65 CJ-5 EVERYTHING just quit!

Hi,
I am in a bit of a pickle and need some help. My 65 CJ-5 (F134) has just quit. I had just started having a problem with it running very poorly. It would idle rough and go down the road sputtering and bucking and just barely making it around the block. I did all the obvious - new plugs, new coil, cleaned and re-gapped points, rotor ok, cap ok, switched out carburetor, plug wires fairly new. Last thing was the condenser. It seemed to run better after I installed a new one but it never really had time to reach operating temp as it just flat out quit. I am talking no power to anything. Engine, lights etc. So now I am wondering if what as caused this to be at the root of my initial poor running problem. A major short somewhere? Broken wire? Bad ignition switch? Battery is ok. Generator I believe is ok. So what do I look for next? Any ideas? Thanks a lot.

(Jeep is 100% bone stock restoration)
Kevin

 

Both usual suspects. I'd also check the ignition wire to make sure its not melted through and broke or grounding out.:v6:

 

A test light will tell you wonders my friend. you said no headlights? Do we definately have a good battery? Can work from there. I Worked as auto/truck elect for several years and willing to help.

 

Thanks for all your input. The battery checks out at 11.68 Vdc on my ammeter. I just had the charger on overnight right before all this happened. I went around with a jumper and checked out the grounds (engine to frame, frame to body etc.) and they seem to be ok. I still need to bend myself in half and get up under the dash to see what is going on there. Did not smell any burning insulation or heated wires when this happened. I am going to dedicate the weekend to this. More later. Many thanks again to all.

 

Hi,
11.6 volts is not a fully charged battery, 12.6 is. If this is all it holds, one of the battery's cells could be going bad or beginning to short out. Use a load tester on it or take it to autozone or some other place and have it tested. A bad battery can make your vehicle do all kinds of strange thing, dont ask me how I know.

Josh

 

In all your moving around that engine you my have loosened that wiring connection at the firewall that has your main battery wire to ignition (+ other things) . The whole thing is fed thru that unless it has aftermarket amp meter installed and they went to battery? You said 11.6V? Did you mean 12.6? Check specific gravity or have a load test made. Be watching this.

 

11.6 sounds like one cell that is half gone,each cell is good for approx 2 volts,2.1 would be perfect per cell,not sure if they even make a cell tester anymore,i have one its ancient

 

Slept on this and what hit me this morn was (all this happened after charging battery). Could be that you may have put a reverse charge in battery? Starter would still turn same direction and you should have lights! Justa thought.

 

do you have an amp meter? I have never got a jeep that didn't have burnt wires going to the amp meter. There is so much juice going through the meter that eventually the insulation just melts, the wires short, then your battery is not getting charged anymore. Check for 14 volts on the battery when the engine is running...or disconnect the wire running from the output on the generator and replace it with a 10 ga. going straight from the output to the solenoid or battery, bypassing the whole meter all together. Thats usually how I get used CJ's home.

 

Ok. Problem solved. I switched batteries to one from a running vehicle. It metered at 13.48 Vdc. Still no juice to engine, lights, etc. I traced ignition wire to old crusty amp gauge that must have been the original. I went to remove the gauge (with battery still hooked up) and the main wire began to fry. I hastily unhooked the battery. Took out the gauge permanently and put the ignition wire back onto the solenoid like factory. In this process I had to cut away a snarl of black vinyl and some kind of white cloth tape. Found the wire that goes to the coil had a break in the insulation. Fixed that and rerouted some wires so it looks pretty and then turned on the key. Bingo! Power to everything. Engine starts and purrs like Rufus my cat. There is joy in Mudville this day.

I bought this CJ-5 already restored. It was a father/son 4 year project and it was done with a lot of love and care. When the son started college, he wanted a "faster" Jeep. Their neighbor bought it and put it into storage for 2 years until he sold it to me. For the most part, the restoration was done right - - except for some strange reason, they never replaced the wiring harness. So all of the wires are the original 1965 vintage. I think an investment into a Painless will be my next move.

My hat is off to all of you for your help on this puzzler. Many many thanks.

Kevin

 

CLAP CLAP CLAP 3 cheers Don't it feel good.

 

Hoo boy, it feels REEEEEEAAAAAAL good!! While doing this, I took off the oil bath air cleaner so I could access the wiring at the rear of the engine and then after I got it running I decided to strip all the paint off of the air cleaner and repaint it. It was one of the last things I still needed to "touch up" in the engine compartment to make it look nice and original. Sparky, thanks for the tip on the wiring harness. I will surely look into when I do my comparative shopping.

As I went back and looked at the responses again, it looks like Strider380 hit the nail on the head. However, I did not read his response before I discovered the problem so I covet the "atta-boy" and not Strider heh heh. Walt Couch also mentioned the aftermarket amp meter so kudos to those guys as well as all who came running to my rescue. For this reason I will try to frequent this forum more regularly and not just when I am in trouble. Furthermore, to all those who responded, I will gladly send a 2007 Classic Jeeps Calendar if you email me your address privately. I know the year is half over but the 2008 edition is not yet completed. Once again, many thanks. - Kevin