1988 TBI 350 guru's i need some help

Alright so I bought a ol jeep (1983 CJ-7) from a buddy that has been sittin up for 2-3yrs with little to no attention...I rescued it and got it home and got it running GREAT make a long story short it acted up late last Friday night coming back down Keith Springs Mountain surging on and off missing if I tried to accelerate it got worse and or cut off completely. then would be hard to restart! SOOO knowing the jeep has / had been sittin I did the following ( threw a bunch a parts at it that go like this)

Dist. cap button plugs and wires
coil
fuel pump
fuel filters(2)
Throttle Positon Sensor
Moduel Under the Dist cap ( ignition mod. I think its called)

Since then yesterday the jeep seemed to run great that afternoon I couldn't get it to act up any more like listed above^ I drove it around for a while was getting a good fuel spray at idel and was holding the recommended fuel pressure ( has a gauge on back of TBI)
BUT heres the newest problem seems like after it sits all night and I come out this morning to see how it would start it just turns and turns and turns and turns never bumping a lick? for the heck of it I sprayed just a tiny squirt of starting fluid BOOM fires right up no hesitation and is usually fine for the day it seems like?

what do I do? this is also my first TBI the jeep don't burn or use oil smoke or anything and once its started for the day seems to be fine?
the first problem I listed above always seemed to happen after it had gotten warmed up or ideled for a while its reall hard to explain if you would let it sit for about 10 min after it threw its fine it would fire up like nothing was wrong and run well for another 20 mins lol

It could be possible the injectors in the throttle body are not squirting the fuel in properly.

My atv (carbed) acted similar the other day. Poured a little transmission fluid in fuel ran it til warm (sputtering) tapped side of carb and never had anymore trouble, since.

Could the injector be sticking and the extra bust from starting fluid be allowing it to open? Worst case borrow another tbi to check things out.

Fuel pump. Losing prime sounds like. Pressure can be good, but volume still be too low

muddinmetal said:

Fuel pump. Losing prime sounds like. Pressure can be good, but volume still be too low

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I'm with you on this one. Throw another pump on it and try that. I've gotten a bad one out of the box before. Might consider a FP regulator while you are at it. They are cheap and it'll rule out another potential issue.

Two things coolant temp sensor, they control a lot on tbi. And tbi won't start unless it has 12- 13 volts no matter how fast the starter is turning.

Yeah but the starting fluid got it going when it wouldn't fire, which leads to a fueling problem. I would remove the tank and clean it out completely and replace the fuel pump and fuel pump relay.

I'm with others on fuel pump losing prime. Or since you already changed it double check all your fittings to be sure they are tight. Look around after it has been run also and you may see a leaking fitting after it has had pressure on it.

I missed where you said you had done a pump already. How did everything look?

Install the fuel pressure gauge. Let sit overnight. See if the pump primes and makes fuel pressure before/during startup?

unplug the coolant temp sensor before you crank it when its cold and see how it does

Hillbilly hack, cycle the ignition 4-5 times and let the pump run through it's prime cycle each time after the Jeep has been sitting. Then fire it up.

Definitely sounds like a fuel issue. A lot will depend on how the TBI was wired up. If done correctly there should be a fuel pump relay that energizes for 2 seconds when key is turned on, then cuts off if no crank signal is detected. Relay comes back on when a crank signal is detected to turn on the pump. It gets this signal from the distributor to the ecm. Check for fuel psi first thing in the morning. It kind of sounds like its losing its prime overnight, could easily be just a crap pump out of the box. Also definitely check the temp. sensor, if it is reading a higher temp than actual engine temp., you may not get enough fuel to crank on cold start. If temp sensor is reading inaccurate, I would recommend replacing the sensor and the connector, corrosion in the connector can cause crazy readings also.

I agree with above. You should hear the pump cycle when ignition is turned on and before cranking. if its not using the stock TBI fuel pump relay, someone could have wired it in wrong. I wouldn't go chasing the temp sender. The temp sender is only used to switch from open loop fuel table to closed loop fuel table once its warmed up.

The ECU also uses one wire that needs to see crank signal for injectors to fire when turning over. verify the injectors are spraying while you're cranking it over. Should be a purple/white wire at the ECU. Pin C9

WOW! Thank you all for all the awesome responses........ have yall ever just nearly replaced everything but never checked the little things lol?... well I did... one of the new fuel filters had collapsed and wasn't providing what was needed swapped it with a new one (metal one) all seems good under a load now to. As for the hard starts in the mornings after sitting and stuff I think I had some " grounding" issues I moved a couple and cleaned and added one and Boom keep fires up no issues it seems! I learned a good hard expensive lesson instead of throwing a bunch of expensive parts at it check the obvious and the easy lol!! I apologize for being a dummy also.

Thank you again! all of you! for your kindness and helpfulness! I owe you all a beer or 10!

See you on the trail!

WWEEELLLLLLLLL it did it again but this time I got to see my fuel pressure gauge... its dropping in fuel pressure when under acceleration.... 2 new filters..... and 2 different fuel pumps same thing? WTF

Is your fuel pump inline? If so, is it below the bottom of the tank?

scooter60 said:

Is your fuel pump inline? If so, is it below the bottom of the tank?

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yes sir inline on the frame rail its not nes. below the tank

Do you have 12-13 psi at all times?

muddinmetal said:

Do you have 12-13 psi at all times?

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Negative sir. WHEN it throws its random fits it will sit and idel fine but if you get out and use the throttle by hand to rev it up the gauge goes down to near nothing. I am also going by a gauge that is installed on the back of the TB..... if you hold it wide open while its having a tantrum it will eventually just choke out and die.