New to the Forum (Williys1948)

[Willys1948]

I am restoring a CJ2A that I have had since 1988. Use it to drive around property and hunt in mostly. I want to get it in better shape so it is more reliable. I know there are better vehicles (side by sides etc) to do this in but I really like my old Willy's and so do most of my friends unless we get stalled 2-3 miles from the ranch house.

This has been converted from 6V to 12V system. It has a solenoid and an alternator. I need a wiring diagram that shows how to wire all of this up. It has been worked on by several people and so lots of wires going to all different places and some that don't go anywhere. I will post under appropriate technical area for this.

Thanks

[TJones]

Welcome Willys48!!
You are more than welcome to post any pictures and questions you may have right here.
You came to the right place, there are 3 guys on here that have a answer to any question you may have from the front bumper to the back and if you are willing to tackle into it they will walk you through it step by step.
They will jump in and get you started shortly I'm sure, just check back a little later.
Post some pictures when you can, we love pictures!!!

[LarrBeard]

"This has been converted from 6V to 12V system. It has a solenoid and an alternator. I need a wiring diagram that shows how to wire all of this up. It has been worked on by several people and so lots of wires going to all different places and some that don't go anywhere. I will post under appropriate technical area for this."

As it sits now - does everything work or does it just start and run??

Good pictures of the starter and alternator would be a great starting place. It is always "interesting" to figure out how someone else did a 6-volt to 12-volt conversion, so we may stumble around a bit and even mislead you before we get to where we need to be.

[gmwillys]

Welcome Willys1948!

LarrBeard is our resident electrical genius, so between he and Bmorgil, you'll be in great hands in figuring out exactly what you have hopefully not cooking. In short, you are in great hands! Please post some pictures to show off what you have and what you are working with.

[bmorgil]

gmwillys said "in short" ha-hah couldn't resist!

Definitely send some photos. LarrBeard just loves this stuff.

[TJones]

And there you have it Willys1948!!!!!

[LarrBeard]

Here is a link to CJ 2A wiring information. It is probably the best set or information I have seen, with a variety of diagrams that break things down as well as descriptions of options that may have been made depending on what was available to the modifier.

http://www.cj-2a.com/oldsite/elec/wiring/

As you work through things, be suspicious. Look closely at connections to be sure that old crimped terminals are still securely crimped to a wire's conductors and be very suspicious of new crimped terminals because crimps made with gas pliers or needle nose pliers are not going to be reliable.

Let us know what you find - and post a picture of that lil' critter. (Oh, by the way - there is another '48 frame on the forum just in case you get the urge to start another project ...).

Is the starter the original or was it replaced? A 12-volt conversion can keep the 6-volt starter. It is a big heavy duty unit that won't be damaged by short cranking periods and the faster spin up helps get things cranking on cold mornings.

[LarrBeard]

Ideas just keep coming:

On a 12-volt conversion, the obvious things that have to change are all of the lights, lamps and bulbs and the ignition coil. (You can use the same coil with an external resistor, but by the time you buy a resistor and hook it into the circuit, you are time ahead to get a 12-volt coil. Just make sure you get one that does not require an external resistor. The last guy in there may or may not have done that.

The only accessories that are voltage sensitive are the gas gauge and fuel tank sender.

This is the standard sender for the CJ 2A:

https://www.kaiserwillys.com/fuel-tank-sending-unit-6-or-12-volt-fits-46-64-cj-2a-3a-3b

It also is supposed to fit a number of other vehicles and is touted to be 6 or 12-volt – but there is an Oh-by-the way there. The 12-volt vehicles it originally fit had a 12 to 6-volt regulator for the gauges and instruments. If you hook it directly to 12-volts, you get wildly inaccurate readings and you may damage things.

If you have gas gauge silliness, let us know – nobody I know of is totally satisfied with their gauge/sender setup – we just learn to live with it and keep a gas can handy if we forget where E really is.

[GreyWilz]

That sounds like a fun project! Welcome aboard