Dead on the Road!!

[swclemons]

Coasting down a hill, I noticed that my engine had died. I threw it up in neutral and tried to restart, no such luck. Rolled to a stop along side the road, and poped the hood. Nothing physically wrong, or not apparent. Called a rollback and had it taken to the house. I think I broke my timing chain. Any thing to watch out for changing it??

Steve

[mark]

steve
actually breaking a timing chain would be very noisy and destructive http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~zeimet/ubb/eek.gif .why do you think it broke.does it crank over and does the dist center shaft spin while cranking?

[andy d]

i agree with Mark. do some trouble shooting. does the engine get gas? remove the air cleaner and pour a 1/2 cup down the carb,holdthe choke flap open. does motor catch? if yes,then troub is fuel related, if no than its spark. check for spark at spark plugs.twist off the terminal dont yank it. more than likely its some thing simple and easy to fix. ask questions,post the results,add to the pool of knowledge and experience that makes this board a positive thing. good luck and good hunting

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'88 gwag,pure stock

[Ralph]

Common problem is the ignition module. That would be my first guess for sudden stalling problems, given the track record of the Duraspark modules on big Jeeps.

[swclemons]

Thanks for all the input. I have to work today and will start troubleshooting tonight. How do I test the ignition module??

[River Beast]

I have to agree... timing chain separation would be devestating... think about the auliuminum timing chain cover. I would something elctrical like a disconnect at coil. Check for spark as well-pull a plug wire and insert a screwdriver into the boot a lay it next to the body (good ground)... don't hold it!!! and have a friend crank it over, watch for the spark jump between the screwdriver and body. This should let you see if there is a electrical problem in the ingition circuit. Good Luck

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Todd
78 Wagoneer "River Beast"
360/TH400/QT
Dana 44's (soon to be locked w/ 4.88's and 38x14.50's)
7" SOA conversion
4" Skyjacker Softride
3" Trailmaster Bodylift
My FSJ site: http://www.geocities.com/~spazz4life (http://www.geocities.com/~spazz4life)
My E-mail: spazz4life@yahoo.com
"If you can't stop...SMILE as you go under!"

[Brown Bear]

Do yourself a favor and try the gas thing first. My GW died leaving my ex-father inlaw-to-be's driveway and ended up setting in his yard for a week before my brain started working properly. If it'll start and then die when it burns off the gas you poured in, take the top cover off the carb, take out the float and the little pin thingy (just forgot the correct name). Blow out the whole where the gas comes in from line, and reassemble. This is all it took for me. If it won't turn, then spark is a likely suspect. I would try the ign. coil first, mainly the wire going from said coil to distributor. Might as well check your resistance wire, also. Could have burnt out and melted.

JMHO.

Nathaniel

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1984 Grand Wagoneer
bone stock
P235/75 R15 Daytona Stag XT

[Brown Bear]

Just one more thing, it could have jumped timing. But I wouldn't look at this until you've exhausted all the other easier and cheaper possiblities.

Nathaniel

[ClarkGriswald]

I have a chevy van that jumped timing.. It is still sitting behind my house for 3 years now.. It was a lound nasty sounding experience.. you definatly know when that happens.. Like someone threw a handfull of rocks into your top end as it destroys itself. Valves and pushrods ect. dont like that. My guess is electrical.. If you dont have spark, also check for 12volts at the input of the coil when ignition is on.

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88 Grand Wagoneer
D44's front\rear
Warn 20990 Lockouts
AMC 360
TF 727
NP 229 (Funky)
Custom Hacking Via S.P.A. (Standard Polish Archetecture)

[Teach]

I had that problem all the time for a while. I would just die and not restart for a 10-15 minutes. turned out to be a faulty coil. Try the gas thing, I use choke cleaner, and then go from there.

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Teach
'76 Wagoneer
360,Q-T,Edlebrock Intake/carb, D44's, 3.07, really big after market gas tank!
"If it ain't one thing, it's another...."

[swclemons]

I didnt have much time for testing today, but I did get it narrowed down. Rotor turns when I attempt to start, so no timing chain problems. I am getting spark, no ignition problems. Poured some gas down the carb, she started right up! AH HAH, you guys were right. For tomorrow, fuel pump or fuel lines??

Steve

[Dave _S]

When engines just die without warning its usually an electrical problem and occasionally a fuel problem. First check for spark at the plugs, if no spark its electrical. If you've got good spark, its a fuel problem. Once you've narrowed it down to electricl or fuel, TROUBLESHOOT. Read manuals, get a voltmeter, learn the system. If you have a '70s FSJ, this is of course much easier than with an '80s rig. Whatever, you do, DO NOT just start replacing parts. You can spend a fortune doing this and never find the problem.

Oops didn't see that last post, Sorry.

[This message has been edited by Dave _S (edited September 24, 2000).]

[Manhattan]

Every Jeep I've owned has done this... EVERY ONE. And every time... EVERY time, it has bee the ignition module. The best way to test it - buy two of them and replace the old one. Put the other one in the back for when the new one goes bad.

Seriously, just replace the module to start the diagnosis. If it is not the module, you did 2 things - eliminated an option & replaced something that was going to go bad anyway.

My GW did that last month entering the Holland Tunnel in NYC. The shop (with diagnositic tools) missed the module - said it was good! After replacing the coil with no success, they replaced the module and it worked!

[Ralph]

I'm still with Manhattan on this. If you had a persistent stalling problem then I'd suspect the fuel delivery; however, that exact intermittent stalling problem you've got is typical of a bad ignition module.

I went through it all finding this gremling in my own vehicle: I replaced all fuel and vacuum lines, still stalled; I rebuilt the carb, still stalled; replaced the charcoal canister, fuel filters, spark plugs, wires, coil... yep, still stalled.

I was personally responsible for thousands of traffic jams in the Greater Columbus area. Nothing like a big steel Jeep stuck during rush hour on a highway under construction!

Then one day Jeff Kennedy had me check the ignition module and, voila! Not a problem since. $47 would've solved the hundreds I spent replacing all the other stuff.

[Manhattan]

if you're not familiar with it, it's that PB&J sandwich sized silver thing on the Drivers side fender. Except for the air filter, it's about the easiest to access and change.

If you found the problem already and it's not the ig' mod, replace it anyway... it's about to go bad!

Can you tell these things have let me down!

[Narnian]

I had something like that happen in my old Chief. I left my house to drive up to my parents for Christmas (twelve hours away) and only made it three miles. Car just died and wouldn't start. It took me and a mechanic five hours on Christmas eve to figure it out. There was a fusible link somewhere in the ignition system that had completely disintegrated. In looking at the engine compartment everything looked right. Eventually he noticed a naked terminal and looked it up in his manual. The fusible link was supposed to be about three inches long, but there was absolutetly nothing left of it. We replaced it with an inline fuse.

May have nothing to do with your problem, but I thought I'd mention it as a possibility. I can't remember where the fusible link was (this happened about nine years ago) or I'd tell you where to look.

[RUDY79]

YES YES Manhattan is soooooo right. I had the same ploblem. Once I had to tow it 20 miles and the SOB started after the tow truck left. I didn't know what it was so I replaced the carb the distributor & plugs. And what made it hard was that it was intermittent so when i changed something it would start and I thought I fixed it. Finally a Ford guy said "it's the module they suck". It was my module.

Try starter fluid and see if it starts. If it does its the fuel system(carb?).
if nothing try pulling the the hight tension wire from the distributor cap and have some poor unsupecting friend that you want to laugh at hold it while you crank it. if he yells your coil is ok. Or you can hold it next to the block and see if there's a spark when its cranked.

To check your chain you pull your dist. cap off and crank the motor. If it does not turn BAD thing.

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79 WAGONEER,360 AMC, TH400, QUADRA-TRAC, 31" MUD T/A's, 2 1/2" add a leafs.

[RUDY79]

Is there a ignition fuse in the FSJ? Look under the dash and see.

[Manhattan]

To make it even harder to fix, the POS module will work for a while... then quit (just long enough to pass a test and let you change the distributor, carb, transmission, religion, political party... then it'll die again... and not at home.

See, the module is toward the top of the engine compartment. It can see out the grill. It sees the mechanic with the diagnostic tools and starts working again. Later, it will see a good place to take a nap... like a rainy highway or tunnel

[christopher]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Manhattan:
To make it even harder to fix, the POS module will work for a while... then quit (just long enough to pass a test and let you change the distributor, carb, transmission, religion, political party... then it'll die again... and not at home.

See, the module is toward the top of the engine compartment. It can see out the grill. It sees the mechanic with the diagnostic tools and starts working again. Later, it will see a good place to take a nap... like a rainy highway or tunnel<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think I bought one of mine where manhattan got his. I now keep a spare module in the jeep. I have also had the inline fuses fart out on me.

[andy d]

this thing about ign modules is new to me.ive never had one fail on mein a jeep. the last ford i owned, a 75 ltd wag witha 460 useta eat em like candy. it was great fun,(not)

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'88 gwag,pure stock

[andy d]

hey, SW, what was the outcome? you got it running yet? was it fuel related or ignition?

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'88 gwag,pure stock

[swclemons]

I think its the fuel pump. I am working long hours this week and will not get time to change it till saturday. I poured some gas down the carb and she started right up!

Steve

[Veepster]

what about fuel filters? to verify pump you can pull the output line from the pump and put in glass jar and crank motor to see if it pumps....I am sure there is a spec on the quantity in relation to time for the pump output....I can check TSM for the spec tonight if you want.....

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Peace.............BartG

the Green Flash!
78 Chero
360 2v, 400 QT with low

4" skyjacker
33x12.50 BFG KO's
Thorley headers, 3" exhaust
Infiniti power leather seats
50%LuxuryCar,50%Tractor