1987 Longbed won't start

[Kesswic]

All,

 

I just bought my first Comanche in June of this year and its also my first car. It's had some problems that I had to fix but its been running great so far. This Saturday it wouldn't start. I tried for 15 minutes and it wouldn't turn over. It was trying hard, but it would not turn over no matter what I did. I tried flooding the fuel line, turing off all of the electrical equipment, and tried to jump it with my dads truck, nothing worked.

 

It has a new battery that I got last week because I drained the last one by accidentally keeping the lights on all night. I had to get a new fuel pump and gas tank when I bought it.

 

It had a starting issue when I bought it and I don't know if that's still the issue. Every now and then it would take a while for the truck to turn over. To fix this I would kick a tube of wires that was by the gas peddle and that came out of the console. This would automatically make the truck turn over and start. The previous owner told me to do that and it worked everytime for him. I went to my mechanic to see if he could fix it and he couldn't recreate the problem and tucked the tube of wires back into the console.

 

Please let me know what the problem may be. This is my daily driver and work truck. Thank you for your patience.

[Ωhm]

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[Eagle]

24 minutes ago, Kesswic said:

 

I just bought my first Comanche in June of this year and its also my first car. It's had some problems that I had to fix but its been running great so far. This Saturday it wouldn't start. I tried for 15 minutes and it wouldn't turn over. It was trying hard, but it would not turn over no matter what I did. I tried flooding the fuel line, turing off all of the electrical equipment, and tried to jump it with my dads truck, nothing worked.

 

 

This is very unclear. It doesn't turn over -- or it doesn't start?

 

"Turning over" is when the starter is engaged and the engine is rotating.

 

"Firing" is when the engine starts to run on its own.

 

So what is it doing, and what is it not doing? If it's not turning over, "flooding the fuel line" (however you do that) wouldn't make any difference.

[cruiser54]

It's called "crank- no start". 

 

Before doing anything else, go to www.cruiser54.com and complete Tips 1 through 5.

[Kesswic]

All,

 

My first post was very confusing and very unspecific, I apologize. This is my first Jeep and car so I'm still new to all of the terminology used and what everything does.

 

The issue I was having with my MJ is that it was not starting. The engine was turning over on its own, but it would not "fire" and start on its own. I have had this problem before and to fix that, I would kick a tube of wires that was right by the gas pedal that came out by the steering column. When I did this, it would cause the engine to fire and the truck would start. I asked my mechanic to look into this and see what was wrong, but he was unable to recreate the issue I was having. He instead tucked the tube of wires up behind the steering column and called it good.

 

The truck was starting completely fine since I went to see him up until a few days ago. The truck was having the same starting issue where the engine was turning over but it wouldn't fire and start, and I wasn't sure why. I checked my fuel and my battery and they were not the cause of the problem. I decided to pull out the tube of wiring my mechanic tucked behind the steering column and kick it and see if that would work. It did and the truck started with no problem at all.

 

I have come to the conclusion that something is messed up with the wiring from the starter to the engine inside of that tube.  I would like to fix this so it is no longer an issue and before it becomes a bigger problem. How would I fix something like this? I do not know if I am right about this being the problem and if I am wrong please tell me.

 

Thank you for your patience.

[cruiser54]

while cranking it over, wiggle small areas of the harness and see where the issue is. 

 

Likely it is tied to something around here. 

[MiNi Beast]

[Eagle]

On 9/7/2020 at 11:38 AM, Kesswic said:

I have come to the conclusion that something is messed up with the wiring from the starter to the engine inside of that tube.  I would like to fix this so it is no longer an issue and before it becomes a bigger problem. How would I fix something like this? I do not know if I am right about this being the problem and if I am wrong please tell me.

 

 

It turns over -- your problem obviously can't be the starter. Your problem is that you are not getting electrical power to the ignition, or to the fuel pump -- or maybe to both.

 

The thing you stick the key into on the steering column is not the ignition switch. It's just a key. The actual switch is located on the steering column -- where that bundle of wires comes from. (See previous posts.) You need to do some troubleshooting to find out if power for the fuel pump and ignition circuits is coming out of that switch. If so, then trace the circuits until you find the break.

 

The 1988 electrical manual is available somewhere on this site as a download. Your truck may not be an '88, but the ignition circuit should work about the same for all of them.

[Eagle]

There's a link to the 1988 electrical manual in this thread:

https://comancheclub.com/topic/62775-no-communication-with-tcm-won’t-shift/page/2/#comments