258 won't start-Ignition issues???

[bowtieman55]

I'm sorry for the long winded post, but you guys are JUST ABOUT my only hope.
My newest FSJ, an '81 Cherokee doesn't run. It cranks over, but won't start. I'm pretty much ruling out fuel, because the fuel pump is brand new and pouring a little gas in the carb doesn't help any. I pulled the dist. cap and the rotor looks ok and is turning fine while cranking the engine. The coil is obviously good, with 12.90 volts when the key is on. I pulled the coil wire where it goes into the dist. cap and it is shooting a little fire...so the ignition module was suspect. I took the ignition module off and took it to Advance and tested it. It tested bad, so I bought a replacement (tested it before it left the store). Check the big red ignition wire at the Ignition Module plug. 12.99-13.00 volts there with the key on. Maybe a fuel delivery issue after all? Not hardly...hooked up a gas can to the mechanical fuel pump. The pump is definitely pumping. To be honest, I can't really see gas entering the carb, though. So I go back to thinking it might be an ignition problem. Again, I unplug the coil wire from the dist. cap; I can see spark when cranking. So I pull the number 1 plug wire (very front of the engine) at the spark plug. When cranking the engine, I see NO spark. Maybe it's the pickup coil gone bad? Everything inside of the distributor (UNDER THE CAP)looks BRAND NEW.
Here is the 6 page thread over at IFSJA.
http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showt...t=63035&page=5

TIA!

Earl H.

[rollen dean montoya]

let me ask you some questions and see if i can help out .
i have a 83 eagle with the 258.
i did a wide cap conversion on it and until the head gasket blew
it 258 actually had better power.
1- what type of coil are you running?i am running an accel
racing coil of 50,000 volts.
2- is your cap a narrow cap or the wide cap? i have a ford 300
wide cap,rotor ,and adapter on my 258.
3- are your plug wires 7 or 8mm? i run the 8mm for the higher voltage.
4- do you have the inline fuel filter with a return line to the tank? my eagle does.
5- is there fuel on the plugs?
hopefully we can help ya out
later

[bowtieman55]

let me ask you some questions and see if i can help out .
i have a 83 eagle with the 258.
i did a wide cap conversion on it and until the head gasket blew
it 258 actually had better power.
1- what type of coil are you running?i am running an accel
racing coil of 50,000 volts.-The factory coil
2- is your cap a narrow cap or the wide cap? i have a ford 300
wide cap,rotor ,and adapter on my 258.-The factory "small" cap
3- are your plug wires 7 or 8mm? i run the 8mm for the higher voltage.-The stock replacement 7mm
4- do you have the inline fuel filter with a return line to the tank? my eagle does.-yes
5- is there fuel on the plugs?-haven't pulled the plugs yet
hopefully we can help ya out
later

[ol' school power]

Is it a steady fire from the coil or "A" as in 1 or 2 fires?
If you pull the cap and crank it over, is the rotor turning steadily?

[bowtieman55]

I'd say it's a pretty steady fire from the coil wire. Yep, the rotor is turning steady when cranking the engine.

[ol' school power]

If it's got a steady fire, that should rule out the pickup.
How many miles?
Ever check the compression? You could have a jumped timing chain.

[bowtieman55]

I've got a few people saying it could be a bad rotor button since the fire isn't leaving the dist. cap. I've never done a compression check before. The odometer reads 52,200 miles, and it COULD BE original mileage, but I can't verify that.
How do I know if it's got jumped timing?

[ol' school power]

You're not going to get the same frequency of spark at the plug wire as you do at the coil wire. It only fires the plug once each time the rotor goes all the way around the cap.
How/when did the problem start?

[bowtieman55]

How/when did the problem start?

I've got no idea. I bought it 4 days ago. When I bought it, it wasn't running. The P.O. put a new fuel pump on it (which IS working), but got "tired" of messing with it.

[ol' school power]

Does the distributor look new too or just the cap and rotor?