At first my battery wasnt charging...I bought a new battery. Then it still wasnt quite getting a charge so I tested the altinator which passed, and the voltage regulator which failed....I replaced that. Tonight after schooll my willys wouldnt start. The starter sounded really junkie but I just replaced the brushes (I still think I need a new one) so I had to get a bump start. On the way home My jeep started sputtering and my lights were getting dim, I shut them off and the jeep ran normal and the altinator was charging the battery, turned them back on and sputtered again. Any Ideas Im lost and am not good with electrical. Should I start with replacing the original wiring? Could it be some sort of short when I turn my lights on?
The lights are a big draw. When they draw upon the circuit, the underlying problems will show up. Before you hack and slash, check ALL of your connections! Down load the TM with wiring diagrams. If need be, buy a cheap meter and check all feed cables and grounds. You should have a bunch of smart people near you who can come and help for a beer or 2. If you need to, PM Sgt Hulka. He is not that far away and is pretty smart. Let me know how this progresses.
I think I found the problem. My battery terminals werent getting a full connection so I think the lights were drawing more power than the battery was getting from the altinator
now my lights arent turning on at all, Im still not getting the full charge I want...Fuel Pump sounds bad but Im starting to run out of things to check because my knowlege on this subject is close to none.
If you have an electrical fuel pump then your harness has already be hacked into and all bets are off. I would try and find someone who has some type of auto electrical knowledge near you or if you still know the guy you got it from, asked him. Is it even still 24volts, 2 batteries?
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"The quickest way to double your money is to fold it
electrical fuel pump it has, and It makes a real loud cracking noise when I turn the key on and it still makes the noise after the engine is turned over. The whole system was converted to twelve volt, starter, distributor w/ external coil, altinator..all of it. Through research Ive found alot of people say the 12v system has given them problems everyone recommends the 24V system. I got the Jeep from my dad but whenever I ask about it he gets all mad and tells me theres nothing wrong with the 12v system, and if I want to go waste my money thats fine......but my question is that if its not a good system is it really worth it to keep going through these little problems or should I just decide to caugh up the money and buy the original set up? I want to but I feel like Im NEVER gonna get to drive it.
You can keep it 12V, mine is, but trying to trouble shoot it with the manual will be flawed. Your dad is right it would be a large chunk of change to convert it back to 24V and the 12V will work fine when whatever is causing you a problem is fixed . Try to find a good auto electrical shop close by, or if you have a friend who likes to tinker. You may just have a loose wire or something is going to ground. It can be fixed. When I got my M135 last year the fire dept that had it before me had a split system half was 12V the other was 24. I ended up removing over 100' of wire before I got it all running and charging right. Most of my problems were half ass splices and bad grounds. Sorry I can't be more of a help.
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"The quickest way to double your money is to fold it
The whole system was converted to twelve volt, starter, distributor w/ external coil, altinator..all of it. Through research Ive found alot of people say the 12v system has given them problems everyone recommends the 24V system.
12V is no better or worse than 24V (for the most part)- but factory wiring harnesses that aren't butchered up are always 100% better than someone's homemade 12V conversion which was probably done to an already worn out 40+ year old wiring harness. The reason you are finding people in your research that recommend the 24V system is not because 24V is better on it's own, it's because with a new and correct harness, you can troubleshoot the system using the factory technical manual(s) and wiring schematics. 12V systems on MV's are usually someone's homemade nonsense done with an iffy degree of quality. No one takes the time to remove a perfect CJ5 harness and put it in an M38A1. If they were that smart, they'd stick with the 24V!
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I got the Jeep from my dad but whenever I ask about it he gets all mad and tells me theres nothing wrong with the 12v system, and if I want to go waste my money thats fine......but my question is that if its not a good system is it really worth it to keep going through these little problems or should I just decide to caugh up the money and buy the original set up? I want to but I feel like Im NEVER gonna get to drive it.
Tell him to give you a professionally rendered wiring schematic for the 12V system, otherwise quit harping.
I think an entire new harness for your Jeep is about $550 and that is front to rear. Everything. This eliminates 50+ year old wiring, broken connectors, pinched wiring, shorts, spots with high resistance, etc. The beauty of a new harness is also that you can have the manufacturer add a second brake light (your Jeep only has one tail light and brake light, from the factory the passenger side rear light is actually a blackout light) and you can have them add turn signals to the harness, using the military turn signal unit and flasher, again allowing you to troubleshoot using the factory manuals.
A new harness isn't a waste of money, it's an investment in your Jeep's value and driveability, just like a rebuilt steering box or new tires.
Besides, wiring that old is just impossible to work on-just too worn out. trust me, I know this. you should have seen what I had to fix under the dash of our '55 M38A1. A bunch of civvy wiring to get turn signals and a second brake light and they left the entire vehicle 24V except the lights.
M38A1 Electrical problems
