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so my lt let me use his voltometer and his light tester. it was getting too dark and too cold to try to get anything done tonight. im gonna get out there tommorow when the sun is out and see what i can establish is going on. but i am gonna also try to see if it is the ignition. but i get power to the ignition and it turns over so i highly doubt its that but ill give it a check anyways. ill let everyone know what the deal is after i check it out.

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stock '76 luv, work in progress

oh and if anyone can help me locate parts for my luv that would be awesome. i live at ft. irwin in california. its right around the barstow victorville area. oh and its a 76 luv.

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stock '76 luv, work in progress

went and looked at it. im not getting power to my distributor. from what i understand it s the little yellow wire i have to look at yeah? and i followed another wire coming ff the distributor that goes to a coil that leads to the battery and im not getting power there either. so i dont know at this point. maybe a faulty wire somewhere. i was gonna look at the ignition but when i pulled it out all of the wires are put on there and there is alot of tape surrounding them to hold keep them from going anywhere so i didnt even wanna mess with that. but yeah it still doesnt run and i still have no clue whats wrong with it.

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stock '76 luv, work in progress

Well, my vote is still for the ignition switch, especially because of the tape. Don't get discouraged by it, there are only 5 wires, and one is always hot, so you'll really only have 4 mystery wires.
Another small question: When you turn the key to the "on" position, do the idiot lights for the oil/gen come on, and does the blower come on?
The power for the coil/distriutor comes from the key, so that's where you need to start.

Oh, and if you want to go back to OEM for the ignition switch, the part number is KS6439 at NAPA.

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.

when i turn the key on nothing comes on until i try to turn it over. my uncle is trying to help me out he told me about something that i cant exactly remember at this point. but ill have to delve a little deeper into it. i wanna dig into the ignition but at the same time i dont. i dont want to rip anything apart because i hae to make a drive out to az in less than a week so thats about he time frame i have to get it fixed if i wanna be driving while im on leave.

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stock '76 luv, work in progress

Ignition, ignition, ignition.

The power wire going to it is fine, and so is the start one. It's the running ignition that doesn't have any power. If you listen, I'll bet that it fires and tries to run while you're turning it over, but the second you let it out of the start position, it quits. Right?

Like I said before, pulling the ignition out is a very VERY easy thing to do, and you really shouldn't be afraid of it. The only tool you'll need to pull the switch is a phillips screwdriver. There are two bolts that secure the little plastic pannel to the dash. If you lay in the floor, you should be able to see them, one on each side. Remove them, and the pannel should come off. Likely, one of the wires just came unplugged. To test this whole little hypothesis of mine, you can head up to your fuse box (before you take anything apart), and jump from an always hot fuse to one that should be hot with the ignition on (like from the one marked "tail" to the one marked "heater"). Just be sure to jump from the side of the fuse closest to the fender. Once you've done that, all the gauges should turn on, and the GEN and OIL idiot lights should turn on. If I'm right, it should run with that jumper in the fuse box.

Would you like pics of the whole process? I hope you can figure this out before you get leave... wouldn't want you to be without wheels.

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.

i would love some pictures. anything that could help me. i will have a chance to work on it tommorow cuz its a half day but after that i wont have a whole lot of time because by the time i get off its dark and cold so im not really wanting to work on it. so tommorow is pretty much my last day to get it fixed cuz i leave friday morning/afternoon right after fromation.

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stock '76 luv, work in progress

hey ,thats what i was going to tell you. try that.i'll try to get you pics from the other luv first thing.

tried it and had power to the fuse on the driver side fuse box located on the wheel well but i didnt get any power to the four pronged relay on the passenger side unser the little metal box. any ideas?

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stock '76 luv, work in progress

got it figured out. it runs now. but one of my buddies noticed that my fuel pump is always on. such as key is in the ignition but n ot running the fuel pump is pumping. any ideas?

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stock '76 luv, work in progress

How many things did you jump? Not too sure about the fuel pump relay (four pronged little box, lives under the metal cover on the passenger side) for your year LUV, but I think that it send power to the pump during startup. Key to start position should activate that relay, sending power to the fuel pump. After you release the key, the fuel pump gets its power from the alternator. Maybe you by-passed the fuel pump relay, and now it's always getting power.

Just curious... what did the problem finally turn out to be?

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.

my fuel pump is always on,so was my last luv 79 n 76.both fuel pumps were 'hot wired' to bypass the fuel pump relay which often goes bad,the only danger in this is if you get in a wreck the fuel pump keeps pumping

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76 mikado project,mean green

Relays are cheap, 4th degree burns or dying can be incredibly expensive or incredibly cheap, depending on how you look at it.

BTW, relays are pretty much generic. Just take your busted one to the parts store (don't tell them what it's from), and they'll be able to find one that matches. The fuel cut-off relay and the horn relay on a 2001 Dodge 2500 (diesel) are one and the same... If that puts it into perspective. Kinda like flashers for yer blinkers.

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.

kinda makes sense. if i understood it right a relay is a generic product that can be swapped over from anything pretty much. you just need the same amount of ports i guess and to just wire it right. did i get that right?

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stock '76 luv, work in progress

Yup. The only differences are: the number of prongs, normally open/normally closed, orientation of the prongs.

If you still have the one from your LUV, it is a normally open (NO) type relay. Take it in, and they should be able to find one for ya.

Oh, and serious about not telling them what it's from. If you tell them what it's from, they'll sell you one and charge based on the vehicle. If it fits, it works, and a LUV specific relay is prolly either twice as $$, or non existant.

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.

haha. ok. it ended up being a popped fuse that i couldnt tell was popped until i pulled all the fuses one by one and looked really closely at them. i felt retarded when i finally saw that cuz i was without a vehicle for two weeks for no reason. hahahahahahahahahaha. but ill have to check out the fuel pump realy and figure that thing out after leave cuz ive decided not to take the truck home on leave cuz it cost me 100 bucks in gas one way and i dont make enough money to do that twice within two weeks. privates dont make enough. lol

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stock '76 luv, work in progress

lol, it happens. I've done it too, but not for 2 weeks... you probably have the same amount of time put into figuring it out though. Next time it won't take more than a minute!

For $200, you could rent a car to get around...

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.

definately not. but i hopped in it today to go to a christmas party and there was a loud ass backfire then it starting spitting and sputtering. i turned it off then back on and it idled ok but when i put it in gear and tried to drive the fuel pretty much cut out then revved really high the just went in and out. i dont know what it could be this time. maybe fuel pump or filter? that relay? idk. my luv and i have a love hate relationship. i love it but she hates me with a passion. hahaha. when i get home im gonna try to rebuild a carb and see about some parts for it. but i honestly dont have the slightest cluew of what it could be.

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stock '76 luv, work in progress

huh... maybe it sat there and flooded (did you say that the fuel pump was always running?)
The whole idling fine, and wanting to die when you put it in gear sounds like it's running too rich, and when it started revving like crazy and died sounds like it got to running too lean. Check the fuel level in the bowl of the carburetor. I've never had problems with my carb, so I've never looked for it, but quite a few people say that there's a little glass window on the front of the carb, and the fuel level should be at a little line in the middle.

My guess as to what happened: you started it, and when it backfired, it popped back through the carb and unseated a valve in there, likely the one that the float is attached to, which caused the bowl to overflow, which made your truck run too rich. After a bit, the valve probably re-seated, but then the float stuck in the up position (the float sticking seems to be a common problem), and when your truck used up all the fuel in the bowl, it ran lean, revved up and died.

I'm assuming that it won't start now for lack of fuel, right? First thing to do now is check if there's fuel at the carb. Then, check how much fuel is at the carb (little glass window). After that, replace that relay, which probably caused the whole problem in the first place.

This is all assuming that I understood correctly. lol, you now have compression and spark, but no gas. After the gas is there, you won't be able to stop your little truck!
Mine's getting ready to kick the odometer over for the second time, it's on its third engine, and it would be still only the second had my dad not tried to "knock the spider webs out of it" (rev the $#!7 out of it).

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.

haha. well the truck will start again and it just sounds like a$$. it really does. i havent had a chance to even look at it cuz when it died i was on my way to a company party so i had to kill it push it to a parking spot then hop in a buddies car.

i know what you are talking about with the float so i will have to check that out today when they finally let us go. if its not that it has to be something in the fuel lines or even that relay.

but i plan on rebuilding a carb for it when im home, getting a new fuel pump, and filter, and most definately another relay. but my truck is definately not moving while im on leave. ill have to have my buddies watch her and take care of her for me while im gone. but its all good. ill get her fixed and running like a champ in no time.

oh and i was definately running rich. i could smell it hardcore when it originally died and i was trying to see if i was getting fuel.

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stock '76 luv, work in progress