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'83 CJ 7 Stalls

'83 CJ 7 Stalls

Comandercody

Jeeper
Posts
51
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Location
Jacksonville, FL
Vehicle(s)
1983 CJ7 258 inline 6 Purchased May 2013
New to the forum, new to Jeep ownership. I have searched for posts similar to my problem, but still need some help.

AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l V6 with a Holley re-man. 64-5305 carb., I have only had the Jeep about 7 months.

It starts up real fine, sounds purty, nice and smooth. Then, it stalls, sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes 10, sometimes longer. Hot, cold, moving or parked, it stalls. Starts right back up. It has happened in the driveway while idling, it has happened at 45 miles per hour(not fun).

New Distributor cap, new rotor, new ignition wires new plugs. New interstate battery, new coil, new coil assembly, new starter(NAPA), new ICM(NAPA). New fuel filter(not see through, hard to find).

I checked the grounds as much as I know how to, battery neg black wire goes to engine mount, not to starter mount as I have read it should(Jeepmaster).

I have removed air filter, opened choke and looked down, increased throttle, did not observe any leaks, only the spray when throttle increased.

Last time i put gas in her i noticed a few drops on ground right under filler hole. Fuel filler neck is dry rotted, I need to replace. Not sure that would cause stalling.

Any advice/help is appreciated.

Thanks.
 
Do you mean AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l , straight 6 and not V6? I'm also new here and to CJ's and I have a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l straight 6.

Have you tested your fuel pressure and fuel pump yet? Also, is your choke working as it should? The holly site has some great info on their carbs.
 
New to the forum, new to Jeep ownership. I have searched for posts similar to my problem, but still need some help.

AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l V6 with a Holley re-man. 64-5305 carb., I have only had the Jeep about 7 months.

It starts up real fine, sounds purty, nice and smooth. Then, it stalls, sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes 10, sometimes longer. Hot, cold, moving or parked, it stalls. Starts right back up. It has happened in the driveway while idling, it has happened at 45 miles per hour(not fun).

New Distributor cap, new rotor, new ignition wires new plugs. New interstate battery, new coil, new coil assembly, new starter(NAPA), new ICM(NAPA). New fuel filter(not see through, hard to find).

I checked the grounds as much as I know how to, battery neg black wire goes to engine mount, not to starter mount as I have read it should(Jeepmaster).

I have removed air filter, opened choke and looked down, increased throttle, did not observe any leaks, only the spray when throttle increased.

Last time i put gas in her i noticed a few drops on ground right under filler hole. Fuel filler neck is dry rotted, I need to replace. Not sure that would cause stalling.

Any advice/help is appreciated.

Thanks.

Welcome to this great Forum and Jeeping....nothing like it! I have seen this a time or two....was a faulty ignition switch.
 
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I would first question the reman carb. I have never trusted those, unless it was done by a very reputable outfit.
 
Fuel, spark & air. Got to be an issue with one of 'em. Sounds like you've replaced a bunch of parts. General maintenance or throwing parts at this particular problem?

Mine did the same thing a while back. Thought it was the brain box going out on me. I always keep a spare in the console, so connected that one for a while and the stall still happened again. Put the spare back in the box, hooked the original back up and started looking into fuel issues.

Long story short; My mechanical fuel pump was beginning to fail. I was fortunate that it limped me back to the house rather than stranding me on the side of the highway. My CJ intermittently stalled a half dozen or more times before I finally figured out what was causing it. Hey, you've replaced a pile of parts already, another $20 and a half hour of your time might not be a waste!

If it turns out to be a bad fuel pump, be sure and check your oil to see if it has been thinned out with gasoline. If the dipstick smells like gas or lights like a candle when you flash the end of it with a bic lighter, you should change your oil and filter when you get done with the pump.

And, yes, :dung: in the fuel tank from the rotting fuel neck could block fuel from entering the fuel line temporarily. If it's rotted, replace it. The one you have now can only cause you problems. The sock on the end of the fuel sending unit can cause the same problem as foreign :dung:.
 
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Fuel, spark & air. Got to be an issue with one of 'em. Sounds like you've replaced a bunch of parts. General maintenance or throwing parts at this particular problem?

Mine did the same thing a while back. Thought it was the brain box going out on me. I always keep a spare in the console, so connected that one for a while and the stall still happened again. Put the spare back in the box, hooked the original back up and started looking into fuel issues.

Long story short; My mechanical fuel pump was beginning to fail. I was fortunate that it limped me back to the house rather than stranding me on the side of the highway. My CJ intermittently stalled a half dozen or more times before I finally figured out what was causing it. Hey, you've replaced a pile of parts already, another $20 and a half hour of your time might not be a waste!

If it turns out to be a bad fuel pump, be sure and check your oil to see if it has been thinned out with gasoline. If the dipstick smells like gas or lights like a candle when you flash the end of it with a bic lighter, you should change your oil and filter when you get done with the pump.

And, yes, :dung: in the fuel tank from the rotting fuel neck could block fuel from entering the fuel line temporarily. If it's rotted, replace it. The one you have now can only cause you problems. The sock on the end of the fuel sending unit can cause the same problem as foreign :dung:.

Throwing parts at this point. I was always told/thought if a mechanical fuel pump was bad it was bad, no middle ground, it either worked or it didnt. Im going to replace it this week. Has to be a fuel delivery issue. PO replaced tank, and fuel sending unit, but not original fuel line(as far as i can tell).

Started it up tonight, idled for 3 minutes, i goosed the throttle a few times, stalled........
 
Does it stumble then stall? or just shut off?

If its stumbling then shutting down I would think fuel pump. How ever if it was the fuel pump it would be a little bit more difficult to restart or start in the morning.

If its just shutting off I would think ignition wiring. I would also run a jumper wire from the Distributor to the ground wire on the block.. I dont think thats it but $2 worth of wiring wont hurt it any.
 
The distributor does not need a ground. There is a black wire coming from the ignition control module going into it along with a violet and orange wire for the pick up coil in the distributor. The black wire from the ignition module would be best if it were grounded directly to the battery negative. If that black wire got disconnected and the engine did run, it could kill the ignition module causing the issue you are having. If the module gets hot to the touch thats usually an indicator that it is shot and needs replacing.
 
The ground isnt required but doesnt hurt any thing. A local race racer builder recommends it so I do it. I run a 10 ga wire from the enging ground bolt to the hold down bolt for the distributor.
 
Does it stumble then stall? or just shut off?

If its stumbling then shutting down I would think fuel pump. How ever if it was the fuel pump it would be a little bit more difficult to restart or start in the morning.

If its just shutting off I would think ignition wiring. I would also run a jumper wire from the Distributor to the ground wire on the block.. I dont think thats it but $2 worth of wiring wont hurt it any.

It is just shutting down, no stumbling. Then , it starts right back up.
 
The distributor does not need a ground. There is a black wire coming from the ignition control module going into it along with a violet and orange wire for the pick up coil in the distributor. The black wire from the ignition module would be best if it were grounded directly to the battery negative. If that black wire got disconnected and the engine did run, it could kill the ignition module causing the issue you are having. If the module gets hot to the touch thats usually an indicator that it is shot and needs replacing.

The ICM is brand new(NAPA). To ground it do you just splice into the black wire before it enters the distributor, then run it to the battery neg?

Thanks for any and all advice, bout ready to sell this thing if i cant get it running right.
 
N.A.P.A. sells the Echlin brand of icm for your CJ, if that is it, it is a high quality and expensive unit. Although the MSD is supposed to be the best system. Anyway, if you look at a wiring schematic it does show the black wire from the icm grounding out at the distributor. From what I have read, it was done this way for test purposes, or ease of assembly. I have also read that a bad ground will kill it too. So running a ground wire direct to the battery negative or at least close to it would be the best way to go. I am not really sure if the icm is causing your problem, since the symptoms aren't typical, usually a bad icm will be ignition miss. A bad icm will also be warm to the touch. The issue could be in the carb still.
 
did op replace the fuel tank filler neck hose yet?
 
Here is something you might want to check. On my 5 I was out camping for the week and one day we were doing this trail and it would just quit without warning and then just fire right back up and what I found was the wires going to the coil fit in a plastic plug that said Ford on it and it wasn't getting a good contact. So to check it when it was running I would move the wires around and it died.
 
Fuel filler neck is on order.

Took it to the shop on Monday, stalled 3 times on the way, its only 5 miles.

Got her back today. They did a bunch of trouble shooting, identified a bad ignition coil. Like, the ignition coil i just put in there, they said it did not read right when they metered it AND it got hot after starting.

Drove it home in 42 degree weather, with just the bikini top on, but, it did not stall once. Will be taking out in the 80 degree weather this weekend(Florida), done with this cold weather.
 
I wonder if your ignition coil is dying due to a poor connection caused from those plastic plug in caps that they CJs came with? As Mtnwhlr pointed out.
 
Icm has purple wire, orange wire and black wire going to distributor cap. To ground icm do I cut black wire, or splice in to run a ground??
 

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