Re: Engine dies and can't figure out why
 

I was thinking and remembering one car that up and died when hot. It
was hard to figure until I checked the points. The fiber bumper had
worn down so the gap was really small when cold. When hot, parts
expanded and closed the gap.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

merrill wrote:
> I agree!
>
> I had a 1974 Mustang that died suddenly and wouldn't start. Twenty
> minutes later it started and ran for 10 minutes. The problem was the
> condenser (capacitor).
>
> I would suspect the condenser failing and shorting the coil input to
> ground, an overheated coil, the points temporarily welding together (or
> severely pitted to make bad contact) or possibly a defective
> distributer cap/rotor.
>
> I would disconnect the condenser temporarily when it fails and see if
> it starts. If that works, replace it immediately or you will certainly
> weld your points together in a very short time.
>
> Merrill
>
> I believe your
> DougW wrote:
>> Mike Romain wrote:
>>> I would be thinking points and condenser. Maybe even the hold down
>>> foot on the distributor. I have seen that rusty on some old engines
>>> so the points or distributor wasn't grounded.
>> OOOO.. Points! Now there is something I bet quite a few folks
>> these days know nothing about. :) (1)
>>
>> Lemme try to remember.. the little braided wire corrodes,
>> the points wear and don't match flat, the spring sproings its
>> last sproing, the condenser goes out and your radio picks up only
>> the buzzzzzzzzz station just before the points arc out. And a
>> feeler gauge is not for setting spark plug gaps.
>>
>> (1)Except the car nuts and us older than dirt folk.
>>
>> --
>> DougW
>

Re: Engine dies and can't figure out why
 

I was thinking and remembering one car that up and died when hot. It
was hard to figure until I checked the points. The fiber bumper had
worn down so the gap was really small when cold. When hot, parts
expanded and closed the gap.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

merrill wrote:
> I agree!
>
> I had a 1974 Mustang that died suddenly and wouldn't start. Twenty
> minutes later it started and ran for 10 minutes. The problem was the
> condenser (capacitor).
>
> I would suspect the condenser failing and shorting the coil input to
> ground, an overheated coil, the points temporarily welding together (or
> severely pitted to make bad contact) or possibly a defective
> distributer cap/rotor.
>
> I would disconnect the condenser temporarily when it fails and see if
> it starts. If that works, replace it immediately or you will certainly
> weld your points together in a very short time.
>
> Merrill
>
> I believe your
> DougW wrote:
>> Mike Romain wrote:
>>> I would be thinking points and condenser. Maybe even the hold down
>>> foot on the distributor. I have seen that rusty on some old engines
>>> so the points or distributor wasn't grounded.
>> OOOO.. Points! Now there is something I bet quite a few folks
>> these days know nothing about. :) (1)
>>
>> Lemme try to remember.. the little braided wire corrodes,
>> the points wear and don't match flat, the spring sproings its
>> last sproing, the condenser goes out and your radio picks up only
>> the buzzzzzzzzz station just before the points arc out. And a
>> feeler gauge is not for setting spark plug gaps.
>>
>> (1)Except the car nuts and us older than dirt folk.
>>
>> --
>> DougW
>

Re: Engine dies and can't figure out why
 

I was thinking and remembering one car that up and died when hot. It
was hard to figure until I checked the points. The fiber bumper had
worn down so the gap was really small when cold. When hot, parts
expanded and closed the gap.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

merrill wrote:
> I agree!
>
> I had a 1974 Mustang that died suddenly and wouldn't start. Twenty
> minutes later it started and ran for 10 minutes. The problem was the
> condenser (capacitor).
>
> I would suspect the condenser failing and shorting the coil input to
> ground, an overheated coil, the points temporarily welding together (or
> severely pitted to make bad contact) or possibly a defective
> distributer cap/rotor.
>
> I would disconnect the condenser temporarily when it fails and see if
> it starts. If that works, replace it immediately or you will certainly
> weld your points together in a very short time.
>
> Merrill
>
> I believe your
> DougW wrote:
>> Mike Romain wrote:
>>> I would be thinking points and condenser. Maybe even the hold down
>>> foot on the distributor. I have seen that rusty on some old engines
>>> so the points or distributor wasn't grounded.
>> OOOO.. Points! Now there is something I bet quite a few folks
>> these days know nothing about. :) (1)
>>
>> Lemme try to remember.. the little braided wire corrodes,
>> the points wear and don't match flat, the spring sproings its
>> last sproing, the condenser goes out and your radio picks up only
>> the buzzzzzzzzz station just before the points arc out. And a
>> feeler gauge is not for setting spark plug gaps.
>>
>> (1)Except the car nuts and us older than dirt folk.
>>
>> --
>> DougW
>

Re: Engine dies and can't figure out why
 

Also, if you've converted to twelve volts, make sure you added the coil
resistor, looks like: http://www.----------.com/SteveCoilResistor.jpg
God Bless America, Bill 0|||||||0
mailto:--------------------

"GPW owner" <greg@dittman.org> wrote in message
news:1168990757.138346.275100@38g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> Hi All,
>
> My Dad has a 1942 GPW that we use on some hilly property, which has
> developed a problem that we can't seem to solve. Basically the engine
> will just quit running for no apparent reason. This used to happen
> rarely but is becoming much more common.
>
> After it dies, it won't start until we leave the jeep sit for 20-40
> minutes and it will then start and run great. It seems to happen
> mostly on a slight incline but we still go up many hills without a
> problem. Engine temperature doesn't seem to be a factor either, as it
> happens when the weather is hot or cold, and when it's been running for
> a long time or not. Also, once when trouble-shooting, it wasn't
> getting a spark at the plugs, but I haven't been there to check if
> this is always the case.
>
> Based on some suggestions I've replaced the fuel pump, and the
> distributor cap (which we noticed was falling apart inside), and the
> spark plugs and wires at the same time. Now it runs real smooth, but
> still will die.
>
> It's now suggested that it could be the coil, or dirt in the float
> bowl, but I'm hoping someone has solved this before and can point me
> at the cause. Because the Jeep is at a vacation property, it's hard
> to try one thing just to wait till the next trip to see if it's still a
> problem.
>
> TIA....
>

Re: Engine dies and can't figure out why
 

Also, if you've converted to twelve volts, make sure you added the coil
resistor, looks like: http://www.----------.com/SteveCoilResistor.jpg
God Bless America, Bill 0|||||||0
mailto:--------------------

"GPW owner" <greg@dittman.org> wrote in message
news:1168990757.138346.275100@38g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> Hi All,
>
> My Dad has a 1942 GPW that we use on some hilly property, which has
> developed a problem that we can't seem to solve. Basically the engine
> will just quit running for no apparent reason. This used to happen
> rarely but is becoming much more common.
>
> After it dies, it won't start until we leave the jeep sit for 20-40
> minutes and it will then start and run great. It seems to happen
> mostly on a slight incline but we still go up many hills without a
> problem. Engine temperature doesn't seem to be a factor either, as it
> happens when the weather is hot or cold, and when it's been running for
> a long time or not. Also, once when trouble-shooting, it wasn't
> getting a spark at the plugs, but I haven't been there to check if
> this is always the case.
>
> Based on some suggestions I've replaced the fuel pump, and the
> distributor cap (which we noticed was falling apart inside), and the
> spark plugs and wires at the same time. Now it runs real smooth, but
> still will die.
>
> It's now suggested that it could be the coil, or dirt in the float
> bowl, but I'm hoping someone has solved this before and can point me
> at the cause. Because the Jeep is at a vacation property, it's hard
> to try one thing just to wait till the next trip to see if it's still a
> problem.
>
> TIA....
>

Re: Engine dies and can't figure out why
 

Also, if you've converted to twelve volts, make sure you added the coil
resistor, looks like: http://www.----------.com/SteveCoilResistor.jpg
God Bless America, Bill 0|||||||0
mailto:--------------------

"GPW owner" <greg@dittman.org> wrote in message
news:1168990757.138346.275100@38g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> Hi All,
>
> My Dad has a 1942 GPW that we use on some hilly property, which has
> developed a problem that we can't seem to solve. Basically the engine
> will just quit running for no apparent reason. This used to happen
> rarely but is becoming much more common.
>
> After it dies, it won't start until we leave the jeep sit for 20-40
> minutes and it will then start and run great. It seems to happen
> mostly on a slight incline but we still go up many hills without a
> problem. Engine temperature doesn't seem to be a factor either, as it
> happens when the weather is hot or cold, and when it's been running for
> a long time or not. Also, once when trouble-shooting, it wasn't
> getting a spark at the plugs, but I haven't been there to check if
> this is always the case.
>
> Based on some suggestions I've replaced the fuel pump, and the
> distributor cap (which we noticed was falling apart inside), and the
> spark plugs and wires at the same time. Now it runs real smooth, but
> still will die.
>
> It's now suggested that it could be the coil, or dirt in the float
> bowl, but I'm hoping someone has solved this before and can point me
> at the cause. Because the Jeep is at a vacation property, it's hard
> to try one thing just to wait till the next trip to see if it's still a
> problem.
>
> TIA....
>

Re: Engine dies and can't figure out why
 

Also, if you've converted to twelve volts, make sure you added the coil
resistor, looks like: http://www.----------.com/SteveCoilResistor.jpg
God Bless America, Bill 0|||||||0
mailto:--------------------

"GPW owner" <greg@dittman.org> wrote in message
news:1168990757.138346.275100@38g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> Hi All,
>
> My Dad has a 1942 GPW that we use on some hilly property, which has
> developed a problem that we can't seem to solve. Basically the engine
> will just quit running for no apparent reason. This used to happen
> rarely but is becoming much more common.
>
> After it dies, it won't start until we leave the jeep sit for 20-40
> minutes and it will then start and run great. It seems to happen
> mostly on a slight incline but we still go up many hills without a
> problem. Engine temperature doesn't seem to be a factor either, as it
> happens when the weather is hot or cold, and when it's been running for
> a long time or not. Also, once when trouble-shooting, it wasn't
> getting a spark at the plugs, but I haven't been there to check if
> this is always the case.
>
> Based on some suggestions I've replaced the fuel pump, and the
> distributor cap (which we noticed was falling apart inside), and the
> spark plugs and wires at the same time. Now it runs real smooth, but
> still will die.
>
> It's now suggested that it could be the coil, or dirt in the float
> bowl, but I'm hoping someone has solved this before and can point me
> at the cause. Because the Jeep is at a vacation property, it's hard
> to try one thing just to wait till the next trip to see if it's still a
> problem.
>
> TIA....
>

Re: Engine dies and can't figure out why
 

Thanks for all the suggestions!

The jeep has been upgraded to 12v, so I ordered a new Borg/Warner coil
from http://www.willysjeepparts.com/ . I also have a new condenser and
points from when I got the tune-up kit and replaced the distributor cap
a few months ago.

I should be able to install the three parts in a couple of weeks and
I'll report back if it did the trick....

Re: Engine dies and can't figure out why
 

Thanks for all the suggestions!

The jeep has been upgraded to 12v, so I ordered a new Borg/Warner coil
from http://www.willysjeepparts.com/ . I also have a new condenser and
points from when I got the tune-up kit and replaced the distributor cap
a few months ago.

I should be able to install the three parts in a couple of weeks and
I'll report back if it did the trick....

Re: Engine dies and can't figure out why
 

Thanks for all the suggestions!

The jeep has been upgraded to 12v, so I ordered a new Borg/Warner coil
from http://www.willysjeepparts.com/ . I also have a new condenser and
points from when I got the tune-up kit and replaced the distributor cap
a few months ago.

I should be able to install the three parts in a couple of weeks and
I'll report back if it did the trick....