No Start Mystery

I go with Worth on restricted or plugged exhaust.

 

Dang 'ol bears.

 

could it not be bear poop? i would think a bear....in the woods and currently being hunted would be more conservative with his few potatoes...

 

Really reaching since you have spark -- ballast resistor?:?

 

wrong gap on the plugs, or carb has gas varnish choking it up.

 

My vote would still be to check the timing. When I am out on the trail I am always paying attention to the trail, especially when my family is in the Jeep. So I do not notice how the Jeep is doing until I get back on pavement. Like right now My TJ is running a little sluggish, needs a tuneup, but I would never notice that at crawl speeds. I am just saying that with checking for spark and fuel deliverly you have check off two important things in the equation, it seems that they are not connecting. Also as you stated, at first after running for awhile, then restarting it was hard to start, it seems like the timing started a little off and progressively got worse. Maybe a badly worn distributor gear or worse. Maybe I am just grasping at straws but it seems to me you are doing a pretty good job eliminating the obvious, no the not so obvious....duh Bob.

 

Worth – intake manifold bolts, I didn’t think of that
-clogged exhaust, I didn’t think of that either

jpflat – rotor tip, I did look at that. I’m not really sure what’s normal but I can see where the tip of the rotor has contacted the tangs in the cap. Rotor and cap are both fairly new. I think the distributer is worn and sloppy. This condition has been going on for several years and doesn’t seem to affect how she runs.
-loose nut behind wheel, I’m absolutely certain this probably has something to do with the problem.

Howard – Spark strength, I’m not very good a judging spark. As mentioned with the screwdriver test I was able to get a spark to stretch out well over a half inch. I did change to my spare module.

1960willys – don’t have a ballast resistor.

66cj5 – spark gap, I think they’re more than stock because of the HEI. Something like .045 or more. I rebuilt the carb in Nov. and the gas is good.

Bears – didn’t (and still haven’t) see a bear.

Here’s more of the story:

(I prewrote this so I can just cut and paste)

Even though I’ve just measured 12.6 volts at the coil (+), just for the heck of it I pull out a jumper wire with alligator clips and jump directly from the battery + to the coil wire +. Try to start and she fires right up on the first crank! Woo hoo! Must be a bad ignition switch?

Monday – go to Carquest at lunch and pick up a new switch. It is in stock and identical to the old one (serious good luck). Replace switch Monday night – this is literally a real pain in the neck. Trick: take out the speedometer pod for easier access. With new switch try to start . . . and . . . no go. Dang it!

 

Maybe a short in the starter seleniod, or how ever you spell it.

 

Which could also explain the hard starting when warm, Doooh I did not think of that earlier. When we usae to hotrod SBC with headers it was not to uncommon to have a hard starting motor until we put a heat sheild on the starter. If the selenoid is bad or going bad this might be your problem.

 

Ok, I'm not sure of the exact symtom of the starter/solenoid overheat problem. I would think that would be get a 1. click, 2. no action, or 3. slow cranking. Just guessing. I was getting good cranking just no starting. And, I fabbed an aluminum heat shield to protect the starter/solenoid from the header heat. I think there's something on the madelectrical site about this and they sell a kit for a remote (ford style) solenoild. I think they have the blanket heat sheilds at summit?

 

The end of the story:

Not a fuel problem. Not the ignition sytem. Not the switch.
OK. Must be a wiring problem? Ignition power must go: battery to switch “bat” terminal (by way of the starter connection?), then through switch “ign” terminal, then through the wiring harness and eventually end up at the coil “+”. . . ok, this thread is getting too long. Ya know that big wire harness connector near the fire wall? Near the rear of the passenger side valve cover. It was just a little bit loose. Tightened it up, end of problem.

Cost to fix for a smart guy = $0.00
Cost to fix for me = $80.00 + a week of frustration

 

This has been kinda fun, glad it didn't cost an arm and a leg!!

 

I agree. This was fun.

As I was reading your last couple of posts I remembered a couple years ago having a similar symptom. But mine was that it wouldn't trip the starter solenoid at all. I ohmed out all the wires in the circuit including going through the plug you tightened and discovered a lot of resistance in the wire going from the switch to the plug. So I replaced that section of wire going all the way to the solenoid, inlining a single-wire plug right where the big harness plug is (bypassing the harness plug). Problem solved.

 

Sure am glad you got this solved, electrical problems suck. Sorry if I was trying to lead you down the wrong path, thank god it was a simple fix. Good Job. Bob