Lumpskie's "More Questions than Answers" build

[Tatsadasayago]

Cool pix and narration Lumpski.
Those little towns are fun to visit and the NH country is fine looking.
Glad you had a family getaway and your FSJ didn't let you down.

[Lumpskie]

Cool pix and narration Lumpski.
Those little towns are fun to visit and the NH country is fine looking.
Glad you had a family getaway and your FSJ didn't let you down.

Thanks Tatsadasayago,
I'm glad my non-wheeling or wrenching report wasn't too boring!

[Lumpskie]

Here's another non-wheeling post:

So, a friend from work invited me to the Hillsborough County Agricultural Fair this weekend. He helped a friend of his prep an older Dodge pickup to compete in the tractor pull competition. (Apparently, their rig was over 800hp) He figured that, since we both own full size jeeps (he has a '78 cherokee on 35s) that I'd get a kick out of it. He was right. So, the family and I went to the fair. Chunky had a great time and was really entertained by the horses... especially the draft horses. I'd never seen a horse pull competition and ended up getting watching that for a bit. It was pretty entertaining. We only watched the first half, but the horses were pulling over 7000 pounds by the time we walked away! It was pretty impressive!







After that, we watched the tractor pull competition. Again, this was a first for me. My friend brought ear protection for Chunky and it turned out that it was a must. (Chunky had even more fun watching this than the horses)

It was interesting to see an old Willy's pickup win the 2wd class:



Then we watched the 5800 pound modified 4wd class that his buddy had entered in. He ended up getting 2nd.



After that, we walked around the fair and did all the classic fair things. Wifey looked at various 4H booths and baking competitions. I ate BBQ. Then, we called it a day and took the long way home. Fun day.

[jsinajeep]

That what you call a fun time. I miss all of that back in Indiana also.

[Dr. Marneaus]

looks awesome. I was really missing the Hopkinton State Fair over the labor day weekend. They just dont have that kinda thing out here.

[SJTD]

You can drive down to Bishop for the Labor Day Fair. Dunno how it compares with the aforementioned show. Stop in Mammoth for the Arts and Crafts Show.

You should also try Mule Days next Memorial Day.

[Dr. Marneaus]

You can drive down to Bishop for the Labor Day Fair. Dunno how it compares with the aforementioned show. Stop in Mammoth for the Arts and Crafts Show.

You should also try Mule Days next Memorial Day.

Will definitely look into it. I just miss the fair I have gone to as a kid, the exact same fair foods I would get every year in the same order, the demo derby, etc. Its all good. I still go back every few years for it. Didnt make it this year because the timing was off. I was back in NH to officiate my sisters wedding in Jnue, so I missed it by a few months and couldnt make another trip.

[Lumpskie]

That what you call a fun time. I miss all of that back in Indiana also.

Thanks Jerry!

looks awesome. I was really missing the Hopkinton State Fair over the labor day weekend. They just dont have that kinda thing out here.

I see what you mean. This fair had a cool small-town feel to it that I hadn't seen in the fairs I'd been to before.

[Lumpskie]

You can drive down to Bishop for the Labor Day Fair. Dunno how it compares with the aforementioned show. Stop in Mammoth for the Arts and Crafts Show.

You should also try Mule Days next Memorial Day.

My wife talked about Mule days, when she lived in Auburn CA.

[Lumpskie]

Quick update:

My Harbor Freight welder weld broke loose. So, I went over to a friends house and put a mig welder on it. I filled in some gaps and I'm hoping this fix lasts a bit longer than the last one!

[Cassidy]

I have good luck with Lincoln wire on my harborfreight welder,I didn't get good penatration with other brands of wire.

[Lumpskie]

I have good luck with Lincoln wire on my harborfreight welder,I didn't get good penatration with other brands of wire.

That's good to know. I think my main problem was operator error though.


Here's a question for you guys... So, I saw my vehicle voltage was a little low... just above the red zone. Under the hood I found this:



So, I replaced the terminal with this:


Now, I'm at 14 volts at idle. BUT, when I rev the engine up, I get up to the top red zone. So, 2 questions.

1. I get that a bad connection can lead to a lower voltage but, why would the voltage be that high? (that's not normal, right?)
2. The needle touches the upper red region (is that 15v?) when the engine is at max RPM, just before shifting. How dangerous is that behavior? (alternator voltage regulator??)

What do you think, guys?

[Nikkormat]

In mine that was a bad regulator, I then burned up the alternator charge wire and almost the whole Jeep. Check the voltage at the battery terminals while revving the engine. If it goes above 14.8 check the regulator connection at the alternator and the connections to the starter solenoid box on the fender. If those connections are solid and the voltage is still spiking high don't operate the vehicle. Either rebuild (super easy and cheap) the alternator or replace it. You don't want a crispy Jeep!

[Cassidy]

You might need to charge the battery if it is very low the voltage can go close to 15 volts.
Check it with a charged battery an a good multimeter don't go just by the gauge. Should be around 13.5

[Lumpskie]

So, drove around town and did a few errands with the Jeep this weekend, to charge the battery up. After that, I checked the battery with the volt meter. On low idle, I'm at 14.4 and high idle 15.3 volts. If I turn on headlights and heater, it drops down to 13.x volts. I'll have to check the regulator connection, like you guys mentioned. What connection at the starter solenoid box needs to be checked? (how does that relate to high running voltage?)

Thanks for the help,

[Nikkormat]

I'm not sure which one, but one of them is the voltage sense wire to the alternator. Of it is corroded it will increase the resistance and cause high voltage readings. Not many wires on the solenoid and if one is corroded the rest aren't far behind. I'd just clean them all while you can.

However in your case it sounds like the regulator is on its way out. Here's a good rebuild write-up with part numbers: http://tc.wagoneer.org/2012/08/delco-al ... e.html?m=1

[Lumpskie]

Thanks, Nikkormat.

So, I drove the waggy around for about and hour total yesterday and the volt meter readings have been decreasing. Now, on the highway, the volt meter reads near the line that sits between 13 and the red zone. (14v?) I am going to check the solenoid, if I get some time this weekend but, do you think the battery could have been really low and it's still getting charged up? An hour seems like plenty of driving time to charge it...

[twisted frame]

I am no expert on charging systems but I know I've tried to drive my truck around for a while to charge up the battery and it hasn't fully come back. Have you put a dedicated battery charger on it to see if it takes a full charge?

Also, I saw that same yellow 2WD Willys pulling truck that you saw above at the Cheshire Fair in Swanzey, NH back in early August. I think it took second place in its class. There is a steady stream of pulling events in New England each summer. I'm not sure of how many events make up their season but a few of these trucks seem to make the rounds and are pulling for points.

[Lumpskie]

So, I decided to just replace the alternator on the Waggy. It was O'Reilly's Ultima reman unit and had a lifetime warranty. I swapped alternators yesterday and went for a quick drive. The new unit seems to hold voltage pretty close to 13. I'll have to go on a longer test drive to be sure that the issue is gone, though.

Also, I saw that same yellow 2WD Willys pulling truck that you saw above at the Cheshire Fair in Swanzey, NH back in early August. I think it took second place in its class. There is a steady stream of pulling events in New England each summer. I'm not sure of how many events make up their season but a few of these trucks seem to make the rounds and are pulling for points.

That's cool. I thought it was a pretty neat rig. It seemed like the owner did a good job with stretching it. (not to mention getting power out of it!)

[SemperFIGuy]

I didn't see, but are you load testing the battery?

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