Just Got Myself Into A 6...

If it's electronic.............grounds are important! But even the + side can you you fits. In the Race Cars I run 44 Amp high energy MSD Magnetos for Ignition and we have a separate grounding wire system that takes everything back to the negative post on the Battery , meaning I rely on no frame grounds at all............I even double ground the cylinder heads with a separate ground wire at each end. All terminal ends are crimped and soldered and then heat-shrinked with tubing that has internal sealing glue..........along the path I also have terminal strips whereby I can check a circuit midway along the reach.

Most people also don't understand that on a 12-16 volt system the ground path wire needs to be at least 2/3 in size of the Primary Power Positive + side feeding the component. That in itself can get confusing and that is why a bus bar ground post with like a #2 cable +/- should be ran from the battery to an area that is near most of the components.

Wire type and quality is also very Important. I use nothing but the highest quality stranded 14 ga. Primary wire that is marked: UL(AWM) TEW 105C http://www.southwire.com/ProductCatalog/XTEInterfaceServlet?contentKey=prodcatsheet19. This wire is not sensitive to High temperature nor oil and other contaminants.

 

I think garage therapy this week will be all about grounding.

Might be interesting to rewire the pickup coil connector with some better known quality wire...
that small "harness" runs from the firewall to the distributor, right on top of the intake manifold...

 

I'm a believer of negative grounding using a bus bar, or otherwise having a direct ground to the battery. I have always seen trouble long term of using a frame ground.

 

Here it is.. the 72-75 Jeep CJ6 fiberglass hardtop prototype.
Top arrived and sitting in my warehouse waiting for install..
Everything looks great as it sits on the floor
I know I will need to rework my tire carrier brackets.. there is a bump or 2 in my cage that I was / still am suspect of.. but Id rather deal with metal than fiberglass...

Doors look great.. good solid latches and nice sliding windows
Top is insulated and lined, bug screens on the rear windows

 

Outstanding job.........these guys are very talented.............Are these folks in the Top or Boat building Business? Lots of time making those molds for the doors.............I like it!

 

Ditto, this looks great.

 

Wow, beautiful work!!

 

Wow, that looks awesome! Was that a one off, or are there plans to make others? Any plans for a cj5 top?

 

Hardtop fitment, take 1

Top sat on the Jeep very nicely. Much to my surprise I had no cage fitment issues with the exception of the front latches. Even my side bump outs tucked nicely up in the corner. Doors had no fitment issues either as they were help up to the door opening.
The windshield latches wanted to occupy the same space as my 2" windshield tube. Going to remove the latches and figure out another method of securing. Might be able to outboard from the cage...
Going to have to work on my windshield angle as well.. Im a little too vertical at the moment, need it to come about 1/2 - 3/4" more back. Going to work with the doors and shave my rubber seal down to get it to mesh.

I'm really pleased with the fitment of the rear and tailgate section. The cat flap has a molded seal that does a nice job sealing the back. As expected, tire carrier will need to be adjusted and new brackets fabricated. I should be able to incorporate the lower bolt hole to make something that works.

 

That's a nice job irregardless of the little fit issues your having that should be expected...............In the course of your build did you ever set the Aqualu body alongside the old factory body and compare measurements?

What ever happened to the old metal top?

 

fit is incredible..
the 2 physical issues are my fault (cage and carrier)
windshield rake was unimportant till now, so it was good enough..

I did measure the radius curve at the back of the tub.. seemed identical..

I have an " I don't want to sell it price" for the metal top, but it would be a fun rebuild and paint project if there ever was another six in my life..

 

Ok team,

Had another shut down this AM

Had a little notice this time... Or at least I picked up on it.
about a min before, or less, there was a slight engine hesitation.
Engine cut out. Pulled over used my now functional hazards, and sent a few texts.
2 min later fired roght up and ran like a raped ape the rest of commute.

Clueless at this point. Almost accepting it

 

Stock Duraspark with large cap on distrib

I've been thinking about replacing and relocating some of the pickup coil wiring.
And of course going over grounds... Again

 

Another sputter and die this evening.
Happened right after a short jaunt on a groomed road and a raised manhole.

Truck got bounced around a bit...1/10 mile later on smooth road had a hesitation and shut down...
Hesitated on acceleration, came back, hesitated and died.
Radio and lights stayed on uninterrupted.
Pulled off to the side, had fuel pump prime, restarted under a min after.

Checked Howell... No codes

 

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/howell-tbi-ignition-issues-1567716/

Hmmm

 

another couple hiccups this AM...
all with almost immediate restarts possible.

had hesitation, I pegged throttle and "worked through" the stalling.
Stalled out, rolled to side of the road and was able to almost immediately restart.
started back and noticed I had a little tach bounce, stalled before getting onto highway.. immediate re start
stalled again once on hwy a few moments after.. restart and no continuing issues the rest of the commute.


calling Howell this AM.. I cant imagine this is a failing pickup coil or duraspark..
Im still not convinced its fuel related.. and shy of putting a FP gauge in the cab how would I be able to tell is fuel supply is getting cutoff..
intermittent ground or short is what im thinking.. and prob in the Howell harness at this point or some common link between howell and stock ignition

 

explain? while running or with a meter?

 

While engine is off...........continuity is one thing but I like to check the resistance in each wire also........the longer ones will be greater.......just looking for a pattern although I think your electrical issue may be deeper than a plug wire miss-firing...................everything that is in your system is on the table to be suspect..........all the wiring and all the grounds including all the modules...............when we have these types of problems in the race car we pretty much just start replacing everything...........very hard to detect whether it's a bad wire, connection , ground or module that is failing under load...........check the obvious first which would be grounds............take a jumper wire 12-14 gauge and run it directly from the battery to your ignition source...........do the same to your fuel pump if it is electric...........doesn't need to be permanent just a jumper and then drive it for a few days.