I just got a 1988 Commanche SporTruck for free! 2.5L AX4 2WD D35.

Currently it has been sitting for about a year and today my friend helped me tow it up to the driveway with his tractor to work on it. It cranks just fine and seems to be getting fuel but has no spark at all. There is a harness coming out of the dist with a 3 pin connector on the end that is unplugged and I cannot find where it should go. Also the dist has a vac advance on it and its currently capped off and I cannot locate the Vac line that should be hooked to it. The coil tests good and everything else on the truck seems in great shape other than a bit of rust on the floorboards and a thick coat of grime on the paint.

Where does the wiring from the dist plug into? And how do I test the CPS to make sure that is not bad?

 

there's no vacuum advance that's just a vent.

that connector is for the cam position sensor. without that plugged in, you won't get spark. the plug should be next to that block in some area or another

 

I have been reading the FSM for a 88 cherokee with the 2.5 and it says that there should be NO electrical connectors other than the plug wires on the dist. Now im confused!

 

thats not accurate. your fsm probably encompasses the 84-85 xj's as well.

look in the fuel injected 2.5 section, if there is one. I'm 99% sure that there is a wiring connector for a cam position sensor on that distributor...but I can't remember fom the last 2.5 86 I had.

 

I'm trying to find the 2.5l rebuild manual.. the fuel injection manual and the 88 MJ fsm both say the same thing.. that there is no connections on the distributor. But the section on the distributor say consult the 2.5l rebuild manual. But the drawing in the FSM shows the distributor just as you describe it. With a part that looks like a vacuum advance and a three prong plug, just hanging down.

 

Got it running today! IT turned out to be a dirty connection to the CPS. The dist works fine with the vac advance plugged and the 3pin connector just dangling there.