Starting problems and wipers

Hi guys.
I knew when I bought my 24 volt it was a bit of a bugger to start but since then Ive cleaned the plugs which were really dirty and added fresh fuel.
The batteries are fully charged.
Guess what it is still a bugger to start!
Im giving it a little bit of choke and a little bit of throttle so I dont flood it.
Any advice?
Also I tried to get the vacuum wipers to go.
The pipe was squashed flat in a corner of the windscreen so I freed it and now iar is getting to the wiper motor but the wiper arms aren't moving.
Im thinking it hasn't been used in some time so it might just need a drop of freeing spray.
Again, any advice?
Thanks George

 

The military systems are very reliable in my experience, due to the high voltage and the shielded and waterproofed components.
Is it still in full military spec?

Your 'starting' question is very general. How long has it been since a tune-up? That is primary to good starting.

Have you cleaned and set the points? Set timing?

Have you opened the carb and cleaned then crud out of the float chamber?
The accelerator pump diaphragm could be decayed and leaking. These operate different than the civilian carbs, and even in good condition, it can take a lot of cranking to get the carb 'primed' if the jeep has been sitting long. (I usually use full choke, and slight throttle, until it 'kicks,' then immediately go to part choke.)

The inner rubber insulation of military type shielded plug wires is susceptible being damaged when the threaded connectors are opened - then they can short internally to the woven wire outer casing. Worth checking carefully.

But overall, more information is needed. And a very basic check that each system is tuned to specification would be a starting point.

Lots of info on vacuum wipers in the archives on this site. Search. They may need a simple lubing, or a full rebuild. First be sure all vacuum lines are leak-free, and check that the military-only vacuum switch on the dash is "on."

 

Hi Pete
Firstly, Ive proberly made a wrong assumption that it was tuned and all cleaned and serviced as the previous owner stated.
I guess I need to start again.
I'm rushing the work unintentionaly as I'm decorating the house, working full time and trying to get the jeep running smooth.
I've never had a jeep with vacuum wipers so you mentioning the dashboard switch is a revelation!
Thers's one pull out/in switch that I had know idea what it was for until now.
Time to get my head out of my *** and start thinking!
I wasn't this dim with my last jeep!
Thanks Pete.

 

The vacuum switch I referred to is rotary, not push/pull. On the black tube in the picture.




If the push-pull you referred to looks like the one below (under the speedometer), that is the Fording control. It should be pulled ONLY if you are about to drive underwater.




The Military published excellent tech manuals for the M38A1 and they are easily available. Reccomended.

 

Mine looks nothing like that.
Mine is a cj5 swiss army jeep and it is placed on the dash like this one (the white/silver looking knob)
This isn't my jeep by the way, mine is wrapped up waiting for storm Katie

 

A swiss army CJ5 operators manual would come in handy

 

Okay. Swiss militaries were not M38A1s.
Much more like a civilian CJ5 in many respects.

I can't help much more except say start with the basics and get one thing at a time firmly into spec.

 

“The pipe was squashed flat in a corner of the windscreen so I freed it and now air is getting to the wiper motor but the wiper arms aren’t moving." The vacuum driven wipers aren’t working? I would suspect a major vacuum leak is your starting problem.

 

Yeah Pete, Glenn, I'll start the checks again, thanks.
Hi Scout, like I said, air is getting through the pipe, I know this as I pulled the pipe off and felt the air coming out of it.
Pete says there is a knob on military versions to get the wipers going so I'll check out that knob on the jeep that I didn't know what it was for.
That white knob second knob to the right on the data plates on drivers side

 

You should not have AIR. The system operates by VACUUM unless the SWISS Militaries installed an air pump and changed over the wiper motors.

 

Im confused here Walt.
I disconnected the tube from the right hand side of the vacuum wiper on the drivers side.
When I did that I could definately feel air on my hand and I heard a ticking sort of noise from the engine bay.
I thought (please correct me) that the vacuum system used compressed air from the engine to operate the wipers.
Ive only used hand operated or electric wipers

 

Goes the other way around. That should be air being sucked into the tubing you disconnected from the wiper motor. You will want to replace all of that flexible line between the wipers and the engine block.

When was the last time the carb was cleaned? Or just had Sea Foam run through it at a minimum?

 

Im back at work tomorrow and if it is still light I'll take some photos.
If not it will be the weekend.
Its 10:30 pm here, early start tomorrow.

 

A jeep friend came over tonight and together we traced the vacuum pipe and yes we found a split.
Next the starting.today.
This afternoon I pulled the throttle out a quarter of an inch, the chock out half an inch and and left it alone for 5 minutes while I made a coffee.
Back at the jeep it started first time without a heavy drain on the batteries.
Boy was I suprised.
Again when I finished work I tried the same process and again it worked.
So hopefully I might have these issues sorted.
I would still like electric wipers but the quote I got from the U.S. said the postage to the U.K. was the same as the wiper motors.
That I will have to think about.
The weekend starts the full inspection and service

 

Check out pleasure boat supply outfits in the UK. Marine grade electric wipers for runabout boats would probably be just the ticket.

And are you in the UK, or Washington State like your pic and profile show?

 

There’s nothing wrong with vacuum powered wipers as long as the vacuum for them is coming from the dual action fuel and vacuum pump.