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'89 YJ Won't start

15K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  havasu 
#1 ·
I have an '89 YJ that won't start this weekend. Changed plugs,wires, cap and rotor but still no fire from plugs. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
#2 ·
Have you verified that you are getting spark? What about fuel? Take a plug out, ground it to the block, turn the engine over and look for a strong blue spark. Take the air filter off the carb, turn the engine over and see if you see anything squirting down the throat of the carb. Be carefull it doesn't backfire while you are looking in the carb area and turning it over. It will help to have someone turn the key while you check things.
 
#5 ·
If you got no spark from the plugs when you grounded it out, the problem may be with either cap, rotor, coil, or wires. I would put my money on cap, rotor, or coil. If you have an old coil I would start there.
Was it working before you changed the plugs, or did it just one day not start?
 
#6 ·
Four cylinder fuel injected or six cylinder carbed?
Fuel injected is wired differently that is why I need to know.
If it's a six, you can run a jumper from the positive side of the battery to the positive side of the coil and then crank it. That will rule out the coil if it fires. The positive side of the coil is the one that does NOT go to the distrubutor. Usually it's marked on top of the coil.
If it does fire, you have an ignition problem. Start tracing back the wire to the key. I tink it's yellow with a black stripe.
If it's a four FI, there are about twenty things that could cause it.
 
#9 ·
Crank position sensors on the FI's go bad. The computer on the early ones were problematic too.
 
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