My wife and my Jeep

mikec4193

Precision Fit
Jan 18, 2010
923
Mechanicville ny
First Name
Mike
Willys Model
  1. Other
Willys Year:
  1. Other
Hi Everyone
Havent touched a grinder or a welder to my Willys truck in about a month, but I have to share with you how much of an idiot I really have turned into. I have been thrashing on my plow Jeep (1965 CJ5) for over a month, snow is due here anyday now :cry: . So I had the CJ5 up and running on Wednesday night; go out Sunday afternoon to warm it up so I can change the oil (the stuff in it is pitch black). I turn the key, nothing, no click,click, no nothing. I grab the battery charger, plug it in..it wont even take a charge...I am getting frantic about now...test light lights..now what could it be???...I thrash for about 2 hours checking connections and such....the wife comes out to see me and we chat..she can tell I am frustrated beyond belief (the battery is only 11 monthes old)..she says hey why dont you try the old battery...(yeah right I am thinking)..I throw it on the charger for about 10 minutes...well long story short...old smelly battery turns it over like nothin...so how can a 11 month old battery be so dead it'll light a test light but nothing else???...These old Jeeps are so simple...I could I have been so stupid???..anybody else been this bad before???
 
Mike, Here's what I got off the top O' my head.

1. Cold Cranking Amps. Is the new battery the same rating as the old? If it's low on CCA's it might be a contributor. It is possible to have the appropriate voltage, but not enough CCA.

2. Battery cable condition? Moving them around from battery to battery could have been just what they needed to make good contact. (yes i'm reaching) My buddy's old ford was like that. Occasionally it would ground out too.

3. Last guess: Maybe when you were running it Saturday, it just didn't run at a high enough rpm for an appropriate duration to put a charge back in the battery after starting.

That's all I got for what it's worth.
Steve
 
Mike,been there done that!!!!maybe the new battery took a dump on you,could be like Aquawilly said,I usually find something simple...do you have a load tester or able to borrow one?11 mo. old dealer should be able to help out,good luck let us know what you find for future reference....Jim
 
Hi Everyone

Jut got in from the snowy mess we have here (I hate winter)...tonight was gonna be "lets get the heater motor to run"..it ran a little bit last week...it seemed to have gotten gummed up from sitting all summer...well I took it apart and squirted some "Powerlube" on the shaft..it ran great once the lube got into where it was supposed to go...put it back together, hit the switch and nothing...hmmm..now I am lost...we also lost an hour of precious light so now I work in the dark all night instead of a little light like last week...Also I brought the battery back to NAPA and they tested it...totally totally dead.. I got a replacement for about $15.00 bucks not a bad deal...I'll put it in when I get my next night off.. I love this little Jeep but gosh..it is driving me crazy...I may call up Carl Walck and see if he has a used one (heater motor)that he can sell me...we'll see how it goes...
Thanks for all your input..you guys are great comfort to me...:)))

MikeC

P.S. Are all old Jeeps like this???
 
P.S. Are all old Jeeps like this??? Uhh...YEehhhhh! Covairs too! :) Hee hee heeee! Would you have it any other way? :lol:
 
aquawilly54 said:
P.S. Are all old Jeeps like this??? Uhh...YEehhhhh! Covairs too! :) Hee hee heeee! Would you have it any other way? :lol:
Uh oh! Is there another willys/corvair victim in the forum?
 
Ha! Yeh, i'm a glutten for punishment. I've been a Willys guy since 1978 and an owner since 1982. I've always liked Corvairs as well. I bought a '63 convertible for my son's 16th birthday, in 2003, as a father/son project. It got sold due to military moves. I helped him buy a '64 hartop in 2007, which got sold as well. Sons and cars...I guess it's tradition. :)

My current Willys is my third and final. I bought it back in '96. I've considered selling it for liquidation purposes, but it's still with me; waiting on that engine rebuild still, but it'll get taken care of this summer... I hope.
:cheers:
 
I had a battery do somthing like this manyyears ago. The battery post was cracked completely across and was only being held in by the plastic top of the battery. I t was an older battery than11 months but it was still within the expected life span of the battery. After playing with it for several hours I decided to swap it out and the terminal came out of the top of the battery.

Ed
 
My biggest bone head move involving a battery was many moons ago I was on leave and had 12 hours to get back to base. The car would not start, got a jump nothing, started tearing into it long storey short two hours later relized 1/4 crank of a wrench on the battery terminal bolt it fired right up 45 min later (after reasembling it) I was on the road. Barely made it 20 min to spare.
(even worse I was a mechanic in the Air Force) :evil:
 
Put a battery in a 49 dodge I had, next morning nothing, dead, open the hood the entire top of the battery was burned off! Just lucky that it did not burn the car,,,, They argued but did replace it,,,

Replaced the battery in my Gals car to find out she was leaving the headlights on,,,,, :roll:
 
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