I bought an 86 xj6 a couple of months ago for $300. I bought it knowing that it would need some work. Someone put a rock thru the windshield, needs better paint (very little rust ) interior is in ok shape. It had been sitting without being started for 3 years. So I knew there would be some corrosion issues and probably some fuel issues.

I got it home. First thing I did was put a new battery in it. It turned over strong, but didnt start. My buddy started wiggling some of the wires to the coil,while I cranked it, and it fired. It ran rough, but I was able to keep it running for a few minutes before it died. We looked a little closer and sure enough there was a big vaccuum leak. We fixed the vaccuum leak, started it up and it ran beautifully. Idled nicely and everything.

Well, I got a trip permit so that I could get the windshield replaced. I drove it to the glass shopone night so that they could have the car the next day to replace the wind shield. They were able to start it and move it to their shop area. I went to pick the car up the next night after work and it would not start. I towed it home and brainstormed for a few days, what my next move would be.

The next thing I did is tested the coil with my ohm meter. It tested bad, so I replaced the coil. The wires to the coil were also very brittle so I replaced all of them. Still wouldn't start. I got my spark tester out and tested for spark. It was getting spark, but not a crisp blue spark. It was pretty weak. Being fairly certain that the problem was not the new coil, I decided to take a look at the distributor cap. There was a little corrosion, so I cleaned all the contacts and put the cap back on. Still wouldn't start. I checked for spark again and it was the same, very weak.

I have exhausted about all my ideas. The only other thing I can think of is maybe replace the cap and roter. Does that sound like a good next step?

Does anyone out there have any other Ideas? What would cause weak spark like that. I am fairly certain that is where my problem is. I need to get better spark.

This has me baffled because it was running so beautifully before I had the windshield replaced

 

I appreciate the help. I don't thbink you are trying to bust my *****. This is the kind of reply I was hoping for. Basic info. There are many times when stuff leads back to simple ground issues and the like.

As far as the thing s to check that you mentioned above, I have done all those. To me it does sound like a ground issue though. I got under the car and found one ground strap on the passenger side of the engine compartment. I sanded it down to make sure it had good contact. This was the last thing I did. As far as charging the battery, I have had my charger on it because I knew it would need it while I tried to crank it.

I guess the next step is changing th cap and rotor. I will keep you posted.