Sounds like you inherited some problems.
>Im not sure of the
> coil brand however it is a 24V coil. <
If you are unsure of the coil being the correct unit, you should really
try and find out whether or not it is correct or else it might come back
to bite you later even if you get the jeep running.
>The points are opening up. I have
> seen them open. There may be a small problem with the gap though. I do
> not have them properly gapped. I have estimated the opening. I will
> check the gap. <
Yep, you need to check the gap.
>I also in my stupidity when it did have it running, I had
> the distributor wire and the points/condenser wire on the wrong posts of
> the coil. I switch them back after it died.< Could this have shorted the
> condenser? The coil?
Nope, you could crank the jeep all day with the wires switched around
and nothing would happen to either the coil or the condenser. You
didn't break anything electrical that way.
>How come it ran with the wires crossed in the
> distributor? You will have to forgive my electrical ignorance. Thanks
>
You got lucky. It really should not of run very well. Low power,
backfiring etc.
Anyway,
You can eliminate one thing right off the bat. Disconnect the
condenser. All it does is protect the points from being burnt up
prematurely. If after disconnecting the condenser it runs, you've found
the problem. If nothing changes, leave it disconnected for testing
purposes. Get yourself a decent digital multimeter, radio shack has
them for as low as $25.00 now. You really want one that can measure DC
current up to 10 amps. Make sure that when you buy the meter that you
get a supply of fuses for the meter at the same time.
Then after you've verified that you have the right coil, or if you can't
just do the following anyway. With the distributor cap off and tied up
out of the way.
1. Turn on the ignition and make sure that you have 24 volts DC + at the
wire leading into the distributor from the ignition switch. (Between the
wire and vehicle ground - find a good ground even if you have to file
off some paint)
2. If there is a ballast resistor in the M38 distributor like the M
series trucks - follow the +24 volt wire into the distributor, see where
it enters the ballast resistor and then comes out of the ballast
resistor. Measure DC volts from the exit point of the ballast resistor
to ground. Depending on whether the points are closed or open, you
should see either +24 volts or something less such as 4-5 volts. Have
someone crank the engine while you hold the meter leads to these points,
the meter should move between +24 and something like 4-5 volts as the
points open and close.
If this doesn't not occur and the points are bright (if not file them or
replace them) then chances are that the coil is burned out. Verify
this by measuring the resistance of the primary winding in the coil.
Put the meter on ohms (resistance) and with the coil disconnected
measure resistance between the two screw terminals. It should be close
to zero, just a few ohms at most. Almost a dead short - i.e. wired
together , like touching the meter leads together. If you read a high
resistance, like 300+ ohms, then the coil is bad.
If the coil checks out ok on the primary winding, then suspect that the
high voltage winding of the coil is bad. Reconnect the coil and replace
the cap. Get a spark plug and open the gap to something like 1/4".
Connect the spark plug to one of plug leads that is connected to the cap
and crank the engine while holding the spark plug against the engine.
The spark should be able to easily jump 1/4". If it can't then chances
are the high voltage winding of the coil is shorting out inside the
coil. Replace the coil.
As you can see the meter is really important and make diagnosing an
ignition system a lot simpler. It's well worth the $25 or so bucks.
Also you can use the same meter set on resistance to check plug wires,
solid copper wires should measure close to zero ohms resistance while
suppresser wires should measure about 1000 ohms per foot of wire length
max.
Also, don't forget to reconnect the condenser or else the points will
pit and corrode due to excessive arcing during operation.
Good Luck,
Dave
===
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