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71 Dauntless Ignition Cuts Out After 20 Minutes

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by Roseand, May 18, 2017.

  1. May 19, 2017
    Roseand

    Roseand New Member

    Wisconsin
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    Drove it for 45 minutes today, died once and started back up immediately(think my tank is dirty) then drove for 30 minutes until I started running out of gas. Disconnected ignition jumper, still started right up.. Im at a loss.
     
  2. May 19, 2017
    Roseand

    Roseand New Member

    Wisconsin
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    Idk if it makes any difference but the temperature today is 30 degrees less than the days I had this issue.
     
  3. May 19, 2017
    PeteL

    PeteL If it wasn't for physics, and law enforcement... 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Hills of NH
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    Last week I drained my '57's fuel tank, since the gas supply was intermittantly cutting out on the road. Every time I blew out the line it would run for a while, then choke up again.

    Instead of the crud I expected, there was a tiny flap from a small cardboard parts box. I think it may have been OEM, floating around in there since 1957!
     
    Hellion likes this.
  4. May 19, 2017
    Roseand

    Roseand New Member

    Wisconsin
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    Crazy! Yeah, who knows what's in the tank! But it's not solely a fuel issue. Fuel issues are super easy to fix thankfully.. But I'm so confused with my electrical problem. Wish I could recreate the symptoms today to rule out things because getting stranded sucks!
     
  5. May 21, 2017
    Walt Couch

    Walt Couch sidehill Cordele, Ga. 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    cordele, Ga.
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    71 diagram is not really avail on the net but 71 Ren is and 72 is. Does your 71 have factory Ammeter or does it have a chg light in speedo? It makes a big difference in troubleshooting.
     
  6. May 21, 2017
    1960willyscj5

    1960willyscj5 Well-Known Member

    Mesa, Arizona
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    Coil
     
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  7. May 21, 2017
    Roseand

    Roseand New Member

    Wisconsin
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    I honestly don't know. Well, sort of have some news! It died, cranked right up. Minute later after I was towed back, cranked right up but would not start, throat of carb was soaked. Had a helper turn the key so I could check power to the coil.. It lights up faintly with key on and in starting position, and this time in the off position the test light was super bright!! Now it cranks over and has zero spark.
     
  8. May 21, 2017
    Roseand

    Roseand New Member

    Wisconsin
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    I jumped the coil and still no spark
     
  9. May 21, 2017
    timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    Medford Mass USA
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    If coil failure, it would be be the primary going open as it gets hot. Jumping the coil won't help if the primary is open.The coil primary is very fine wire wrapped around a former, and it can fail. Coils (and transformers) do wear out, due to the stress on the wire from the field changes. IMO a Jeeper should carry a spare coil at all times. Coil failure will strand you - BTDT.
     
  10. May 21, 2017
    Glenn

    Glenn Kinda grumpy old man Staff Member

    Apopka, Fl
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    If you are saying the positive side of the coil was hot with the key off then it sounds like the key switch is toast.
     
  11. May 21, 2017
    Roseand

    Roseand New Member

    Wisconsin
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    Oh yeah! Replacing switch for sure. I jumped the coil(positive wire on battery to ballast resistor input so coil is always live) but still no spark. Possible my switch failing fried the coil?
     
  12. May 22, 2017
    Glenn

    Glenn Kinda grumpy old man Staff Member

    Apopka, Fl
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    Personally I wouldn't know if your coil would be damaged by a bad switch. Your initial description of problems does sound like what a bad coil will do. I too have had that experience.l
     
  13. May 22, 2017
    Roseand

    Roseand New Member

    Wisconsin
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    So I need to replace my points, condenser, and most likely coil.. My distributor is the prestolite and the only place I can see to get points for it are on rockauto, nowhere local. They all have the delco ones.
    I'm tempted to look into and HEI conversion if I'm already putting 50+ into fixing this.
    Rockauto has remanned HEIs with cap/rotor for around 120$ with core charge..
    I was doing some research and people say the prestolite is garbage, and swapping to a delco with pertronix would be super easy. But, nowhere can I find a remanned delco either.. Im keeping this thing for the long run so I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about it.
     
  14. May 22, 2017
    47v6

    47v6 junk wrecker! 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    Dropping the HEI in is easy, sort of. I did it for the same reasons you state. When i did the one from rock auto, it didnt come with cap, rotor or could an don plug wires either. You're also going to want to run different plugs too. The intake needs to be ground down to fit the physically larger distributor body. I believe DUI has one that is a bit longer to clear, but you pay for it.

    here is one of many threads HEI distributor cap #1 terminal

    The cheap ignition module the rock auto reman came with was pure garbage and quit after 30 miles and a lot of head scratching. When or if you do this, buy a spare good one for Buick, not random GM and get some heat sink paste to bed it into.

    Guys with pertronix seem to like theirs. I don't know if they have a kit for your distributor. You need to do no grinding then.
     
  15. May 22, 2017
    Roseand

    Roseand New Member

    Wisconsin
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    That's good to know about the rock auto ones! Do I need a higher output coil for the HEI? If I go HEI I don't know the best place to purchase a good priced one.
    Yeah, pertronix only makes one for the delco distributor which I don't have unfortunately.. If so I would go that route hands down!
     
  16. May 22, 2017
    47v6

    47v6 junk wrecker! 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    HEI does not use the stock coil. It has one integral to the cap. It also uses 12v and not the 9.6 that the ballast resistor supplies. I used the rock auto one from a 1975 buick skylark with the 231. Just buy an extra ignition module and if your jeep stops running, change it out. All these reman parts are probably coming from the same place.

    There is some very in depth tuning to make your V6 run right, but I didn't do them and mine is fine for me. Do a bunch of searches, there is lots of info out there about this.

    I am torn about your situation. My engine and assorted parts were not salvageable. Your situation is different because you have semi working parts. I would start by doing a search on how to check a coil with a multi meter first. Get it hot to see what it does. Replace the ignition switch too. They are not very expensive. A multi meter can really help you pinpoint an electrical fault easily. If you don't know how to use it, there are many online tutorials that can help you. They sure have helped me!
     
  17. May 22, 2017
    Roseand

    Roseand New Member

    Wisconsin
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    Sweet man, thanks for the advice. For reference I'm 21 and this is my first older than late 1990s vehicle.. I've never opened up a distributor until a few weeks ago, lol. I'm mechanically inclined so I should be able to handle this but I have only a little bit of experience using a multimeter in engineering physics in college ha.
    Thankfully my dad has been working on this stuff since he was a teen so that helps.
    Just for reference my background is with our family business that sells and fixes small to very large landscape equipment so I have access to pretty much any tool if needed to test this stuff including timing light etc
    I think right now I'm doing the switch for sure and going to get some readings off or the coil. I need to know how to test the coil itself because my distributor isn't putting out any spark now even with coil hot wired. Is there anyime who knows what exactly to test?


    I think it's good this project is going bad because it's one hell of a learning experience and I have a ton to learn but I want to!

    I really appreciate the help guys.
     
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  18. May 22, 2017
    Roseand

    Roseand New Member

    Wisconsin
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    Turns out local parts store has a switch and a coil for me. I figure 25$ for a coil is worth a shot since even if it's bad a spare is good!
     
  19. May 22, 2017
    Glenn

    Glenn Kinda grumpy old man Staff Member

    Apopka, Fl
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    Since a coil is pretty easy to change, and it seems to be a given that the switch is bad I suggest (if you have the time to spare) changing just the switch and then see what results you get. As you are experiencing, electrical problems can be baffling or they can be simple, and changing one thing at a time is better for troubleshooting and if you fix the problem by replacing multiple things at once you are then wondering which was the actual fix.

    And yes get the coil since as mentioned having a spare is good.
     
    Roseand likes this.
  20. May 22, 2017
    47v6

    47v6 junk wrecker! 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    You'll do fine. Just take your time, and do one thing at a time. Just eliminate one variable before moving on to the next. Like Glenn said, do the ING switch change first. See what happens. Changing out the coil is easy too. Doing a tune up with points is an interesting process...You will need to follow instructions. Another great tool is a Vacuum gauge. It works VERY well to diagnose issues and set the correct advance and carb settings. It can also show the condition of the engine. I learned how to do most of this stuff more or less correctly via online tutorials and often search again, as I don't do this for a living. Just a hobby. None of us were born with the knowledge or ability. Good luck!
     
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