FJ62 Suddenly Died and Won't Restart. (1 Viewer)

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zachmartin529

Landcrusher89
Joined
Mar 1, 2016
Threads
9
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72
Location
Flagstaff, AZ
Website
www.zmartinphotography.wixsite.com
Hey Mudders!

After some scanning through the threads, I'm having a hard time finding an answer to my question. If there is a thread about this already I do apologize for not catching it. 2 nights ago I pulled into a drive-through and I could hear a "new noise" coming from my '89 FJ62. It had a certain rhythm to it, which to me indicated that it was something rotational. It was a light sort of rattling sound: I thought it was maybe a guard or heat shield or something, but the noise had a very distinct rhythm. I ordered food all the while thinking that I'm going to pop the hood and investigate it when I get home.

As I pull forward the truck suddenly shuts off. I go to restart and all it will do is crank but not fire. I first checked for fuel, by cracking the line on the filter and having my wife crank it. Had pressure. The filter is new. Then I go to check spark, pull the number 1 plug, and have her crank it to see if the spark will jump. I didn't have a long enough screwdriver in my road tool kit to find solid ground so I'm not sure that the conditions were good for that test. I was unable to see spark jump, plus the plugs which are maybe 20k old, look awful! Or, I could also not be getting spark anymore. I pulled the cap to see if maybe the rotor broke and it was all fine. both of those items are new too. Got it towed home, tried to fire it again, and as soon as I turned to ignition, every light in the interior went out and nothing happened. Not even a click on the starter.

The next day I disconnected the battery for a minute or so, cleaned the terminals, checked the fuses, plugged the battery back in and it was able to crank again. I have an FSM but have been too busy with work to take the time to look hard into things. A little guidance would be greatly appreciated. The truck has about 260k on it. I've done plenty of maintenance on it but I'm sure there are ancient, tired sensors clogged ports/passages, and electrical issues that will begin to come up.

NOTE: The truck's Check Engine Light did begin to come on within the last few months. Specifically when cruising under very low/partial throttle conditions. If I was on a long drive or putting it under load, eventually the CEL would turn off and sometimes stay off or turn back on again. With life being hectic and the truck continuing to run strong, I had the "I'll get to it later" mentality. I know wonder if that's come back to bite me haha. I'll have to jump the pins on the diagnostic plug to be sure, but as I said, some direction would be super helpful as I can't get the thing to run again and listen for that damn noise. haha


Thank you!
 
Let’s start really easy:

1. check all of your fuses. Easiest way is to see if you have continuity across the fuse using a volt meter with the continuity test (beeps if good). Also wiggle all the fuses.

2. Next pull a plug, put it back into the lead, and ground the electrode against the head or valve cover and have your wife crank. Verify spark.

if no spark investigate the ignition and components

if spark let’s move on to general electrical

3. verify all your battery cables and cable connections to power or ground are clean and tight. This includes battery posts and terminals

4. measure the battery voltage. Should be about 12.6v

5. check/test your fusible link. Does it look clean and flexible or is it stiff, burned and brittle?

6. Research how to get codes from your CEL and see what codes come up for the efi system.
 
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Let’s start really easy:

1. check all of your fuses. Easiest way is to see if you have continuity across the fuse using a bolt meter with the continuity test (beeps if good). Also wiggle all the fuses.

2. Next pull a plug, put it back into the lead, and ground the electrode against the head or valve cover and have your wife crank. Verify spark.

if no spark investigate the ignition and components

if spark let’s move on to general electrical

3. verify all your battery cables and cable connections to power or ground are clean and tight. This includes battery posts and terminals

4. measure the battery voltage. Should be about 12.6v

5. check/test your fusible link. Does it look clean and flexible or is it stiff, burned and brittle?

6. Research how to get codes from your CEL and see what codes come up for the efi system.
Thank you! Electrical stuff is not my strong suit so it's fitting that the universe is forcing my hand haha. I already have a new set of plugs on order because the ones that I have are garbage. I hope that I'll be able to get a clean spark there. I should also note that the coil, cap, and rotor are new, but the wires are quite old albeit not in bad shape. The fusible link you mentioned, is that the one that comes off the battery and is in-line with the wiring harness? I've also ordered new battery connectors because the current ones are very worn and the negative connector no longer tightens all the way. CEL diagnostics will be next as well and I'll report back once I make some progress. Thank you!
 
Let’s start really easy:

1. check all of your fuses. Easiest way is to see if you have continuity across the fuse using a volt meter with the continuity test (beeps if good). Also wiggle all the fuses.

2. Next pull a plug, put it back into the lead, and ground the electrode against the head or valve cover and have your wife crank. Verify spark.

if no spark investigate the ignition and components

if spark let’s move on to general electrical

3. verify all your battery cables and cable connections to power or ground are clean and tight. This includes battery posts and terminals

4. measure the battery voltage. Should be about 12.6v

5. check/test your fusible link. Does it look clean and flexible or is it stiff, burned and brittle?

6. Research how to get codes from your CEL and see what codes come up for the efi system.
Your original post of every light going off supports fusible link issue.
Mine was intermittent weirdness until it eventually shut eveything off
Other issues exist but pull back the wire covers near the battery terminal. Mine was corroded causing intermittent “boackout” and occasional no crank/no stsrt.
 
And the photo
1617398541083.jpeg
 
Ooof! That looks rough. A couple of years back I discovered the exciter wire to the alternator was torn. I did a quick parts store parking lot repair with a new connector and some wire. As I recall, the rest of the wires looked ok, but now I kind of want to pull the loom back and inspect further. I want to hold off rewiring this thing for as long as I can because I'm about to order a tip to tail new Painless wiring kit for our FJ40 lol
 
Let’s start really easy:

1. check all of your fuses. Easiest way is to see if you have continuity across the fuse using a volt meter with the continuity test (beeps if good). Also wiggle all the fuses.

2. Next pull a plug, put it back into the lead, and ground the electrode against the head or valve cover and have your wife crank. Verify spark.

if no spark investigate the ignition and components

if spark let’s move on to general electrical

3. verify all your battery cables and cable connections to power or ground are clean and tight. This includes battery posts and terminals

4. measure the battery voltage. Should be about 12.6v

5. check/test your fusible link. Does it look clean and flexible or is it stiff, burned and brittle?

6. Research how to get codes from your CEL and see what codes come up for the efi system.
Annnnd several months later we are back! lol. I figured I'd follow up here as I said I would once I observed the CEL codes. Before that though, I figure it's fair to say that I have since replaced all the plugs, wires, and got a new factory coil in the truck just to rule out the obvious stuff and as I predicted, nothing changed. The CEL was showing three codes: 12, 24 and 31. At this point, 12 is the one I'm after as it is related to ignition/distributor problems. I've found some great threads on here by @jonheld to use as references as well as an FSM. I know that distributors do go bad in these trucks over time (mine is sitting at 290k), but I suppose it's time to get really good with a multimeter before I go buying one. I do wonder though if there was some kind of failure with the distributor based on me hearing that odd rhythmic clicking/ticking noise before it died. At any rate. I'll certainly be up late until I figure this stuff out.
 
Annnnd several months later we are back! lol. I figured I'd follow up here as I said I would once I observed the CEL codes. Before that though, I figure it's fair to say that I have since replaced all the plugs, wires, and got a new factory coil in the truck just to rule out the obvious stuff and as I predicted, nothing changed. The CEL was showing three codes: 12, 24 and 31. At this point, 12 is the one I'm after as it is related to ignition/distributor problems. I've found some great threads on here by @jonheld to use as references as well as an FSM. I know that distributors do go bad in these trucks over time (mine is sitting at 290k), but I suppose it's time to get really good with a multimeter before I go buying one. I do wonder though if there was some kind of failure with the distributor based on me hearing that odd rhythmic clicking/ticking noise before it died. At any rate. I'll certainly be up late until I figure this stuff out.

have you pulled your new cap off and inspected both the cap and the rotor for signs of damage or premature wear? If for instance you have a bad bearing in the distributor maybe it caused a wobble which caused rotor to cap contact.
 
have you pulled your new cap off and inspected both the cap and the rotor for signs of damage or premature wear? If for instance you have a bad bearing in the distributor maybe it caused a wobble which caused rotor to cap contact
Yeah, that was one of the first things I checked. I thought maybe the rotor broke but everything looked ok. I'm going to take another look at things this weekend though now that I've had some time to marinate on some ideas and input from you guys. I'm going to test some of the electrics based on the check engine codes I have. I am still thinking it's something mechanical but I figured it'd be a great opportunity to learn more about using a multimeter and rule out less expensive options before I go and buy a new distributor.
 
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Yeah, that was one of the first things I checked. I thought maybe the rotor broke but everything looked ok. I'm going to take another look at things this weekend though now that I've had some time to marinate on some ideas and input from you guys. I'm going to test some of the electrics based on the check engine codes I have. I am still thinking it's something mechanical but I figured it'd be a great opportunity to learn more about using a multimeter and rule out less expensive options before I go and buy a new distributor.
If you decide you need a replacement distributor I have a good used one.
 
If you decide you need a replacement distributor I have a good used one.
Thanks! I will certainly keep that offer in my back pocket! I hope to have this all figured out this week. I've been so busy lately with work and moving into a new house that I haven't had as much time as I'd like to work on this thing. Plus I now get to finally learn more about automotive electrics and circuits so add more time for the learning curve lol. We just took my father-in-law's '82 40 series out on Sunday for some offroading and I can't wait to hit that same trail in my 62. Pressure's on haha.
 
Does the 62 have the same cluster of wires connector behind the speedo that the 60 does?

If still having an issue, try connecting with @OSS about a big post on it that he did.
Wow, that dude has a serious catalog of posts! Seems like he's done a bunch of 60 series stuff so I'll have to reach out if I hit a snag in my own discovery. Thanks for the tip!

As far as the cluster of wires. It may share more similarities with a later 60 series, but it's been a while since I've had my dash apart. Once I do my 4-Speed conversion later this summer I'll be able to take a peak as I'll have to pull the whole dash.
 
UPDATE for anyone who cares to know. The truck has been fixed and back on the road since maybe a week after the last update here. The problem ended up being the guts of the distributor that were totally annihilated. The copper windings had unraveled and took out everything else.
20210713_135343.jpg

I was able to get ahold of a 140k-miles-new distributor in short order thanks to Kyle of Lint Automotive in Orange County Ca. Reset the timing to factory specs and she runs great.
 
Nice find. And nice pic!
 
UPDATE for anyone who cares to know. The truck has been fixed and back on the road since maybe a week after the last update here. The problem ended up being the guts of the distributor that were totally annihilated. The copper windings had unraveled and took out everything else.
View attachment 2853528
I was able to get ahold of a 140k-miles-new distributor in short order thanks to Kyle of Lint Automotive in Orange County Ca. Reset the timing to factory specs and she runs great.
Just got off the phone w. lint automotive.

Sorry to say that they have 2 much work to take any appointments, even though I was trying to book a month out for general vehicle survey (prior to my LC Drive-about).

Even though I used him before, never debated price, and raved about him, I got the feeling my $ was not worthy. Said to go someplace else. Sad.
 

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