360 starts, won't keep running

[yjm3]

Hi ya'll. Hope someone can help.

I have a jeep YJ with a swapped amc 360 (from a wagoneer?). it has edelbrock perf. intake, msd blaster coil, recently re-worked carb.

I bought it and it died on the way home. It would start and if I give it gas and hold the starter, it will run and rev until i shut the starter off. It does'nt keep running.
I had it worked on out of state and was told fuel pump/pressure was good, spark and timing was fine, no vac leaks, but they cleaned the carb and put a choke kit on it. they got it running and It ran okay. i got it home and put the new ignition coil and ballst resistor. ran okay for a few weeks.

Yesterday, same problem as originally. it turns over and starts, but will not keep running and rpm's go to zero immediatly- no stallin or sputtering - just on with the starter and running, off as soon as i let go. any ideas or sugg's? thanks a lot.
(ps - i've been carful no to burn out the starter!)

[Lifted79CJ7]

Sounds like maybe an electircal problem. Have you tested the wiring to the coil?

[tarior]

You have evidently lost power to the coil with the key in the "on" position. Check your fuses, then check for loose wiring, both under dash and under hood. A 12v test light would be real handy :wink:

[donwag]

I would agree with tarior. Use a meter to check voltage at the coil with the key in run position. You may have a short somewhere that is draining off the power.

[yjm3]

seems likely to be an ignition problem as you all pointed out and i have not tested that yet. I will tonight. loose connection especially likely since it has been running fine and would'nt start since I changed the 35's for smaller stock tires to pass inspection - must have shaken something loose when it was jacked up.

the person who swapped the engine made a damn awful mess of the wiring with tap-in's and electircal tape. iv'e re-wired, soldered and 3m heat shrinked most all of the connections, but have not touched the ignition system wiring at all (other than just the coil itself).

thanks for the input and i'll keep ya posted!

[pyagid]

where on the CT shoreline are you? You could always give bill at www.sveperformance.com a call and pick his brain or Bob at www.oceanstateoffroad.com Both great guys with lots of knowlage

-Paul

[Smitty]

Sounds like the solenoid. A real pain is when you turn the key off start and the starter stays engaged.

[jeepsr4ever]

Was it converted from a 6 cyl? Check the purple wire leading form the ditributor to the ingition control module and see if its loosing connection

[yjm3]

it was converted from a four cyl. to the 360.

what color and where would i find the ignition wire, is it the yellow going into the power dist block (from underneath) in the engine bay? this has been tapped into and supplies the switched +12V (?) to the ignition coil and starter relay from what ican see.

the purple to the dist seems to be okay, though the terminal are corrodded. i put dielectric grease after cleaning them, but it was hard to clean inside the little connectors.

thanks for the input.

[yjm3]

there is power at the coil when in run position. it turns over just fine.
just wont keep running

is it likely for the ignition control module to fail? - how could i tell?

thanks

[tarior]

It's not the module. Those typically either work, or they don't, and since its starts, it must be OK. Do your radio, wipers and all of that function when you turn the key on?

[401ton]

How about the ignition switch under the dash mounted on the column? Could have this came loose and went out of adjustment or went bad?

[donwag]

You probably know this, but just checking to make sure. Run and start are two different circuits. In Start position the coil gets full power (12 volts) and the Duraspark module (if equipped) retards the timing to help the engine start. In Run positon the coil should get 6-8 volts, a ballast resistor or a resistor wire is used to reduce the voltage.

You need to check the voltage at each position. Engine will turn over and try to start if the Start circuit is okay, but will die when you release the key and return to Run position if the Run circuit is faulty.

[tarior]

I converted one of my 360 dizzy's to a Mallory Unilite, and I am VERY pleased with it.

[yjm3]

i found the problem. a short in the wiring in the run position. took forever to find, but now i know the other components are in good shape and working well. the wire had been tapped into several times with bare ends here and there, i cut it all out and rewired.

what a pia, but she runs now.

thanks for everyone's help in troubleshooting the issue. =D>

now to tackle the leaking tranny pan and ps pump!