Won't charge

[damnskippy]

Still no charge but got another problems. Acted like was out of gas which was possible. Put some in, primed it and don't even want to fire on the gas in the carb. Ran excellent other day, other than not charging. Leads me to believe whatever was causing it not to charge gave up the ghost altogether.

[blazinchuck]

yeah...sounds like they might be related...no spark now and not charging eh?

[damnskippy]

Best I can tell trying to do it all myself, no spark. When get home from work I'm going to pull a plug and have my son turn it over and I can be under the hood. Sucked some trash from that 30 year old tank before and thought may have again, but like I said earlier it's not even trying to burn what I pour in to prime it. Could I have fried the regulator and could that cause no fire?

[firefighter2134]

points or electronic ign? no fire could lead to bad set of points.

[damnskippy]

It has electronic ign. Came in late last night from work and woke my 12 year old son to help. He didn't mind though. He likes Broncos more than me I think. Got enough fire to cross my eyes when he turned the key. Pulled gas line and turned it over and it's pumping great. Hard to do much in a driveway working alone, but got help coming with a book on Saturday. Maybe..... I forgot how fun (right) this can be.

[medwards01]

It has electronic ign. Came in late last night from work and woke my 12 year old son to help. He didn't mind though. He likes Broncos more than me I think. Got enough fire to cross my eyes when he turned the key. Pulled gas line and turned it over and it's pumping great. Hard to do much in a driveway working alone, but got help coming with a book on Saturday. Maybe..... I forgot how fun (right) this can be.

Let's see now, got fire at the plugs and is pumping gas....could it be timing chain or maybe small gear on end of distributor is slipping or broken? Hopefully not, but a possibility from a "shade tree mechanic" who has been there and done that and got the t-shirt to prove it....
cratchhe: :banghead: cratchhe: :banghead: :wtf:

[jdowns67]

Maybe these diagrams will help?
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~i6735189/alternator.gif
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~i6735189/engineelectrical.gif

You may be getting some spark but not enough to fire the engine. I would try putting the battery on a charge for a while. Maybe you fried the regulator.

[jdowns67]

Does your alternator have a place for 3 wires to be hooked up? I wonder is it possible that the Previous Owner put a different style alternator on it? Unless the alternator has an internal regulator, it has to have a signal (exciter) to "tell" the alternator how much to put out.

[damnskippy]

Did test ignition module and found it was bad. Replaced it and it tried to start then back to just turning over but not running. Can't imagine the timing jumping off or something breaking sitting overnight in the drive.

[medwards01]

Did test ignition module and found it was bad. Replaced it and it tried to start then back to just turning over but not running. Can't imagine the timing jumping off or something breaking sitting overnight in the drive.

Trust the voice of experience here, anything is possible when it comes to a 30+ year old Bronco. I believe yours is a '77, correct? It's the curse of Early Bronco ownership that things seem to slip, loosen, or break for no apparent reason. It sounds as if you have been turning the engine over repeatedly attempting to start it while searching for the source of your charging problem. It is probable that the engine could have jumped timing or that something has broken internally (timing chain or gears, distributor gear). To rule out whether it has jumped timing or not, mark the location of your distributor with a Sharpie or some other marker. Loosen the hold down clamp and rotate your distributor slightly in one direction or the other while someone turns the ignition key for you. If it has indeed jumped timing, the engine may attempt to start as you move the distributor. If it doesn't start, then you can always put your distributor back to its original position....
cratchhe: :banghead: cratchhe: :banghead: :gunshot: EARLY BRONCO TROUBLESHOOTING BITES THE BIG ONE !!!