'85 CJ7 - Need help w/ Electrical, Not Starting (caused by me removing PO-installed alarm behind dash)

Tiny
CJ7_NEWYORK
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DEAR MEDIC,
WE HAVE IGNITION!

I rewired the solenoid as you said and jumped it using a 10 gauge wire. It worked! Now let me try to answer your questions.

1) Regarding the electrical tape on the battery: I think that was done because someone installed RED as the negative and BLACK as the positive. So somewhere along the way someone else added the black electrical tape to hide the "red" so as to avoid confusion. The connecters were all replaced this year and the copper in the wires still look good. I'll send you a pic of them later and you can judge for yourself.

2) The battery is good. It is BRAND NEW as of 4 hours ago. My old one was reading 0.55V and it was still under warranty so I got a free replacement.

3) The Jeep started but once I shut her off the key DID NOT restart the ignition. Our CJ friend doesn't even try to turn over.

4) The fuel and temp gauges don't seem to be reading anything. I guess maybe they are indeed fried. I'm happy to deal with that later.

5) I did the test across from the battery neg to the solenoid positive and kept getting 12.5V. Every once in a while I would get 8 or 9V but not for long. And it pretty much read 12.5V whether the key was turned on or off.

I'm very excited for the next steps. And here is a pic of the solenoid setup just to give you eyes. And thank you, thank you! So far my car will START. That is a HUGE improvement already!
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Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 AT 4:37 AM
Tiny
CJ MEDEVAC
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DO THIS TEST--"KEY ON". PIC 1. THIS IS POSITIVE "COIL" TO A GOOD GROUND (NEG BATTERY)---WE ARE SEEING IF VOLTAGE IS REACHING THE COIL, AND EXACTLY HOW MUCH. WITH THE "KEY ON"

YOU MAY HAVE DONE THIS TEST, 'CEPT YOU CALLED IT SOLENOID?

I NEED TO KNOW THIS AT THE COIL!

PIC 2?

PIC 3----YOUR RESULTS?

PIC 4?

GLAD TO SEE YOU ARE MOTIVATED!

PLEASE CLARIFY THIS---IT TURNED OVER FINE."DID" OR "DID NOT" BUST OFF AND RUN WITH KEY ON?. WHEN YOU "CHEATED THE SOLENOID"

I MUST WORK IN MORN 11:00---LONG DAY---COVERING FOR ANOTHER PERSON TOO. BACK AT ABOUT 20:00 TOMORROW EVENING

PLEASE DON'T BE SAD---WE WILL GET IT!

THE MEDIC
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Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 AT 5:24 AM
Tiny
CJ7_NEWYORK
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1) The coil is reading 12.1V or so off the positive when the key is in "ON" position. Not in the 7-8 range as in your picture.

2) Nope, that section of the wire coming off the cluster isn't melted. It's got a butt connecter there. See closeup. But what is strange is that there is an extra wire hanging out around there. When I took the speedo apart, I took pictures of everything so I know for sure that I reconnected everything the same. But I'm open to suggestions.

3) Testing the wires off the solenoid, the "S" side wire barely did anything. I got 0 with the key off and then somewhere around 0.8V with the key in the "ON" position and then no change (so still about 0.8V) in the "START" position. I tested the "I" side as well. Got 0 with the key off and then about 6.9V in the key "ON" and in the "START" positions.

4) So, the yellow and red wires twisted together go to my stereo. As for the big box hanging down, it's something that was installed between the wiper switch and the wiper motor cables. I've removed it and attached a picture. Could this have been part of the alarm? Problem is I can't directly hook up the the wiper to the motor without this "chunk" because while the actual wire connections look to be the same, the plastic connectors are shaped differently.

5) In my Haynes manual, if I am not mistaken, there should be 2 fusable links coming off the POS from my solenoid going to the alternator and to the ignition, etc. Is there anything I should know about installing these or is it just a matter of putting in some 14 gauge wire?

6) The last picture. Is there a hose missing?
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Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 AT 4:24 PM
Tiny
CJ7_NEWYORK
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I was wrong about the box coming off of the wiper control switch. That is my intermittent governor box. I tried to bypass it and attach the wiper motor to the switch directly and got some movement but it wasn't functioning properly so I detached everything again. The wiper motor is part of what got me into this mess also. My mechanic said that the motor was blown so I ordered a new one and when I plugged it in it didn't work. So I still can't figure out what's wrong with it, but maybe the problem is in the governor box. Since you're at work doing a double shift (sorry man), I'm going to cruise around online and see what I can dig up about it.
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Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 AT 5:56 PM
Tiny
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Figured out the wiper motor, so all my attention is back to the ignition problem. My mechanic had told me that my old wiper motor was broken but in fact it just wasn't ground properly. The last bolt on the bottom of the motor housing is slightly longer than the other two and grounds the wipers against the windshield frame. Now I have a new wiper motor that I have to try and return. Let me know what's next on the ignition, boss. I was tracing the "S" wire and it looks a bit grimy at the fuse box. Going to see if I can clean it up a bit while I wait for direction.
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Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 AT 10:18 PM
Tiny
CJ MEDEVAC
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I'M TRYING TO GET YOU SOME STUFF TOGETHER AS YOU READ THIS

AFTER I SAW YOUR PIC AND THE "AMC" LOGO, I FIGURED IT MIGHT BE INTERMITTENT WIPERS

SOLENOID TEST: "I TERMINAL" (NOT "I" WIRE) AIN'T GONNA GIVE FULL BATTERY VOLTAGE UNTIL WE MAKE "S" WORK PROPERLY AND THE SOLENOID ACTIVATES, LIKE IT SHOULD.

(WHICH WILL TURN THE STARTER OVER-UNLESS WE DISCONNECT THE BIG CABLE AT THE STARTER WHILE TESTING)

THEN, WITH THE KEY AT "START", THIS WILL MAKE THE ELECTROMAGNET IN THE SOLENOID "CLICK REALLY HARD" (COPPER CONTACT PLATES WITHIN IT ARE "CONNECTING" THE 2 BIG POSTS, TO RUN THE STARTER STRAIGHT OFF OF THE BATTERY....BASICALLY, A BIG ELECTRIC SWITCH IN THE BIG CABLES.

THEN "I TERMINAL", ON THE SOLENOID, WILL PUT OUT FULL BATTERY VOLTAGE.....BOOSTING THE COIL, WHILE THE STARTER TURNS.....WHY THE BOOST?...BECAUSE THE STARTER WOULD NORMALLY BE ROBBING VOLTAGE FROM THE COIL (AND EVERYTHING) AS IT TURNS

SOOOOOO!!! WE GOTTA "S WIRE" WORKING.......I'M WORKING ON IT---I WANT TO MAKE IT AS EZ AS I CAN....LIKE 2ND GRADER LEVEL, SO OTHERS WILL UNDERSTAND, WHO MIGHT READ THIS, OR IF I LINK SOMEONE HERE

YOU ARE DOING GREAT!

SUPER INFO!

A MANUAL!

PICS!

VOLTMETER LITERATE (FOR WHAT WE NEED)

WIPERS.....LATER! IF YOU CHANGE YOUR WIPER SWITCH, AND WIRE UP LIKE AN EARLIER MODEL, MAYBE YOU CAN LOSE THE INTERMITTENT STUFF...........I HAVE THE DIAGRAM YOU CAN USE TO DO THIS!!!!!....BUT LATER!

YES, THE HOSE IS MISSING! IT'S A "TIN FOIL" "MINIATURE CLOTHES DRIER VENT" LOOKING HOSE, A PARTS STORE SHOULD HAVE ONE ("GENERIC")

I KNOW YOU ARE EAGER!

THANKS FOR ANSWERING QUESTIONS I ASK! (IF I MISS ONE OF YOURS, ASK ME AGAIN!)

I NEED SOME MORE ANSWERS---THIS WAS RUNNING UP UNTIL THE ALARM UNINSTALL??? HAS ANYONE TAKEN THE DISTRIBUTOR OUT OR MOVED IT??

REPLACE THE BLOWN FUSES! THEIR SLOTS SHOULD HAVE HAVE THE CORRECT AMPS WRITTEN ON THE PANEL ABOVE OR BELOW THEM

I WANT TO TO TRY TO START IT WITH THE KEY, ONCE THE FUSES ARE IN PLACE.....RESULTS???

CHECK TO SEE WHAT MAY HAVE BLOWN (AGAIN) THIS IS IMPORTANT!

IF IT STILL DOES NOT CRANK---DO THIS:

THIS IS WHAT YOUR MODULE LOOKS LIKE

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Ignition-Control-Module-BWD_5240484-P_194_R%7CGRPTUNEAMS_____

TO REMOVE YOUR IGNITION MODULE ....ON EITHER SIDE OF THE CONNECTORS GRASP THE WIRES AND PULL HARD (DIGGING W/ A SCREWDRIVER IS SORTA FRUITLESS) IF YOU PULL EVENLY ON THE BUNDLE OF WIRES, IT WILL COME APART AND YOU WON'T BREAK THE LOCKING TABS

OFF TO A POPULAR AUTO PARTS STORE, YOU GO....THEY USUALLY WILL TEST THESE FOR FREE

LETS WATCH AND SEE IF THEY HOOK UP RIGHT (IF YOU KINDA CAN READ THE CHART THEY ARE READING)

THEN HAVE THEM TEST IT 5-8 TIMES (THIS WILL WARM IT UP) SHOULD IT FAIL THE LAST FEW TESTS.....ANY THING LESS IS LAZINESS....AND YOU MIGHT SUFFER...NOT THEM!

WHAT IF IT FAILS?.............YES, REPLACE IT!

AS YOU PUT YOU HAND ON THEIR DOOR HANDLE TO LEAVE, WITH YOUR NEW ONE............

TURN YOUR BUTT RIGHT AROUND, GO BACK TO THE COUNTER, AND HAVE THEM TEST "THEIR" NEW ONE 5-8 TIMES.

WHY????

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE TEARING YOUR ENTIRE JEEP CJ 5 DOWN (EVEN THE WIRING) FOR 2 DAYS, TEARING YOUR HAIR OUT!.........BECAUSE, IT WILL NOT START!!! .......THEN YOU TAKE THE BRAND NEW, UNTESTED MODULE, BACK TO THE STORE, ONLY TO FIND OUT.....IT TOO, WAS BAD!

BELOW IS A PIC OF THE TESTER AT ADVANCE AUTO......THE CORRECT PIG-TAIL TO TEST YOURS IS RIGHT BESIDE THE MACHINE (I PUT IT THERE!)

AFTER THIS SET OF ANSWERS I GET FROM YOU

I'M GONNA REQUEST THAT YOU SEND ...."NO MORE INFO"!, UNTIL I SEND YOU SOME MORE TESTING FROM DIAGRAMS I AM TRYING TO MAKE YOU

I SORTA NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON MY "BATTLE PLAN"---AND NOT GET SIDE-TRACKED!......AGAIN BEAR WITH ME, I'M HAVING TO MAKE MY STUFF FROM SCRATCH WITH YOUR WIRING ISSUE (MY '79 DIAGRAM IS NOT CLOSE ENOUGH WITH "IGNITION")

OK, ANSWER AWAY!........THEN WAIT FOR ME TO RESPOND!

DON'T WORRY--I WILL RETURN!

THE MEDIC
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Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 AT 1:44 AM
Tiny
CJ7_NEWYORK
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1) It was definitely running up until the alarm uninstall. No one has touched the distributor or anything else under the hood.

2) Retested the solenoid TERMINALS this time. Nothing from "S" and therefore nothing going out the "I" when I turned the ignition. As you said.

3) Replaced the 2 fuses that were blown before. Tried the ignition. Nothing. And nothing reblown. All fuses intact.

I'm supposed to deliver my car to the painter tomorrow to get one last coat on the hood. May have to jump the solenoid to get there, but at least that is an option!

Will not write again till you respond, sir.
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Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 AT 2:29 AM
Tiny
CJ MEDEVAC
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I'M STILL AT IT

TAKING A BREAK

I JUST REMEMBERED ANOTHER QUESTION YOU ASKED

THERE WILL BE SEVERAL OR MANY WIRES UNDER YOUR DASH THAT ARE DANGLING. THEY ARE FOR OPTIONS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE TO YOUR JEEP, LIKE:

FLOOR LIGHTING (ON EITHER END OF THE DASH, JUST UNDERNEATH, THE ROTATION OF THE LIGHT SWITCH WOULD HAVE TURNED THEM ON LIKE A DOME LIGHT

CLOCK

TACHOMETER

CIGARETTE LIGHTER

RADIO

A/C

ETC

I FIGURED IT MIGHT WORRY YOU THAT YOU THOUGHT THEY MAY HAVE BEEN CONNECTED SOMEWHERE. YOU MAY EVEN SEE THEM IN A WIRE DIAGRAM

I SCANNED A '79 DIAGRAM, CLEANED IT UP

I ALWAYS HAD A PROBLEM READING THE CJ DIAGRAMS IN THE REPAIR MANUALS. FINALLY I SCANNED ONE THAT I HAD NOT "CHICKEN SCRATCHED" COLORED MARKERS AND PEN LINES ON THEM. MY BIGGEST PROBLEM WAS WHERE MANY, MANY WIRES RAN PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER, IT WAS REAL EZ TO GET ONTO THE WRONG WIRE WHILE FOLLOWING THEM.

AFTER SCANNING, I TOOK THE TWO HALVES TO "MICROSOFT PAINT" AND COLORED OVER EACH WIRE WITH THE CORRECT COLORS. AFTER A FEW DAYS OF PLAYING WITH THIS. I EMAILED THEM TO THE OFFICE STORE WHERE I HAD THEM ENLARGED. I THEN FITTED THE HALVES TOGETHER, THEM HAD THEM LAMINATE IT FRONT AND BACK.

THE 1979 DIAGRAM "MOSTLY" IS THE SAME FROM '76-'86 (OR A GUIDE). ANY DIFFERENCES ARE USUALLY THE COMPUTER CRAP ADDED IN THE LATTER YEARS (LIKE YOURS, IGNITION STUFF---LIGHTING AND SUCH ARE MOSTLY THE SAME, WITH SOME COLOR CHANGES!) I GO BACK TO THE REPAIR MANUALS, IF I NEED TO REALLY LOOK AT THE NEWER/ LATER CJs.

WITH THE THINGS I DEAL WITH MOSTLY, MY "GIANT DIAGRAM" IS THE TICKET! I WISH I HAD DONE IT YEARS AGO. 'COURSE TILL THREE YEARS AGO, I HAD NO CLUE HOW TO USE THE COMPUTER.

I TOOK AN EXCERPT FROM MY DIAGRAM FOR THE WIPERS---AFTER YOU SEND ME YOUR RESULTS---YOU CAN "PONDER OVER IT" YOUR DASH SWITCH MAY BE DIFFERENT, MAY NOT BE EXPENSIVE). WHILE YOU WAIT ON ME TO SORTA TRACE OUT YOUR '85 DIAGRAM (AT LEAST THE PORTIONS WE WILL NEED) AND LABEL WHAT TO CHECK.I NEED THEM LAST RESULTS! I CAN WAIT!

YOU ARE THE FASTEST RESPONDER TO ME SO FAR, YOU FOLLOW MY LOUSY DIRECTIONS REALLY WELL AND PICK UP ON STUFF FAST! IT USUALLY TAKES A GOOD WHILE TO GET THIS FAR ALONG

THE MEDIC
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+1
Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 AT 4:10 AM
Tiny
CJ7_NEWYORK
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OK OK! I know I PROMISED not to write anymore until you responded but. I FOUND IT! I FOUND THE GAP IN THE CIRCUIT. I guess I was just too eager!

Here are the details for any who may see this thread in the future. When I removed the alarm system, I also removed what I assume was the CB radio system. I didn't even think about it because none of that stuff has been used for decades. But apparently, just cutting it out was NOT OKAY, NO WAY. Here are some pictures of diagrams I looked at and also my actual wires. Basically I followed the light blue wire all the way from the solenoid "S" to this spot.
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Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 AT 5:09 AM
Tiny
CJ7_NEWYORK
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I only just noticed that you have written me again. I'm not sure if this website has a delay or what.

PLEASE PLEASE, if you are anywhere near finished with your ignition diagrams, I think you should put them up here even if my car is starting now. I bet people who would find this post later would surely appreciate it. I know that I for one, CANNOT MAKE HEADS OR TAILS of the WIRING SCHEMATICS.

Thank you for the help you have provided so far. And thank you for the compliments about following your directions. AND THE DIRECTIONS ARE GOOD! I definitely had more confidence to tinker knowing you'd be there to help pick up the pieces if I do something really stupid. I'm also definitely a NEWBIE at working on my Jeep (I only just learned today the difference between a solenoid and a coil). BUT YOU CHALLENGED ME BY ASKING ME "DO YOU LOVE YOUR JEEP?" YOU MUST LOVE JEEPS EVEN MORE TO LEARN ALL THIS COMPUTER STUFF AND SPEND SO MUCH TIME HELPING OUT FELLOW JEEPERS. YOU ARE THE MAN.

I WANT TO LEARN HOW TO KEEP MY CJ7 RUNNING F-O-R-E-V-E-R! MY PLAN IS TO TAKE HER ACROSS THE COUNTRY THIS AUGUST. I THINK YOU ARE JUST THE MAN TO TALK ME THROUGH HOW TO GET HER READY.

After you post YOUR STARTER/IGNITION DIAGRAMS, I still have the following question for you MEDIC:

1) Should I install FUSABLE LINKS coming off my BATT POS from the solenoid? My Jeep Manuals have TWO. One for the ALTERNATOR and one for the IGNITION and stuff, if I am not mistaken. I bought a 14 gauge fusable link at the store. Although it pretty much looks just like regular 14 gauge wire. Do I just splice them in?

2) My wiper motor DOES WORK now. I figured out that it wasn't grounded properly and now that it is, it works just fine. But. I would like to clean it out and maybe regrease it. Any thoughts on that? Here's a picture of what it looks like inside. Or is that normal and I should leave it?

3) As I followed my light blue wire I came upon this mess going into my tub. CAN/SHOULD these connections be cleaned?

4) My gauges still need a bit of trouble-shooting. :)

GOOD NIGHT MEDIC. I WILL SLEEP WELL TONIGHT KNOWING MY JEEP WILL START TOMORROW THANKS TO YOU!
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Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 AT 5:45 AM
Tiny
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I WILL BE SENDING YOU A PRIVATE MESSAGE 2 MIN AFTER THIS POSTS

TO FIND MESSAGES, GO TO THE TOP OF THIS PAGE. CLICK ON "YOUR NAME". WHEN THE PAGE POPS UP, LOOK OVER TO THE LEFT

TO ANSWER YOU QUESTIONS

1) ARE YOU SURE THE FUSIBLE LINKS ARE NOT IN THE LINES NOW?

THEY WILL BE ON THE SMALLER WIRES THAT ARE AGAINST THE BATTERY CABLE LUG ON THE SOLENOID POST---THERE SHOULD BE "HEAT SHRINK" WHERE THE FUSIBLE LINK ENDS AND THE REGULAR WIRE BEGINS. THEY ARE NORMALLY LESS THAN 6 INCHES LONG

THEY ARE NOT NORMALLY MARKED, THEY JUST LOOK LIKE INSULATED WIRE

IF YOU EVER MESS SOMETHING UP AND SUSPECT YOU BLEW ONE

A) IT'LL BURN IN HALF

B)IT WILL LOOK BLISTERED

C) IT MAY LOOK FINE, IF IT WAS BLISTERED (B). OR NOT, THE INTERNAL WIRE WILL BE FRIED. IF YOU TUG ON THE WIRE, THE INSULATION WILL STRETCH OUT LIKE A RUBBER BAND

D) IF IT HOLDS FIRM WITH THE TUGGING, MOST LIKELY IT IS FINE

E) YOU CAN ALWAYS DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY, STAB A STRAIGHT/TEE PIN INTO THE REGULAR WIRE. RUN A CONTINUITY TEST FROM THE SOLENOID POST TO THE "PIN"

IF YOU DO INSTALL THEM, BUTT SPLICING IS FINE, I SOLDERED MINE IN (ON "WILLY"), THEN SLID HEAT SHRINK OVER IT THAT I HAD PUT OVER THE WIRE 1ST, THEN SHRUNK IT OVER THE SOLDER

2) PUMP THE GEAR CAVITY FULL OF GREASE USING YOUR GREASE GUN/ OR USE VASOLINE--THEN PUT IT ALL BACK TOGETHER. NOT SO MUCH GREASE THAT IT ALL SQUOOSHES OUT AND MAKES A MESS

3) WIPE OFF THE GOOP--WITH A TUBE OF DIELECTRIC GREASE--SQUEEZE IT INTO EACH FEMALE--SMEAR IT ON THE MALE ENDS, A STIFF BRISTLED BRUSH (SIMILAR TO A 1/4 OR 3/8 WIDE PAINT BRUSH), WORKS WELL

4) GAUGES--I ALREADY SENT THE LINK FOR THE TEMP AND THE FUEL

TEARING INTO IT IS EZ, UN-CRIMP THE BEZEL AND A COUPLE OF SCREWS ON THE BACK

THE ONLY THING TO WATCH IS KEEPING THE THE ELECTRICAL STUDS CENTERED IN THE HOLES (WHICH YOU CANNOT SEE ONCE YOU INSTALL THE CARDBOARD BACKING LOOKING STUFF. EXPOSED ON THE BACK)

WHAT I DO FROM THE "GET-GO" IS TRACE AROUND THE "CARDBOARDY STUFF" WITH A MARKER, BEFORE I DISASSEMBLE THE UNIT. THEN I CENTER THE "CARDBOARDY STUFF" BACK UP IN MY "TRACE", AND THEN TIGHTEN THE NUTS UP THAT HOLD THE GAUGES IN PLACE. THIS SHOULD KEEP THE STUDS FROM TOUCHING METAL

LASTLY. CLEAN THE INSIDE OF THE GLASS GOOD, BEFORE YOU CRIMP IT BACK TOGETHER. NOTHING LIKE DRIVING ALONG AND LOOKING AT "SNOT" FROM WHEN YOU SNEEZED INSIDE THE GLASS, OVER THE TOP OF "55"!

LOOK FOR MESSAGE SOON

THE MEDIC
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Thursday, May 31st, 2012 AT 2:33 AM

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