Starting Issue

Ok gents. Here we go again. Been having intermittent starting issues with my 69 dauntless cj5. Starter and solenoid are new, and is getting 12.5v from new battery. Ignition switch was swapped to no avail.

Every now and then I go to start my old girl, and I get nothing. Amp and oil lights in the cluster come on, but no click of the starter solenoid nothing. Jeep will not jump off my truck either.

I'm sure I have a wiring issue somewhere but cant seem to track it down. Anyone have a good color picture of the wiring harness as it plugs into the ignition switch?

 

When you get the "no-click" situation, have you tried

a) Hot wire to the activation terminal on the solenoid?
b) bypass the solenoid by jumping across it from the battery cable stud to the starter terminal stud?

This will help tell you if the solenoid is the issue, or the wiring to it, or the starter itself.

BTW, a part being "new" only makes them the most likely suspect, IMHO.

 

Have not tried jumping the solenoid. I did have them bench test the new unit before I left the store with it.

I did find a loose wire (red) behind the dash, but I've no clue where it came from. The jeep started with it loose. That's why I'm looking for a picture of the wiring harness plugged into an ignition switch

 

It could be a bad wire connection in the switch circuit, or the switch itself. But first I'd confirm that the starter and/or solenoid work every time, without that input.

 

With a remote start switch, engine will turn over. Still trying to source pictures of the wiring harness at the ignition switch

 

a 12 volt test light is your friend . connect it to wire from switch on starter solenoid
and see if it will light when you turn key

 

I would assume you mean on the switch side of the wire, yes?

 

S the start wire from switch

 

Had this problem with my dad's 69 & my 70. New ignition switch, new starter, same problem.
Both Jeeps now have a separate starter button next to the switch.

 

mine had a similar problem when I first got it
with test light it would light the wire but still didn't crank
but would if you jumped it with a screwdriver or used a remote starter button
so went back to something I learned growing up around VW bugs
something about voltage drop . I think
you wire a Ford starter solenoid into the key start circuit
this way it gets power off the main terminal 12V on GM stater solenoid
and sends it to S terminal on GM starter . and your switch wire now connect to smaller Ford solenoid

 

So you added a Ford solenoid in between the ignition switch and starter solenoid?

 

Welcome from Michigan, Hook your test light to the Battery Ground. Then touch the Battery wire at the solenoid, the large one, the light should come on. Then have someone turn the key to the start position, and touch the terminal marked "S", starter. The light should come on. Then touch the Big wire out to the Starter, the light should come on, if all that happens and it don't turn over, check the connection at the starter, the solenoid is working proper. If I were you I would take all the wires off and clean all the connections first to make sure that they all are clean and make contact, use sand paper and a good wire brush to clean them bright and shinny. Good Luck

 

These old jeeps get parts swapped into them that are not the proper part but are made to work by Southern Engineering. What switch do you have? The one with the spade lugs or the one with studs? What starter do you have? The Delco or the Prestolite? If the Delco it will have the solenoid mounted onto the starter with the solenoid plunger going into the drive end housing.

 

yes and it's worked flawless for 38 years


picture from internet . I used only 3 connections

 

Hey walt! Was hoping you would have made it down to the jeep event last weekend!

Starter is delco, brand new, and was bench tested as good. Ignition switch is original with spade connectors. Brand new delco switch did the same thing.

I've been able to start it with an push button remote starter switch fairly reliably. There is no ground on the starter, could that be an issue?

 

As Glenn sez. The Delco solenoid is a very heavy duty switch and pulls a good amount of current (amps) to energize it. GM knew many years ago they had been undersizing the wire from ignition switch to the solenoid but did nothing about it. Many a starters were brought into my shop with nothing wrong with them. The ignition wire size to the solenoid had to be increased to handle the required current. I always replaced it with a 10 ga which was plenty oversize or doubled up with the existing wire with a no 12 ga.