I've got a 1973 CJ5 that has a Mallory Unilite distributor. It has been
running pretty good but lately it has been really hard starting. I have to
really crank and crank to get it to finally start. Well, today it decided
not to start at all. I've started troubleshooting and think I have narrowed
it down. This is what I know so far:

1. I get electricity to the coil.
2. Don't think it is the coil as I replaced it and no change.
3. pulled the spark plug to look for a spark jumping the electrode and get
nothing.

I get gas but don't get fire. Any suggestions of what I should look at. It
seems like it started down this road gradually and now it decided to give it
up all together.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Casey Teague

 

a highly subjective and (non jeep related !) order of probability:

rotor dirty or worn (clean carefully and don't scratch it)
bad HT lead from coil to distributor (use ohmmeter or borrow a mates)
knackered capacitor/condenser (you can't test that without expensive
equipment so replace it).
bad Distributor cap (rusted terminals / cracked / carbon pickup broken off)
(look for track marks inside)
bad terminal connections at coil / burnt out secondary coil.

Dave Milne, Scotland
'99 TJ 4.0 Sahara

"Casey Teague" <abnsigo@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:iHgWa.2952$rJ4.2603@fe04.atl2.webusenet.com.. .
: I've got a 1973 CJ5 that has a Mallory Unilite distributor. It has been
: running pretty good but lately it has been really hard starting. I have
to
: really crank and crank to get it to finally start. Well, today it decided
: not to start at all. I've started troubleshooting and think I have
narrowed
: it down. This is what I know so far:
:
: 1. I get electricity to the coil.
: 2. Don't think it is the coil as I replaced it and no change.
: 3. pulled the spark plug to look for a spark jumping the electrode and
get
: nothing.
:
: I get gas but don't get fire. Any suggestions of what I should look at.
It
: seems like it started down this road gradually and now it decided to give
it
: up all together.
:
: Thanks in advance for any assistance.
:
: Casey Teague
:
:
:

 

Dead cap or rotor?

I would be looking for a spark out of the coil wire just to see. If the
coil wire shoots sparks at the block, then cap and rotor, if not, then
the trigger for the spark would be the next thing I would go for.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Casey Teague wrote:
>
> I've got a 1973 CJ5 that has a Mallory Unilite distributor. It has been
> running pretty good but lately it has been really hard starting. I have to
> really crank and crank to get it to finally start. Well, today it decided
> not to start at all. I've started troubleshooting and think I have narrowed
> it down. This is what I know so far:
>
> 1. I get electricity to the coil.
> 2. Don't think it is the coil as I replaced it and no change.
> 3. pulled the spark plug to look for a spark jumping the electrode and get
> nothing.
>
> I get gas but don't get fire. Any suggestions of what I should look at. It
> seems like it started down this road gradually and now it decided to give it
> up all together.
>
> Thanks in advance for any assistance.
>
> Casey Teague

 

I new I could count on this group to help me out. Thanks to all the people
that responded to my 911 call. I have been troubleshooting all day and
referencing the internet while on beer breaks. I had a few breaks too.

I think I have narrowed it down to the ignition module that houses the light
that triggers the ignition. Jerry, you are kind of correct. The trigger is
a light only it is infrared so you can't see it with the naked eye. I
thought about trying to get some night vision from work to see if it was
working but found a test on the internet instead. I think it has been dying
a slow death lately and with me jacking with it yesterday I put the final
nail in the coffin. Anyway, the test I performed was to take my multimeter
and get a voltage reading off the negative post of the coil with the
ignition in the run position. The voltage should be 12 volts. Then, take
the distributor cap and rotor off and insert a credit card in between the
infrared light beam. If working properly the voltage should drop to around
1 to 2 volts. If it is "open" then the voltage stays at 12. Well, mine
stayed at 12. The web site I found said this is caused by a power spike.
This makes sense because I was playing around with the power yesterday.
Oooops, live and learn. I'll be ordering the module tonight. I'm just
searching around for the best price now. So far I've found it for $90. I
hope this is it.......I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again for responding. This ng has gotten me out of several jams.

Casey Teague
http://justjeeps.jeepz.com

"Casey Teague" <abnsigo@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:iHgWa.2952$rJ4.2603@fe04.atl2.webusenet.com.. .
> I've got a 1973 CJ5 that has a Mallory Unilite distributor. It has been
> running pretty good but lately it has been really hard starting. I have
to
> really crank and crank to get it to finally start. Well, today it decided
> not to start at all. I've started troubleshooting and think I have
narrowed
> it down. This is what I know so far:
>
> 1. I get electricity to the coil.
> 2. Don't think it is the coil as I replaced it and no change.
> 3. pulled the spark plug to look for a spark jumping the electrode and
get
> nothing.
>
> I get gas but don't get fire. Any suggestions of what I should look at.
It
> seems like it started down this road gradually and now it decided to give
it
> up all together.
>
> Thanks in advance for any assistance.
>
> Casey Teague
>
>
>