sick jeep

so THIS is why cool old jeeps end up for sale.
some poor sap throws 1000's of dollars and 100's of hours into them and gets fed up and trades it for something reliable
like a CUGNOT

 

Hang in there bill. Mine was doing the same thing - When it would get hot, it would quit, and then it wouldnt start again, i ended up replacing the starter & solenoid - starter was going anyway, but i read somewhere (not sure where) that if your solenoid is going bad it can drop the voltage and not send enough power to the coil setup...i dunno if thats true, as im not a mechanic, but it cured my hot die and not restart problem....best of luck buddy.

 

have you tried running it off another fuel source (like a 5 gallon plastic gas can). Maybe you have some crap in the tank that occasionaly blocks fuel flow?

 

Sorry to hear about your travails, Bill. And in the snow, too. Bummer.

I've been thinking about the symptoms and it sounds like a problem I had last summer while driving up and down a few hills on the way home. All of a sudden it would spit, sputter then quit. I pulled over, emptied one of the Jerry cans of gas into the tank to make sure it wasn't out of fuel but it still had plenty in it. Turned out the horn electrical wire had come loose and was apparently shorting out as it danced abound the area. Once I fixed that, problem solved. Maybe you have a loose wire... er... I mean maybe the Jeep has a loose wire.

 

yep

 

I'm surprised your ol' hot-rodding buddy hasn't put his finger on the problem in about 5 minutes. It's GOT to be something insanely simple, when you find it it'll be a "DOH!" moment.

 

uncamonkey called me last night and also suggested carb icing,
i slept on it and this morning (when i do my best thinking)
i realized that everytime this has happened.
it has been blizzard conditions and/or freezing fog.
and i am driving at about 15-20 MPH at low RPM's
he suggested blocking a good portion of my radiator.
P.S.
i dont have a working temp gauge

 

i found this online.
it is for a motorcycle but boy does it sound familiar!

What can be done about carb ice?

If you're riding along and the engine starts running rough or loses power, there's a chance you have carb ice. If switching to reserve doesn't cure the problem, it's very likely your carbs are icing up. On the Ninja 250, other indications are:

• You must blip the throttle and hold the engine at 3,000+ RPM at intersections to avoid stalling
• You must use increasing amounts of throttle to maintain the same engine speed (RPM)
• You smell fuel (extreme rich condition)
• The engine note changes to a more staccato sound (this means you are about to stall!)

The best and safest reaction is to pull over into a safe parking spot and stop the engine. Engine heat will heat up the carburetors, and they should be ice-free in 10-30 minutes, depending on build up, ambient temperature, and engine temperature. Note that in extremely severe weather (well below freezing), engine heat will not be enough to melt the ice in your carburetors, and you may need to abandon your motorcycle and wait for a warmer day to retrieve it (or have it towed to a heated garage).
Middle throttle openings are the worst for carb ice because they allow a good amount of air to flow (and therefore pressure to drop and gasoline to evaporate), but also present a lot of surface area on which ice can accumulate. Idle throttle gives relatively little cooling, and full throttle presents relatively less surface area for ice, as well as producing higher temperatures from the engine.

 

Awesome sounds like you have a lead at least, that would sure do it alright

 

buy a power inverter and borrow your wife hair dryer ,switch to hi heat.

 

Remember the heat risers, for lack of a better term, on older, carburetor-equipped American iron? There was often a hose running from the exhaust manifold to the air filter, apparently capturing manifold heat and warming the carb. Living in the mostly warm Southwest, I always wondered what that was for. Maybe to combat carb icing? Depending on your air filter setup, it might be easy to rig one up. Just a thought...

 

I hope that fixes the problem Bill. Let us know how it turns out.

 

There you go. For the time of year and the way you describe the problem it sounds exactly like icing.
This is a good suggestion.

I’m not familiar with your motor, is there a coolant jacket that runs along the bottom side of the intake manifold? If present that is what the coolant jacket it for, to keep the intake plenum and runners warm enough that ice can’t build up in them.
First I would determine if this is the case then possibly even remove the intake manifold to make sure these jackets aren’t clogged.
If they are flowing coolant freely and the heat riser air cleaner doesn't solve the problem it may be harder to solve but one solution is a 12V heat pad attached to the bottom of the intake plenum. I’ve seen them used to preheat oil by attaching one to an oil pan.

 

i dunno what the temp was(cold!) but i put cardboard over most of the rad and let it warm up a bit .
it ran perfectly to town and back 22miles.
but of course it wasnt snowing /freezing fog.
and i didnt HAVE to get somewhere!

 

Really? Well, that sounds like a cheap simple solution then.
And I would see about getting a temp gauge on it, you really need to know that info anyway.
It also makes me wonder if your motor is just running too cool. Does it have a thermostat and what temp does it open?

 

i dont know what the thermostat opens at.
but i do know that it runs and starts like a champ at any temp.
i drove it to work many times when it was well below 0 f
when it is very humid and cold is when the trouble starts

 

I too should have thought of carb icing. Had an old Datsun pickup that would do it with the right humidity level.

The quote fits the Bill perfect for the symptoms of carb icing (pun intendedR))