starting problems, possibly from TFI?

[JBurke]

having problems getting my rig started, would appreciate any thoughts.
80 Wagoneer, 360, TFI upgrade 3 weeks ago...

Have been working on the interior over the last 2 weeks and i drained the battery (or so i think) by leaving a door open...now i can't get it started...

Symptoms:
With my other car setup to give it a jump it appears there's enough juice, the starter will try to turn over a few times, but never quite gets all the way there - then the juice just seems to die and all i get is the clicks from the solenoid. If i wait about 3-4 minutes i can repeat that same cycle...

by the way the battery is brand new about 5 weeks old and a pretty beefy one at that...

so thoughts?...could the TFI upgrade have already toasted the ignition module?

[64Trvlr]

Take the dead battery someplace ( Autozone, NAPA, Checker, ect. ) and have it charged. Then try starting your Jeep, sounds like all thats wrong is the battery is really weak. If that doesn't help post again.
:cool:

[JBurke]

will try that tomorrow, hope that's all it is.

Wouldn't jumping it from my other car's battery give it enough juice though...almost like sticking that battery into the wag?

[MuddyWag]

The exact same thing happened to me a month ago. I accidently left the reading light on at the airport- that was on monday. When I returned on friday it was sucked dry. It took FOREVER to get it started. same symptoms. at the time I figured that the toyota tercel and cheap high gage cables were to blame. Two days later, I went to start it at the burger joint and grr-click. Same trouble with the jump, better cables, bigger donor battery (fo@d exp***tion).
Long story short- the starter was bad, the battery was low (free charge at the zone fixed it up) and the alternator was questionable (bad bearings for sure)
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Take the dead battery someplace ( Autozone, NAPA, Checker, ect. ) and have it charged. Then try starting your Jeep, sounds like all thats wrong is the battery is really weak. If that doesn't help post again.
<hr></blockquote>
the man speaks true.
Let us know!!

[mtn goat]

If a battery is totally exhusted, just jumping doesnt provide enough current to have a good start. the problem is when a battery is discharged its internal resistance increases...a lot! so this dead battery now acts as a huge resister between the other car and your starter. Once dead the best choice is like Traveler says...take it down and have it charged. This can also save your alternater and wiring as it wont be pumping so much current when the charging cycle starts.

[trickc]

One other thing, the other car you're trying to jump it off with,is it a v-8 also? My father-in-law always told me jump off a vehicle with an equal vehicle or better,ie. a v-8 with v-8 or a 6 with a v-8,just as a rule of thumb.
I have applied this and found it to be true at least in the circumstance I was dealing with, trying to jump off a 76 grand marquis wagon w 460 used my mazda first,no dice, then the jeep-cranked right up. I know its not very scientiffic but thought I'd throw it out there. smile.gif

[JeepReeves79]

mtn goat is absolutly correct, you will need to take the battery out and recharge it completly and try again should take care of problem.

[Dome]

If the battery isn't the problem, make sure you are getting spark at your coil. I've had a lot of coil headaches since I did the TFI

[JBurke]

thanks guys - fulling charging the battery worked perfectly. started up like a champ this morning. Now i just need to figure out what's draining the juice...