No start/spark condition

I have a couple of questions.

Does this have Prestolite Ignition or Motorcraft?

Can you remove the breather and send some good full screen pics from the sides and above?

Since this has been a project, how many hours/minutes/miles has it been driven with no issues?

Any other modifications that may have been made?

Why did you modify your distributor cap?

Do you have a timing light and portable dwell tach meter?

The Medic

Really nice Jeep! I really like it!

No worry with the pictures, I have got a lot of time looking at CJ stuff on my sides/back/ belly, I can process the images.

We need to get it on the road minus those embarrassing moments.

Do you know the make and part number for the coil?

Is there or is there not a resistance wire leading to the coil?

I try to keep things simple as I can!

Basically, My upgrade is all (spark plugs/ distributor/ distributor cap/ coil/ plug wires/ rotor button/ ignition module/ wiring) that a 1979 is OEM.

My only exception to the above is: there was not a resistance wire on a 1977, I use a ballast resistor to make up for it.

When getting ignition parts in an auto parts store I simply tell them it is for a 1979, this makes things so simple.

Is your carburetor "out of the box" or has it been monkeyed with since it was installed?

I have an Offenhauser intake and a Holley 390 4 barrel on my 258 six cylinder. Using a few tricks that I picked up, I was able to select my jets without it being a big headache like in the past.

I am into MPG's not speed and racket. My jets are just one size larger than what came in the carburetor. Finally, after peaking at 15-16 MPGs in my previous CJ-5's, I now get 18 MPG's pretty consistently!

I vowed that no matter what the cost might be (I have tried all of the "promise inventions" with no improvements) I would get past the 16 MPG mark. I am satisfied now.

You know, you can sometimes get a timing light (plain Jane is fine!) And a dwell tach meter from pawn shops (yard sales too) really cheap. They are so crucial to getting your Jeep running right. Not only for the timing but to tune your carburetor too.

It might be that a good real tuning is what you might need. Playing it by ear just does not cut it.

I can guide you though that too.

We have other possible things that could affect engine performance, we are going to have to go through things in an order as not to miss something. Forty years of "monkeying" might do something stupid like plugging off the fuel tank vent, that could ruin your day (leaving the gas cap off would make it all better until you get it corrected). Lots of previous improvements could have been done by incompetent people, now you have to undo them!

Right now-absolutely no spark?

Your turn!

The Medic

(Pictures of my 258)

I am seeing the ballast resistor.

Is this your coil's resistor or do you have a resistance wire too?

I am not understanding the multiple wires going into and out of the ballast resistor?

Just for giggles, alligator clip a jumper wire across the ballast resistor terminals (basically, bypassing the resistor) then crank it, do you have spark?

I am going to send you a few diagrams.

1) My set up, 1977 with no resistance wire (OEM Prestolite had an internal coil resistor just a plain wire) I added the ballast resistor to make up for the R-wire and to install the upgraded 1979 coil, to keep it all 1979ish.

This is a cropped portion of the second diagram.

Even though I show the resistance wire in this diagram (snagged from a 1979 diagram), it is really a plain wire in my 1977.

2) Showing another 2CarPros member how to tie his "new system" into a 1976 or 1978 wire harness (I have "some timers").

3) 1979 ignition diagram that I cropped out and cleaned up. I also colored every wire (in the entire diagram). There were a few obstacles in that wires with tracer stripes were not labeled with the color of the stripe, I winged it with "dashed" or "dotted" black lines to denote those wires.

4 and 5 the 1979 diagram I colored.

The Medic

I saw that some of your ignition module/ etc, were female spade connectors shoved onto the pins of the connector half.

It might be better if you obtained the other half and make it as it was meant to be. Should your set up now get jerked apart you might spend some headache time trying to figure out what is what and where it goes.

Ask around/call around, you are wanting a "older" auto salvage yard (maybe even better, a smaller yard) that has late 1970's and early 1980's Fords, Lincolns, and Mercury's.

All we are wanting is some specific wires and their connectors. Many times the establishment will give you little "baloney ideas" like this: You can clean them up with Purple Power or brake cleaner in a spray can.

You may have to shorten and butt splice "donor" wiring to meet your needs.

These can also be purchased on the net too, I like the cheap way out!

If I have not told you already, to take those "walnut-like" connectors apart (as the book says), Grasp the wires on either side of the connector and pull! Digging them apart with a screwdriver results in the locking tabs being broke off.

I would really like to know what else is going through the ballast resistor.

The Medic

Your diagram looks to do the same as the 1979 AMC Jeep diagram I posted earlier. Just different routing.

See my "hopefully" explanation of your diagram.

Are you on board or overboard?

Diagram below- pictures from the net too.

The Medic

In my diagram above (as I hope you understood). The color of the wires I drew in was merely to show the pathways that the electricity takes through and around the ballast resistor. I could have picked any color to put on the wires (I chose those because you could see them better)!

After I colored the (your) diagram I was able to compare it to the AMC diagrams I posted earlier. I found that both diagrams do the same functions, the only difference was the way the wires are routed to perform the same tasks. (See third diagram on SUNDAY, JULY 22ND, 2018 AT 7:17 PM)

So here is the deal:

Continue to wire it by your diagram, maybe go back and re-check your previous work from long ago.

Or

Wire it by the AMC diagram.

But!

Do not mix the diagrams together as it will become confusing and wires will not conflict with one another!

This is so hard to put "wiring" in writing/in person you would understand the deal in a few minutes.

We will get there, I may have to revamp my approach. If you did the wiring you pictured, it looks to be a neat job.

Okay, Evans, GA? Right down there at Augusta?

The Medic

Busy all day with the wife, sorry I have not responded sooner.

I am working on "Willy" every chance she permits me to, I am about to reinstall my replacement intake (ear broke off the original) and original exhaust manifolds.

I have taken a few pictures along the way.

I am going to squeeze in at least hanging them on the studs and starting the washers and nuts, It is now 10:15 PM and I should be in sleepy land, I got to get him back on the road!

Keep me posted with your progress, we will race to see whether AMC beats WILLYS back on the road!

The Medic

Lets give this a shot.

This will bypass the "on" part of the ignition and anything along that line too. Any open circuit any short that could be on that pathway will not be part of this equation.

You can still use the key to start it.

Yellow wire goes to the positive side of the battery.

This temporary, looking for some sparkage, or it firing up.

Results?

The Medic

Let's try the jumper exactly this way in my pic above, this will eliminate possible wiring problems back towards the switch as that wire is not hooked to the coil now.

Give the carburetor 2 teaspoons of gas down the throat.

This is a test to see if it fires (or even some spitting and sputtering!).

Let me know if this does anything.

Next we will check your distributor installation.

The Medic