Brand new '89 YJ

So jealous.....

Carl

Hey guys, I haven't had a chance to do much reading on the 4.2L yet, so I thought I'd ask you guys for a quick answer.

We threw a battery > So jealous.....

That might mean the connection on the side post of the starter solenoid is loose or dirty. That side wire send power to the coil when the starter is turning.

You can jumper the coil directly to the battery to see if it then starts. If it does, it won't stop until you unhook that jumper wire.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail > Hey guys, I haven't had a chance to do much reading on the 4.2L yet, so

Cool. I was planning on pulling the starter to clean it/look it over anyway. The whole engine bay is incredibly dirty, especially compared to how clean the body and frame is (aside from the rugs, which got yanked out).

By the way, I'm still having trouble with the XJ Tcase shift linkage. I replaced the bushings, it shifts into 4H fine, but trying to get to 4L pops the bushing out and screws everything up again. Is it possible for

4L to be screwed up (e.g. the gearing) and still have 4H work fine? Or do I probably just need to replace the linkage completely?

Here's the picture:

That might mean the connection on the side post of the starter solenoid

Oops, I forgot to say the starter solenoid on those is on the fender, you can clean it from up top easily.

Are those bent parts in the image?

Mike

The Merg wrote:

>

The 2wd-4wd shifting and the hi range/lo range shifting are independent things inside the transfercase. the only place they connect is that both functions are on the transfer case main shaft (hi/lo in front), 2wd/4wd in the back part, and the shift linkage does both depending on where it is in the shift pattern. So your problem could well be inside the transfer case.

My take from the pictures is that the shift l> Cool. I was planning on pulling the starter to clean it/look it over

>

To the positive side. I don't know for sure which color that is on the YJ. Yellow maybe?

The connection 'should' should continuity on a meter from that side post on the solenoid to the correct wire. You can even open the harness and trace it.

Mike

The Merg wrote:

Ballast resistor.

Carl

Replace the ballast resistor. ;-)

Carl

No.

If the ballast 'wire' was bad, the engine would fire up and run as long as the starter is turning. The engine would then die as the key goes to run.

He has the opposite happening. He gets one spark flash as the key goes to run which indicates a bad ballast bypass wire from the solenoid to the coil or an ignition module issue.

He needs a multimeter or he will end up going nuts tossing parts at a non starter.

Running a power line directly to the coil positive will sort that out fast.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail > Replace the ballast resistor. ;-)

You need to find out if the coil is getting power or if the ignition module has issues. You need a meter or test light to do this.

Mike

The Merg wrote:

Yes, I think so mostly because I am on this side of the computer.

I believe your coil is OK because of the flash on the timing light.

Using a test light or meter makes life a 'lot' easier.

When the key is in 'run', a test light should light up when hooked to the coil positive.

The test light should stay lit when someone turns the key more to 'start' and the starter cranks.

If this happens, then put the test light on the negative side of the coil and watch when someone cranks it. It should pulse or flicker.

If no pulsing, suspect the ignition module or coil pickup. There are meter tests for the coil pickup. You need a multimeter for this. It is easy.

Then you also should open the air filter, hold the choke open and hand move the throttle linkage to watch the two squirts of gas that has to be happening. If no gas, get back to us or toss a quarter cup of gas in the carb and try it again to see what happens. If you get a roar, suspect a blocked gas filter.

Mike

The Merg wrote:

It's not the fuel filter, one of the first things we tried was throwing some gas in the carb.

I'll try to run some more tests as soon as I get someone to help me.

So, based > Yes, I think so mostly because I am on this side of the computer. >