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Hot Ignition Switch

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by John A. Shows, Sep 13, 2004.

  1. Sep 13, 2004
    John A. Shows

    John A. Shows Comic Relief

    Mendenhall...
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    At Tellico in May Nixon wouldn't crank on the trail. Turn the key and nothing happened.

    This had happened to me before and I had diagnosed the problem being in the switch somewhere.

    John Stevens looked under the hood and found a nick in the battery cable to the positive post. We taped it up and it fired right up.

    Later I replaced the bad cable with a new one.

    I still have the problem but am now convinced it's in my switch.

    I've wiggled it while trying to crank and nothing except a really really hot switch. So hot in fact that some of the insulated spade connectors have melted to the spades on the back of the switch. Others have melted insulation on the wires. Each time this happens I can wait a minute or two and let the switch cool down and it'll crank right up. I have no idea why it's getting so hot but it just seems that there's current running through it for soem reason.

    I have no fuse box or even a terminal bar. Practically all my wiring starts at the ignition switch. Meaning everything that needs power goes directly to the switch.

    Do you think I need to remove some of these wires and install a fuse box?
     
  2. Sep 13, 2004
    Project71-5

    Project71-5 BACON

    Gypsum, CO
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    John, I would buy a small fused panel from radio shack or the like. You should only need to run one power wire to it and then hook things that need power directly to the panel. Something like this
    http://www.12voltguy.com/catalog.0.html4.0.html
     
  3. Sep 13, 2004
    dauntless_powered

    dauntless_powered SUB Chief

    Groton, CT
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    i would really think about putting in a fuse box, all my wire problems ended after i did my upgrade
     
  4. Sep 13, 2004
    Glenn

    Glenn Kinda grumpy old man Staff Member

    Apopka, Fl
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    No doubt a fuse block should be added, but also it does sound like your switch is bad inside.
     
  5. Sep 13, 2004
    John A. Shows

    John A. Shows Comic Relief

    Mendenhall...
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    Yeah, I thought it might be the switch. I've ran it like this a long time with no troubles and I haven't added anything to it in a while. I really didn't want to get a new switch because right now I only have one key and it fits the ignition and gas tank.

    I guess I'd have to get a new key with a new ignition wouldn't I?
     
  6. Sep 13, 2004
    dauntless_powered

    dauntless_powered SUB Chief

    Groton, CT
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    i got a new switch from krage and it works great, it came with two keys. iirc it wasnt much $ at all
     
  7. Sep 13, 2004
    dauntless_powered

    dauntless_powered SUB Chief

    Groton, CT
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  8. Sep 13, 2004
    John A. Shows

    John A. Shows Comic Relief

    Mendenhall...
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    Thanks Eric. $12.00 that's not too bad.

    I wonder if it's chrome like the one I've got?

    Course really the only chrome piece is the nut that holds it in place and I should be able to use mine for that.
     
  9. Sep 14, 2004
    John A. Shows

    John A. Shows Comic Relief

    Mendenhall...
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    I ordered my new switch yesterday and Krage said it should be here today. I doubt it but if it does that's fine.

    I'm going to try to find a fuse board like the one posted earlier and when I replace the switch do the whole thing at once.

    I guess I'm going to keep replacing stuff till the whole jeep is new.
     
  10. Sep 14, 2004
    SandhillMike

    SandhillMike Moderator

    Archer, Fla
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    John, the basic tenent of old cars has finally occured to you. R) :p
     
  11. Sep 14, 2004
    dauntless_powered

    dauntless_powered SUB Chief

    Groton, CT
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    thes witch nut is chrome by the way, and i wouldnt be surprised if it does come today, i rdered a bunch of stuf from them late one afternoon and they still next day aired the whole order at no additional cost
     
  12. Sep 14, 2004
    John A. Shows

    John A. Shows Comic Relief

    Mendenhall...
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    Yeah, and I'm not kidding. I swear I've got a list of stuff that I've bought for the jeep and if you piled it all up, you could just about build a new jeep from it.
     
  13. Sep 14, 2004
    Glenn

    Glenn Kinda grumpy old man Staff Member

    Apopka, Fl
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    Yep, ain't it wonderful? :p
     
  14. Sep 14, 2004
    66cj5

    66cj5 Jeep with no name

    NorthWest Indiana
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    sounds like the switch has an internal short. replace ASAP! Fire is not a good jeeping buddy!
     
  15. Sep 14, 2004
    dauntless_powered

    dauntless_powered SUB Chief

    Groton, CT
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    that it aint, after my second elec fire in mine i decided to rewire from headlights to tailights. now its all better
     
  16. Sep 14, 2004
    javracer

    javracer Land Locked Bubblehead

    Northwest Arkansas
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    If the switch in question is one that has 4 wires on it pull it out and check the wire studs, I don't know how but, the one that came with my Jeep had the studs come loose in the housing, which heated it up and would not crank the engine. I bought a good NAPA replacement that was rated at 50amps for about $15.00(I Think). I haven't had any problems with the new one, but got looking at the old one and it was only rated at 15 amps. Everything execpt the headlights was going through the switch, I installed a 50 amp relay off the accessory terminal to a block from a 70's to 80's Chevy pickup truck to run everything else off of. You can go to any boneyard and find this terminal block I'm talking about it sets on the fire wall close to the with one terminal for incoming power and a lug for all other wires.
     
  17. Sep 15, 2004
    Hawkes

    Hawkes Member

    Nova scotia
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    John I had that same thing happen in the old Jeepster I have, and eventually it caught on fire. I was able to beat it out, but some people aren't so lucky. Change it out as soon as possible.

    Paul
     
  18. Sep 16, 2004
    John A. Shows

    John A. Shows Comic Relief

    Mendenhall...
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    The new switch came in today and I pulled the old one out.

    As it turns out...I was wrong...I don't have a bunch of unecessary wires going to the switch. There's a plug that just plugs into the switch and the plug has several wires coming from it. So it looks like the switch is as it should be and I probably just had a bad switch.
     
  19. Sep 17, 2004
    John A. Shows

    John A. Shows Comic Relief

    Mendenhall...
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    OK got the new switch in but the nut wouldn't tighten down enough to hold it in place so I made some washers out of gasket material. I put one on either side of the switch sort of sandwiching the dash between two gasketed washers.

    Guess what...the jeep cranked fine but wouldn't turn off?

    I had to put both washers on the switch and then put the nut on.

    I'm guessing that the switch has to be grounded before it'll work right.

    It operates nicely. Feels brand new when I crank it.
     
  20. Sep 17, 2004
    dauntless_powered

    dauntless_powered SUB Chief

    Groton, CT
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    did you get the switch from krage? i had to do the same thing on mine, i forgot about that untill you just mentioned it
     
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