The CJ is slowly running worse and worse...

X2 on the carb rebuild.

 

I found this in the tech section.

I have a Jeep with a Buick 225 V/6 engine. It also has the Prestolite/Delco distributor. What is thatfunny looking white thing with two wires mounted/hanging on the firewall? What does it do? What is its purpose? Do I really need it anyway?
You are probably talking about the ballast resistor; most are off white in color and can be made of porcelain or some other heat resistant material.
The ignition ballast resistor is wired in series with the primary winding of the ignition coil. The ballast resistor helps regulate the flow of primary current through-out the speed range. At low engine speeds, when the point contacts remain closed longer, the ballast heats and increases in resistance, thereby limiting the flow of primary current (let's say from 12 volts down to 9 volts). At higher engine speeds,when the point contacts remain closed for shorter periods of time, the ballast cools and thereby decreases in resistance to allow more primary current(let's say from 9 volts back to 12 volts) and reduce the fall off in available voltage. During engine cranking/starting, the resistor compensates for the lowered battery voltage resulting from the starter load and permits an increase in primary current( 12 volts), resulting in a higher secondary voltage for starting.
The only test required of the ignition ballast resistor is a continuity check. Characteristics of the ballast produce wide variations in resistance with changes in ballast temperature. Therefore, checking voltage drop across the ballast would/can be misleading.
CAUTION: Never make a connection that connects the ballast across the battery as this will burn the ballast resistor winding.

My Jeep V/6 runs rougher at idle and/or seems to wear/burn out the points quickly. What could be causing this?
The ballast resistor could be bad. Loose or wobbly connections inside the unit can cause intermittent problems. If you are having to replace/re-adjust the point sets every 3-4000 miles or less, this could be an indicator that the ballast is bad. If your Jeep V/6 doesn't have a ballast resistor due to some PO, then purchase one and install it. They were used on Chrysler products as well I believe, so any good parts house should be able to get one for you.

Ballast Resistor: What does all this mean to you?
Answer: The ballast can cause engine running issues at times; they do go bad. If the Jeep won't start, idles poorly, runs poorly, check it out.
Old time Jeepers (me included) always carry a spare ballast along with points and condenser. Cheap fix. In a pinch, on a trail somewhere, you can simply by-pass the ballast by connecting the two wires together, and continue on your way. No damage will occur other than premature wear on the points; so be prepared to file them or change them out, once your trip is over or at your convenience.

http://www.earlycj5.com/tech/electrical/index.php#one

 

Hmm, I seem to remember that ballast resistor being disconnected. I'll check that and my points. Hopefully I just need to replace my points, hook that back up and be fine.

 

Ok, today it just stopped. It no longer fires. I had to get my roommate to come and pull me home. It'll crank till I can smell the gas out the tale pipe but it won't ever fire.

I changed the fuel filter and ballast resistor and still no luck. I'm wondering what to do next... Should I rebuild the carb?

 

Go through all the cheap and easy options first.

First off, I'd make sure the plugs are getting spark. Pull one or more out, put the plug wire on it, position the plug so it's grounded against the engine (or ground the shell of the plug to the engine with a wire or jumper cable), then have someone crank the starter while you watch for a good hot spark at the plug(s). It's also possible the plugs have had it, or are too fouled to fire anymore.

If so, make sure the timing is right. The distributor could have come loose and vibrated its way out of time.

If not, start checking all the wiring connections real close. Make sure the wire from the center of the dist cap to the coil is good, not broken, and plugged in good on both ends.

Make sure the points are OK, and not burned/pitted, and make sure they didn't come loose and close up. The condensor doesn't look like much, but if it goes bad you're dead in the water. Plugs, points and condensor are cheap.

I wouldn't rule out a carb rebuild, but I'd rule out everything else I possibly could before I tore down the carb. You can easily go from bad to worse doing that if it's not the problem.

 

Ok, I'll go through that. I'm getting a little frustrated. This is my only vehicle right now and its actually going into storage for the summer when I go back to NY to get hitched. I can't get it to where it needs to go to get stored unless it runs. If that happens I'm dead in the water.

 

http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40749&page=16

Well, read this thread....I'm not done yet, but it covers lots of the stuff above. From the view point of me.....someone who knows almost nothing and needs the Jeep to run.
I am waiting to get my rebuilt carb back....so far I'm not sure I would have it rebuilt or buy a new one.
I'm not that experianced to trust my self on a rebuild , but this place has taught me everyting.
And so far it is all SPOT ON.

 

A couple of things. First if you roll all the advice above into one word you get tune up(actually two, but oh well). I'm leaning toward ignition my self. I would be curious as to what the points look like as well as the dwell angle. As far as the carb goes, as long as the accelerator pump and the choke is working properly, I would be inclined to leave a rebuild to the last. A quick not on the ballast....it is designed to lower voltage at the points. This helps eliminate pitting, making them last longer. If it has been bypassed, then again I would be looking at the points. There should be a bypass wire at the solenoid to provide 12 volts while cranking.

 

The ballast was connected but in really bad shape so I bought a new one. When it didn't start I immediately put in the new ballast and fuel filter. It didn't do anything. I think I'm going to pull a plug tommorow and see if I'm getting spark.

I'll open up the distributor and take pictures of it all so you guys can see the condition of it. When I looked I couldn't see carbon except at the very top of the cap.

 

You need a tune up my man. Go to your flaps and buy plugs, plug wires, rotor, distributor cap, points, condensor, air filter and a fuel filter (a clear one). This is a given on any used vehicle you buy, especially a jeep. You can't expect anything out of your jeep unless you give it some respect. From my experience, new plugs and a fuel filter make a huge difference. Get a clear fuel filter so you can see if your getting gas and if its clean. Be sure to gap the plugs right with a gauge. And I'm sure you can use new plugs and points. Points are really tricky to gap right if you've never done it before but will probably give you the biggest difference when done right. Look at the points under the distributor cap, they are probably all corroded and now, bridged, hence no start. If you have the points just a little out of adjustment, it will take forever to start. When they are finally shot, it won't start. Points need to be changed all the time to.

 

I feel your Pain! I too have a 71 that has gone through all of the afore mentioned problems and then some. This is what I went through finding the problem-replaced gas tank, rebuilt carb, replaced fuel filter, added second filter,replaced coil,replaced points and condensor. Turned out to be condensor. I did not start with that because it would start and run and then as it warmed ran crappy. I had always been told that a condensor was either good or bad, not so-so. I had heard of the coil doing this so that is what I replaced first. Definetely sart with a tune-kit and then go from there. Also if you have a prestolite distributor, that baby could be so sloppy worn to cause this. GET RID OF IT! Replace with Delco,HEI or DUI but get rid of the prestolite.

 

When do you need to leave for New Jerk City?:? (been there, hated it.R) )
If it is still not running and you have a tow bar, I can drop down with my Dakota and tow it to storage for you. just Zip me a PM, or a note to alaskan66@hotmail.com. Tempe ain't that far away, at least not till I move down to Florence at the end of the summer. Then it's a tad bit farther. :hurrican:

 

I leave on May 14th, and not back to the city, I don't mind visiting but I would go nuts if I lived in the city. My family lives almost 4 hours north of the city, outside of Albany. Lots of forest and farmland, it's a nice area even if it does get ridiculously cold sometimes.

As soon as I can get one of my roommates out of bed to crank the engine while I work I'll get started this morning on fixing it.

 

Ok, here's the update. I'm getting no spark. I pulled a plug and grounded it against the heads while a roommate cranked it over. Nothing, not even a little spark. Something is wrong with the distributor or the coil, or I could just have a bad connection again. I'll keep working.

 

Oh - A civilized New Yorker!

is there any voltage reading on either side of the coil when you turn on the key?

Also, (can happen) did the lead come loose at the distributer? From the coil primary (the small lead), not the hi-tension one. and you might try just popping your longest spark plug wire into the coil and see if you get a spark there when you turn it over. Check the point gap, and if you can get in to do it look and the seating surfaces of the points. any carbon? You can always dress them up a tad with one of those metal nail files the girls use. Not the sandpapery ones, though. You want them to meet flush and square. Is there a lot of pitting on the mating surfaces? If there is, new points and condenser as a set. With the points open you should get 12 volts (battery) at both primary posts. with them closed you should only get it at the ignition side, not the distributer side. Correct me if I'm wrong, anybody!

One thought - hotwire it. get a wire with aligator clips and hook one end to the battery, and the other to the battery side of the coil, and see if she starts.
If she does, then it is the wire to the switch,or the switch. Also some one may have put a fuse in that lead, although I don't know why. People do strange things.R)

Also, I don't leave myself until the 26th so I can come down before the 14th if need be.

gotta go - race at Richmond in a few minutes.

 

Ok, she starts!

We bought a new coil, distributor cap, points, and condensor. We put it all in and she starts up great, it's the first time I've ever been able to start without the choke.

The problem is that when we timed it to 5 degrees BTC and set the carb so it would idle smooth it stumbles when I rev it and backfires. It scared a guy on a bike next to us pretty badly when we tried taking it around the block. It only acts funny when it's reved, it'll idle nice and smooth all day.

We figure either the points are set wrong or the timing is way off, any ideas?

 

what is is your idle RPM when warm? if it is running that smooth at idle with the old points distributor, I might guess you tuned the carb too much.

 

I don't have a tach, how rough should it be at idle? I'm starting to suspect that the whole time I've had it that I've had problems with my ignition. As soon as we put on the new coil it cold started without any gas or choke. Actually... I think maybe that confirms your suggestion. It just fires up, maybe I should bring it back a bit.

 

Tune ups on older points style vehicles need to be done in a specific order. First, replace your components(don't forget to gap the plugs). Next, set the dwell(point gap). Bring the idle down and set the timing with the vac adv unhooked. Reattach the vac adv and adjust the idle mixture. Readjust the idle speed. On a side note, coils rarely go bad. I would only replace one after doing the complete tune up. Long term, you might think about an HEI upgrade. Very easy to do and eliminates the need to change points and reset timing.

 

i forgot dou you have a v6 or f4? doesnt matter, i think you might want to re check your point gap,they will affect how it runs at different speeds,too close will idle good,and run like crap at higher rpms,too far apart and it will idle like crap but be smooth at higher rpms,i may have gotten that backwards,but you get the drift