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Maiden voyage ends in a tow home :(

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by 1967CJ5, Jul 17, 2011.

  1. Jul 17, 2011
    1967CJ5

    1967CJ5 New Member

    Washington, NC
    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2011
    Messages:
    27
    Spent all Friday afternoon, all day Sat, and a few hours this morning getting the Jeep ready for a nice Sunday afternoon drive...well, it was to take the trash to the dump but regardless it was a nice sunny Sunday afternoon ride. All went well, got to the dump, unloaded the trash, went to leave and it died on me. Assumed it ran out of gas. My buddy brought me some but it would still not start even when we dumped it in the carb. So the ride ended being towed home behind a pick up truck. Bummer. At this point it sounds like no spark but unsure. I am now sitting inside in the a/c thinking about it as I cool off. I plan a carb rebuild this week. Anyway, that's my Sunday. :(
     
  2. Jul 17, 2011
    colojeepguy

    colojeepguy Colorado Springs

    At the foot of...
    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2010
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    7,111
    Well, that's a drag (no pun intended) but don't get discouraged-Jeeps are pretty simple, I'm sure you'll figure out the problem.
     
  3. Jul 17, 2011
    1960willyscj5

    1960willyscj5 Well-Known Member

    Mesa, Arizona
    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2006
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    2,793
    run a wire from the + terminal of the battery to the + terminal of the coil. If it runs when you hit the starter, then the problem is some where between the coil and the battery, and most likely the ignition switch.
     
  4. Jul 17, 2011
    Alex V.

    Alex V. Member

    Campbellsville, KY
    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2008
    Messages:
    408
    Sorry to hear that. It's all about getting the bugs worked out, and it's normal. My dad's DJ5A has puked out on us a number of times while running around a couple miles from home - it's always restarted after a while (most likely the fuel pump), though. You've just gotta drive it, let it reveal its problems, fix 'em, and repeat that cycle for a while - you'll work its quirks out eventually. :) If it died without any struggle (no surging, sputtering, etc.) and didn't fire at all afterward, it sounds like the ignition system to me.
     
  5. Jul 17, 2011
    John Worman

    John Worman from New Mexico

    La Luz, New Mexico
    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2002
    Messages:
    118
    It's always something. My '67' goes to the dump more than any other place.

    One trip to the dump and my ignition switch melted. I did have a set of jumper cables. It's tricky to hook up a jumper cable to a coil, and just as tricky to hook the other jumper to the electric fuel pump. It got me home though.

    My Sunday was a bit different. Last night I installed updates on my laptop and that was the last time it booted up to XP. I spent Sunday saving and replacing drives.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2011
  6. Jul 17, 2011
    jayhawkclint

    jayhawkclint ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

    Oklahoma City, USA
    Joined:
    May 18, 2006
    Messages:
    2,622
    Are you still running points? Check the condenser. I learned the hard way that you have to buy either NOS condensers or spring for the the premium parts at FLAPS. The problem is in the design of the connector. If you rebuilt your dist with FLAPS parts, this might be the case. The coil mentioned above is also the common culprit if you forgot to wire in your ballast resistor.
     
  7. Jul 18, 2011
    1967CJ5

    1967CJ5 New Member

    Washington, NC
    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2011
    Messages:
    27
    Thanks for all of the tips. I will be working on it again this week. My thought is the ignition system considering it will not even fire with a bit of gas dumped in the carb. Again, thank for the words of advice and making me feel as if I am not alone! :)
     
  8. Jul 18, 2011
    1960willyscj5

    1960willyscj5 Well-Known Member

    Mesa, Arizona
    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2006
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    2,793
    About the ballast resistor. You may not have one. Mine doesn't. Recheck the point gap. and did you maybe forget to lock down the distributer after timing it?
     
  9. Jul 19, 2011
    1967CJ5

    1967CJ5 New Member

    Washington, NC
    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2011
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    Update: Got home from work today and took off the dist cap. Looked all around for broken wires, etc. Didn't see anything. Then I looked closer and the wire had come off of the points. I plugged it back in and turned the key and he fired right up!! (I call it a "he" because anything named "Bones" must be a he, right?) I was very happy to say the least! Grabbed my shades and hit the road! Picked up my buddy and took it for a road test. Stopped and got gas, pulled over and let him drive. It was running well with the exception of a high rpm miss. Gonna get a full tune up and carb rebuild in the next week or so. Anyway let's just say I am much happier than I was Sunday eve after the tow home. :beer:
     
  10. Jul 20, 2011
    Alex V.

    Alex V. Member

    Campbellsville, KY
    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2008
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    408
    Great! You make me envious - neither of my Jeeps are running at the moment, but it's not just something as simple as a points wire. Good luck on the planned work! :)
     
  11. Jul 26, 2011
    Coot

    Coot New Member

    Northwest Arkansas
    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2010
    Messages:
    11
    gee, that's never happened before LOL. just part of driving a classic vehicle.

    like sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, in a snow storm and the clutch lever breaks. the Subaru ahead didn't much care for it either
     
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