theislandnut

I`m am not sure if I have ever been happy with a by the book tune set to what the manufactures specs are. If the motor came in a crate from jeep themselves I would use a light to get it in the ballpark then likely tune from there. Degrees of timing are average numbers created to make an acceptable tune on a average motor. The specific fuel pressure is the same kind of law of averages. Using a vacuum gauge to tune fuel and spark is old school and takes a bit of practice. But. It tunes that specific motor, with it`s modifications, tolerances and wear.

I set the timing with a vacuum gauge and havn't used a light in years. The highest vacuum your motor will make at it's specified idle is a well tuned motor. I have also had to move the number one wires location on the distributor cap to the next and then rest of them accordingly to get enough rotation of the distributor

I got the little bastard. After completely tearing apart my entire jeep. About the only thing I didn`t remove is the seats, drivetrain and the rear bed I finally found the draw. Somebody got one of those rubber ducting tubes for the heater vent on the driver side forced against the ignition switches two plugs. They even folded it over on itself and had it pinched between the bottom of the dash and the plug, the tubing has a steal wire spring moulded into it and over time it contacted and shorted at the ignition plug. It`s a rubber tube mounted to plastic at both ends so who knows how much trouble it`s been causing and for how long.

Okay I split the plug off the back of the fuse panel with a 1/4'' speed wrench and a 1 1/2'' by 1/4'' nut driver and the draw is not in the engine bay. What the hell is that black tar crap doing in there, now I`ll have to clean it all out to eliminate water suspended in the tar as the cause of the short before testing inside the jeep and It`s like -2 outside.

That`s what I was looking for and it even has the instrumentation wiring, thank you so much for that. I pulled the alternators wiring to remove it from the test and I`m still drawing power so it seams like it might be okay. Next I`m going to pull the starters wiring at the starter to eliminate the solenoid and windings from the test. It`s new like the alt and expensive so I`m hoping the test light stays on for once. I`v been having trouble splitting the plug off the back of the fuse panel. It will make things so much easier as the wire I`m chasing goes all the way to the ignition, with the only connector being the one built into the fuse panel. I just can`t seam to get on the 1/4'' bolt straight enough to turn it. My dominate hand has got some nerve issues ''short circuits" of it`s own and it`s been on the frits for about ten days now.

I am hoping to get to the bottom of some of my electrical issues today but this dam diesel is fighting me every step of the way. I can't find a single diesel wiring diagram in any of my books or online. This harness still has loom on everything and is really hard to get at to test. Looks like I am going to have to just start pulling parts to create clearance so I can trace the wire from the source,

I have been testing drawdown with a test light and have got the little bugger on the run. So I hook up the test light and she`s shining bright as can be, so it`s a heavy draw. I then pull ever fuse in the jeep and nothing. I pull ever relay, buzzer, blinker, resister and ballast, still nothing. Then I pull every plug on the harness both inside and out, took the lights out and everything and still nothing. The alternators got a plug between the regulator and the alt so I unplug it, nothing. So one by one I start removing all the harness feeds that go to the regulator, there`s like six of them on one post and low and behold the light goes out. Unfortunately it happens to be in the main harness feed that most systems tie into, you know the ones with duct tape from the factory on the connections. It is rather hard to access also in the diesel so I will undo the fuse panel and split it`s connector with the engine harness, this will tell me if it`s before or after the firewall. He`s on the run all right, I heard the bastard give a little squeal of fear just before I came in to get cleaned up.

I had forgotten that little trick with a bulb, thanks.

I tried to do a drawdown test but my multi meter $#!& the bed when I flooded my rig a few weeks ago. I went to CT and bought a Mastercrap one that doesn't work. I will have to return it and try again. I am hoping when I find the draw that it some how has something to do with the alternator not charging. I even started it without the dash or tack installed which should produce a no start because the glow plug bulbs circuit is open and not energizing the timer. I even tried it on a cold start and just counted in my head to 15 and the thing fired up and ran fine but still isn't charging. The tack working is what has my stumped as it runs off the alternators pulse not off a magnetic pickup. The tack is accurate and reading the correct rpm so why is this pulse which is the charge itself not also going to the battery.

Ya it's a stick. No leak there I checked the panel first thing and pulled all the fuses. I did not pull the bolt and split the connector though so I will also do that.

Every circuit but the head lights fluctuates or comes on and off at will. Like one day the radio works the next it does not, the next time you drive it it comes on and off continually. One drive you have heat the next you don't. Sometimes the wipers are like slugs crawling up the windshield, the next time you start the jeep they seam fine but the heaters blowing $#!& for air. The battery keeps dying do to a constant draw when parked overnight The alternator is not charging the battery and the jeeps is running entirely off the battery. There has even been a few no starts of the diesel motor do to the glow plugs not powering. The tack is working and being a diesel it receives it's signal from the pulse of the alternator which is not charging and shouldn't have a pulse to read. A bit of history about the issue, several owners ago the the jeep started acting up, the alternator was rebuild, batteries continued to die and then a new alternator was installed. Batteries still continued to die and then I end up with it. There is not a single added electrical circuit by any owner. No burnt or dried out wires that I can find or shorts that I've found. I have cleaned all the grounds and they where all in good shape but rather small and all where oxidized. I have removed the dash and everything under the hood that has an electrical connector that is not required to run and it is still not charging. My next move is remove the alternator and bench test it to eliminate the jeeps wiring from the test.Then remove every ground and up the gauge. Any suggestions

I just wanted to suggest a solution to what the OP posted in the first post about his motor basically shutting down and not going above a certain rpm. Sounds to me like the cats clogged and because of this it`s restricting you to a certain rpm, pull the plugs and look for a crapped out cylinder and inspect the cat.

You only have the the round part of the u/bolts below the axle on a SOA. On a SUA you can clean it up with u/bolt eliminator plate but you still have the plate below the pack and the bolts. Ford ran flat u/bolts on some of the dana 60s they put up front and offset plates so you also don'th have the thickness of the bolt. If I end up staying SUA for some reason I have a set of the offset Fords, they add only 1/2" to the pack and with the offset to them they slide on and off $#!& easily. The also have the lower shock mount built in, you would see a clearance gain of over an inch and have a much cleaned up underside.

That is why I want do do the SOA conversion with a readily available stock pack not a bastard pack or one that is the last one available , that can can also be found in many different lifts if I deside I want more later.

Yes SOA with the stock pack is 5 or 6 inches of lift. I only want 2" at the max. As for why SOA, it flexes more and has less to get hung up on. By running a relitively flat spring pack mounted SOA in a MJ I will end up where I want to be. Less arch also means less tire movement in the wheel opening and it is forwards movement when run in the rear.