u/Klutzy_College_2097

Hi everyone,

I've reached the point where I need another set of experienced eyes because I'm running out of ideas.

This is a 1976 Jeep CJ5 with the AMC 232 inline-6. It has an electronic ignition with a distributor-mounted module (Motorcraft-style) and also has the external fender-mounted ignition box.

The Jeep previously ran. It wasn't perfect, but it ran. It would cold start, warm start, idle, and drive. I replaced the carburetor with the correct replacement because the previous carburetor was running excessively rich (black smoke). After working through tuning and other issues, the engine eventually became a complete no-start.

Now it only cranks.

CURRENT SYMPTOM

• Engine cranks at normal speed.
• Absolutely no spark.
• No spark from the coil wire.
• No spark from any plug wire.
• Engine never attempts to fire.

WHAT I'VE TESTED

Battery

• Battery is fully charged.
• Engine cranks strongly.

Ignition Coil

Measured resistance:

Primary:
• Approximately 0.1–0.2 Ω

Secondary:
• Approximately 9.2 kΩ

• Coil positive receives approximately 10 V while cranking.

Spark

Used an inline spark tester.

Results:
• No spark directly from the coil tower.
• No spark from any plug wire.

Distributor

• Rotor rotates normally while cranking.
• Timing chain/distributor drive appears intact because the rotor turns correctly.
• Vacuum advance appears mechanically intact.

Pickup Coil

Initially I thought it was open because I had the meter on the wrong resistance range.

After retesting correctly:

• Pickup resistance measures approximately 850 Ω, which appears to be within the normal range.

However...

When measuring AC voltage while cranking I measured essentially 0 VAC, although my multimeter only has high AC ranges (200V/600V), so I'm unsure whether that measurement is meaningful.

Distributor Module

• Removed the original distributor module.
• Installed a brand-new replacement module.
• No change whatsoever.
• Still absolutely no spark.

Wiring

This is where things became interesting.

Inside the distributor I found that the pickup wiring had been previously repaired.

Instead of factory wiring there were:

• Electrical tape
• Twisted wire splices
• Old cracked insulation

I removed the tape and inspected everything.

Using continuity mode I discovered:

• One pickup wire has continuity from end to end.
• The other wire only has continuity up to an old twisted splice but does NOT continue through to the connector terminal.

I repaired the damaged harness, but unfortunately there was still no spark afterward.

The wiring is routed underneath the breaker plate where it flexes with the vacuum advance.

Carburetor

• Fuel reaches the carburetor.
• During repeated cranking the base of the carburetor becomes wet with gasoline.
• I'm assuming this is because the engine never ignites the fuel due to having no spark.

Spark Plugs

• Spark plugs have been cleaned.
• Some were previously carbon fouled from the old rich-running carburetor.
• They've now also been exposed to repeated cranking without ignition and may be fuel fouled.

Previous History

Interestingly, before all of this happened I discovered that two spark plug wires had been installed in the wrong firing order by a previous repair, yet somehow the engine still managed to run.

That has since been corrected.

WHAT I'M WONDERING

At this point I'm trying to determine what I've overlooked.

Could one damaged pickup lead have prevented the module from ever triggering the coil, even though the pickup measures approximately 850 Ω?

Could the external fender-mounted ignition control module be the culprit instead?

Also, does anyone recognize this distributor setup? It appears to be a Motorcraft-style electronic distributor, but it has a distributor-mounted module and an external fender ignition box, so I'm wondering if this ignition system has been modified over the years.

The only major ignition component I have not yet replaced is the external metal ignition control module on the fender.

I'm open to any diagnostic suggestions before I continue replacing parts.

Thank you all very much for taking the time to read this.

Hi everyone,

I've reached the point where I need another set of experienced eyes because I'm running out of ideas.

This is a 1976 Jeep CJ5 with the AMC 232 inline-6. It has an electronic ignition with a distributor-mounted module (Motorcraft-style) and also has the external fender-mounted ignition box.

The Jeep previously ran. It wasn't perfect, but it ran. It would cold start, warm start, idle, and drive. I replaced the carburetor with the correct replacement because the previous carburetor was running excessively rich (black smoke). After working through tuning and other issues, the engine eventually became a complete no-start.

Now it only cranks.

CURRENT SYMPTOM

• Engine cranks at normal speed.
• Absolutely no spark.
• No spark from the coil wire.
• No spark from any plug wire.
• Engine never attempts to fire.

WHAT I'VE TESTED

Battery

• Battery is fully charged.
• Engine cranks strongly.

Ignition Coil

Measured resistance:

Primary:
• Approximately 0.1–0.2 Ω

Secondary:
• Approximately 9.2 kΩ

• Coil positive receives approximately 10 V while cranking.

Spark

Used an inline spark tester.

Results:
• No spark directly from the coil tower.
• No spark from any plug wire.

Distributor

• Rotor rotates normally while cranking.
• Timing chain/distributor drive appears intact because the rotor turns correctly.
• Vacuum advance appears mechanically intact.

Pickup Coil

Initially I thought it was open because I had the meter on the wrong resistance range.

After retesting correctly:

• Pickup resistance measures approximately 850 Ω, which appears to be within the normal range.

However...

When measuring AC voltage while cranking I measured essentially 0 VAC, although my multimeter only has high AC ranges (200V/600V), so I'm unsure whether that measurement is meaningful.

Distributor Module

• Removed the original distributor module.
• Installed a brand-new replacement module.
• No change whatsoever.
• Still absolutely no spark.

Wiring

This is where things became interesting.

Inside the distributor I found that the pickup wiring had been previously repaired.

Instead of factory wiring there were:

• Electrical tape
• Twisted wire splices
• Old cracked insulation

I removed the tape and inspected everything.

Using continuity mode I discovered:

• One pickup wire has continuity from end to end.
• The other wire only has continuity up to an old twisted splice but does NOT continue through to the connector terminal.

I repaired the damaged harness, but unfortunately there was still no spark afterward.

The wiring is routed underneath the breaker plate where it flexes with the vacuum advance.

Carburetor

• Fuel reaches the carburetor.
• During repeated cranking the base of the carburetor becomes wet with gasoline.
• I'm assuming this is because the engine never ignites the fuel due to having no spark.

Spark Plugs

• Spark plugs have been cleaned.
• Some were previously carbon fouled from the old rich-running carburetor.
• They've now also been exposed to repeated cranking without ignition and may be fuel fouled.

Previous History

Interestingly, before all of this happened I discovered that two spark plug wires had been installed in the wrong firing order by a previous repair, yet somehow the engine still managed to run.

That has since been corrected.

WHAT I'M WONDERING

At this point I'm trying to determine what I've overlooked.

Could one damaged pickup lead have prevented the module from ever triggering the coil, even though the pickup measures approximately 850 Ω?

Could the external fender-mounted ignition control module be the culprit instead?

Also, does anyone recognize this distributor setup? It appears to be a Motorcraft-style electronic distributor, but it has a distributor-mounted module and an external fender ignition box, so I'm wondering if this ignition system has been modified over the years.

The only major ignition component I have not yet replaced is the external metal ignition control module on the fender.

I'm open to any diagnostic suggestions before I continue replacing parts.

Thank you all very much for taking the time to read this.

Hi everyone,

I've reached the point where I need another set of experienced eyes because I'm running out of ideas.

This is a 1976 Jeep CJ5 with the AMC 232 inline-6. It has an electronic ignition with a distributor-mounted module (Motorcraft-style) and also has the external fender-mounted ignition box.

The Jeep previously ran. It wasn't perfect, but it ran. It would cold start, warm start, idle, and drive for 3 days from the new carb. I replaced the new carburetor with the correct replacement because the previous carburetor was running excessively rich (black smoke). After working through tuning and other issues, the engine eventually became a complete no-start.

Now it only cranks.

CURRENT SYMPTOM

• Engine cranks at normal speed.
• Absolutely no spark.
• No spark from the coil wire.
• No spark from any plug wire.
• Engine never attempts to fire.

WHAT I'VE TESTED

Battery

• Battery is fully charged.
• Engine cranks strongly.

Ignition Coil

Measured resistance:

Primary:
• Approximately 0.1–0.2 Ω

Secondary:
• Approximately 9.2 kΩ

• Coil positive receives approximately 10 V while cranking.

Spark

Used an inline spark tester.

Results:
• No spark directly from the coil tower.
• No spark from any plug wire.

Distributor

• Rotor rotates normally while cranking.
• Timing chain/distributor drive appears intact because the rotor turns correctly.
• Vacuum advance appears mechanically intact.

Pickup Coil

Initially I thought it was open because I had the meter on the wrong resistance range.

After retesting correctly:

• Pickup resistance measures approximately 850 Ω, which appears to be within the normal range.

However...

When measuring AC voltage while cranking I measured essentially 0 VAC, although my multimeter only has high AC ranges (200V/600V), so I'm unsure whether that measurement is meaningful. Although i may be wrong this testing

Distributor Module

• Removed the original distributor module.
• Installed a brand-new replacement module.
• No change whatsoever.
• Still absolutely no spark.

Wiring

This is where things became interesting.

Inside the distributor I found that the pickup wiring had been previously repaired.

Instead of factory wiring there were:

• Electrical tape
• Twisted wire splices
• Old cracked insulation

I removed the tape and inspected everything.

Using continuity mode I discovered:

• One pickup wire has continuity from end to end.
• The other wire only has continuity up to an old twisted splice but does NOT continue through to the connector terminal.

I repaired the damaged harness, but unfortunately there was still no spark afterward.

The wiring is routed underneath the breaker plate where it flexes with the vacuum advance.

Carburetor

• Fuel reaches the carburetor.
• During repeated cranking the base of the carburetor becomes wet with gasoline.
• I'm assuming this is because the engine never ignites the fuel due to having no spark.

Spark Plugs

• Spark plugs have been cleaned.
• Some were previously carbon fouled from the old rich-running carburetor.
• They've now also been exposed to repeated cranking without ignition.

Previous History

Interestingly, before all of this happened I discovered that two spark plug wires had been installed in the wrong firing order by a previous repair, yet somehow the engine still managed to run.

That has since been corrected.

WHAT I'M WONDERING

At this point I'm trying to determine what I've overlooked.

Could one damaged pickup lead have prevented the module from ever triggering the coil, even though the pickup measures approximately 850 Ω?

Could the external fender-mounted ignition control module be the culprit instead?

Also, does anyone recognize this distributor setup? It appears to be a Motorcraft-style electronic distributor, but it has a distributor-mounted module and an external fender ignition box, so I'm wondering if this ignition system has been modified over the years.

The only major ignition component I have not yet replaced is the external metal ignition control module on the fender.

I'm open to any diagnostic suggestions before I continue replacing parts.

Thank you all very much for taking the time to read this.

Hi everyone,

I've reached the point where I need another set of experienced eyes because I'm running out of ideas.

This is a 1976 Jeep CJ5 with the AMC 232 inline-6. It has an electronic ignition with a distributor-mounted module (Motorcraft-style) and also has the external fender-mounted ignition box.

The Jeep previously ran. It wasn't perfect, but it ran. It would cold start, warm start, idle, and drive for 3 days from the new carb. I replaced the new carburetor with the correct replacement because the previous carburetor was running excessively rich (black smoke). After working through tuning and other issues, the engine eventually became a complete no-start.

Now it only cranks.

CURRENT SYMPTOM

• Engine cranks at normal speed.
• Absolutely no spark.
• No spark from the coil wire.
• No spark from any plug wire.
• Engine never attempts to fire.

WHAT I'VE TESTED

Battery

• Battery is fully charged.
• Engine cranks strongly.

Ignition Coil

Measured resistance:

Primary:
• Approximately 0.1–0.2 Ω

Secondary:
• Approximately 9.2 kΩ

• Coil positive receives approximately 10 V while cranking.

Spark

Used an inline spark tester.

Results:
• No spark directly from the coil tower.
• No spark from any plug wire.

Distributor

• Rotor rotates normally while cranking.
• Timing chain/distributor drive appears intact because the rotor turns correctly.
• Vacuum advance appears mechanically intact.

Pickup Coil

Initially I thought it was open because I had the meter on the wrong resistance range.

After retesting correctly:

• Pickup resistance measures approximately 850 Ω, which appears to be within the normal range.

However...

When measuring AC voltage while cranking I measured essentially 0 VAC, although my multimeter only has high AC ranges (200V/600V), so I'm unsure whether that measurement is meaningful. Although i may be wrong this testing

Distributor Module

• Removed the original distributor module.
• Installed a brand-new replacement module.
• No change whatsoever.
• Still absolutely no spark.

Wiring

This is where things became interesting.

Inside the distributor I found that the pickup wiring had been previously repaired.

Instead of factory wiring there were:

• Electrical tape
• Twisted wire splices
• Old cracked insulation

I removed the tape and inspected everything.

Using continuity mode I discovered:

• One pickup wire has continuity from end to end.
• The other wire only has continuity up to an old twisted splice but does NOT continue through to the connector terminal.

I repaired the damaged harness, but unfortunately there was still no spark afterward.

The wiring is routed underneath the breaker plate where it flexes with the vacuum advance.

Carburetor

• Fuel reaches the carburetor.
• During repeated cranking the base of the carburetor becomes wet with gasoline.
• I'm assuming this is because the engine never ignites the fuel due to having no spark.

Spark Plugs

• Spark plugs have been cleaned.
• Some were previously carbon fouled from the old rich-running carburetor.
• They've now also been exposed to repeated cranking without ignition.

Previous History

Interestingly, before all of this happened I discovered that two spark plug wires had been installed in the wrong firing order by a previous repair, yet somehow the engine still managed to run.

That has since been corrected.

WHAT I'M WONDERING

At this point I'm trying to determine what I've overlooked.

Could one damaged pickup lead have prevented the module from ever triggering the coil, even though the pickup measures approximately 850 Ω?

Could the external fender-mounted ignition control module be the culprit instead?

Also, does anyone recognize this distributor setup? It appears to be a Motorcraft-style electronic distributor, but it has a distributor-mounted module and an external fender ignition box, so I'm wondering if this ignition system has been modified over the years.

The only major ignition component I have not yet replaced is the external metal ignition control module on the fender.

I'm open to any diagnostic suggestions before I continue replacing parts.

Thank you all very much for taking the time to read this.