the key on and trace backwards from the coil till you find power. That's where the problem is.

    Or turn the headlights on and trace back until you find power.

    If it's not obvious what you've done, you have to be systematic and go step-wise until you find the problem.
     
  9. Jul 14, 2018
    dave dear

    dave dear New Member

    MS
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    Ok I jumped solenoid and everything started working BUT ingnition switch getting hot and started smoking! I am not an electrician. Is solenoid stuck (bad)or is ignition switch bad? I'm lost again don't want to burn up any wiring etc..
     
  10. Jul 14, 2018
    47v6

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    Stop.
    If you have smoking wires you have a real problem and applying more current to it is going to create a fire and or ruin your entire wiring harness. You're not an electrician, neither am I, but you have 2 choices. 1, read everything you can about multimeters and how to use them or 2, take it to someone who can fix it for you.

    You clearly have a short somewhere. Its in a component or the wiring. If everything worked correctly before you fried the gauge, its almost certainly something you have done, either inadvertently or in the process of frying your gauge. You could have connected a wire incorrectly, or pulled one off or maybe even allowed a uninsulated wire or connection to come in contact with the body.

    I have made so many errors in my time working with electrical parts that when something goes wrong after I have done something, I look to what I have done first and retrace all the steps. These harnesses are old, they crack, break, insulation falls off etc..
     
  11. Jul 14, 2018
    timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

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    +1. Stop before you burn it down.

    It's almost impossible to diagnose anything but the simplest electrical problems without the car in front of you. Even if I were there, I would start by testing circuits with a meter, as described above.
     
  12. Jul 14, 2018
    Glenn

    Glenn Kinda grumpy old man Staff Member

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    X3 on stopping! If you haven't already disconnect the ground cable at the battery before you do anything else. One thing you can look for when you do reconnect the ground is any sparking when you touch the cable to the battery, if it does spark it's drawing current somewhere.
     
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  13. Jul 16, 2018
    dave dear

    dave dear New Member

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    Thanks Guys. Yes shut everythingdown unhooked battery and started over. Double green wire @gas gauge was grounding out (they were hot but not burned). After unhooking all wires to fuel gauge and temp gauge everything works fine. I'm thinking of just installing a complete bezel from Kaiser Willys to avoid any problems in the future. I guess bottom line the gas gauge was grounding out on gauge frame?
     
  14. Jul 16, 2018
    timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

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    Glad you made some progress.

    If you are testing the gauge cluster, realize that the cluster must be grounded to the body for the voltage regulator in the fuel gauge (temperature gauge?) to function. Without grounding the case of the cluster, the VR will not cycle and full voltage will be applied to both gauges constantly. This will damage them pretty quickly.
     
  15. Jul 16, 2018
    dave dear

    dave dear New Member

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    Is the gauge cluster grounded by the 4 nuts that hold it to the dash? Is there a way to make sure cluster is grounded? or add an extra ground?
     
  16. Jul 16, 2018
    Walt Couch

    Walt Couch sidehill Cordele, Ga. 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    One major mistake when installing these fuel and temp gauges is not properly positioning the fuel gauge studs through the mounting holes. Most likely had the battery power stud touching the speedo housing causing a direct short.
     
  17. Jul 16, 2018
    Walt Couch

    Walt Couch sidehill Cordele, Ga. 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    The very center of the fuel gauge has two tabs that are bent over holding the unit together. This is the ground for the fuel gauge regulator. That grounding tab presses against the speedo housing making it's circuit ground complete. Then the speedo housing is bolted to the 4 lugs on the dash making a ground connection at that point. Then the dash is bolted to the tub which completes the ground at that point. There should be a ground strap from the tub to the negative terminal of the battery. OK?
     
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  18. Jul 16, 2018
    Steve's 70-5

    Steve's 70-5 Active Member

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    Run a temporary wire from the battery ground to where you are working. If your fuel tank has fuel in it and the cluster is grounded, the fuel gauge will read if you put the key in the run position. You do not need to start/run the engine. If the fuel gauge does not read, put the ground wire to the tab of the cluster, make sure the cluster is clean/rust free where you touch the ground. If the fuel gauge reads, you have a ground problem. You can use this temporary ground wire to check other items.
     
  19. Jul 16, 2018
    Alan28

    Alan28 Well-Known Member 2022 Sponsor

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    That is an interesting situation. This is my 3rd gas gauge and doesn't work well. I understand that a gas gauge is a device which calculate the difference of resistivity.

    So 2 wires come from the gauge in the tank and goes to a electric system receiving + and - 12v to calculate the difference and move a needle.
    I have to check again the diagram and make test, in fact this gauge is very subtle and fragile. One day I'll succeed, yesterday I succeeded in fixing well the stop light system! The idea is : never give up!
     
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