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73 K-5 won't idle "Help"......Update!!!

dontoe

dontoe

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73 K-5 won\'t idle \"Help\"......Update!!!

My stock 350 won't idle when it's a hot day and the motor warms up. It just dies every time ya put it in gear unless you hold the pedal down some. Tried adjusting the idle mixture but no help there? /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

[ QUOTE ]
My stock 350 won't idle when it's a hot day and the motor warms up. It just dies every time ya put it in gear unless you hold the pedal down some. Tried adjusting the idle mixture but no help there? /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

[/ QUOTE ] Sounds like vapor lock. I add a inline electric fuel pump on a on/off switch to cure that problem. When it bogs down, turn on the swich. (Note, you'll keep the stock fuel pump on the side of the engine, do not remove or dissconect it.)
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

It doesn't really bog down, just dies. Every time you come to a stop it dies but anything else is fine. New HEI installed a few months ago.
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

Where are you pulling the power for your HEI? You can't use your stock wire. There's not enough voltage running through it.

Depending on what carb you are using, that sounds like your choke is bad. I had a similar problem in my '74. I ended up needing the carb rebuilt. I am still running the original Q-jet with the old style mechanical choke. What are you running. We need a little more info /forums/images/graemlins/ears.gif
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

Yes I used the points wire. The one I tried to use from the fuse block loses voltage when you turn the key. But it rtuns really strong always except when it is really a hot day. Engine isn't over heating.
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

[ QUOTE ]
Yes I used the points wire. The one I tried to use from the fuse block loses voltage when you turn the key

[/ QUOTE ]

Even though it's running OK, it's still not getting enough spark. On your fuse block, there should be a couple open spades that say "ign". These should only be hot when you have the key on. You need to run at least a 10 ga. wire from one of those spades through a 10 amp fuse (go with a Radio Shack inline fuse) to your HEI. You may not have issues now, but you will in the future if you don't correct it. I also ran mine through an under dash switch as an ign. kill switch. Helps prevent theft since I run w/out my top for several months at a time, and you have to know it's there in order to turn it on /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

I did that when I first put in the dist. I didn't get any voltage when the switch was turned to the start position. But it is worth trying again. Thanks. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif Oh yea.Stock carb everything still stock except the MSD dist.and new wires and plugs gaped for HEI. Problem only recently started and seems to be getting worse. Only when the motor gets completely warmed up on a hot day.
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

It could be a vaccuum leak occurring when something gets hot and expands,have you checked the base gasket??.There is a "hot idle compensator"built into the carb(if you still have the quadrajet)that may not be working right.Check all the hoses and fittings for vaccuumm leaks,maybe your PVC valve or its hose is clogged or broken. Also if you have an idle stop solenoid,it will stall if it loses power(bad wire or blown fuse)or if solenoid is junk--make sure it pops out when the key is turned on.Hope I helped--its hard to diagnose this kind of problem "over the phone",so to say!. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

Thanks, almost always the troubleshooting is the hard part. Idle speed seems normal. I checked the most obvious things, pcv, vacuum leaks and all. It idles fine then poof, dies! I'll check the voltage on the supply wire and squirt some oil around checking for leaks though it seems like maybe an ignition prtoblem.....maybe. After the problem starts (the engine is really warmed up on a hot day) you can't even put it in gear without it dying. I've got an edelbrock carb and preformer intake on a 350 I pulled outof me K-10 I intend to install soon. Might be very soon!
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

I had a problem similar to yours once,my truck would start and run ok--until I put it in drive and tried to accelerate,the motor would spit back and die,until you let off the gas,then it idled real slow,slower,slower still,then stall.I changed just about everything,carb,wires,fuel pump and filters,no improvement.
Then my brother,a longtime GM tech looked at it---all it was was the distributor rotor had "punched through" under the spring thing,and would ground out on the distributor shaft under load! /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif--he also said the pick up coil in the distributor might have had broken wires and could be losing continuity when the vaccuum advance moved the pickup coil--the rotor fixed it for 3.99,after I pulled my hair out for 3 days and spent about 100 bucks for an unneeded tune up. /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif /forums/images/graemlins/doah.gif
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

Thanks. It seems like a similar problem but I put a new HEI MSD brand billet dist. in a couple of weeks ago. Problem only starts when the engine has been driven for a hour or so and progressively gets worse untill it cools off again. Doesn't seem to be overheating. It is a misty rainy day and no garage, yecuh!
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

Have you tried letting the engine warm-up in park? Will it still run then?

Was the carb tuned with the enging completely warmed up?
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

[ QUOTE ]
Problem only starts when the engine has been driven for a hour or so and progressively gets worse untill it cools off again

[/ QUOTE ] A light bulb just went off for me. I had the EXACT same problem in my '79. It was my coil heating up. Next time it dies, if you can, put the back of your hand over the coil. It should be warm, but not so hot it'll burn you. If it's that hot, your coil might be heating up and shorting out. It may not be what is wrong with yours, but I know of a few others who have had the exact same problem. I took your post to mean that it died as soon as the eng warmed up no matter what.

Also, are you "sure" you're getting at least 12V to the coil from your power source? The opposite could also be happening. When the engine is cold, the choke is letting in a lot of air to help keep it firing. Low voltage = weak spark, but you wouldn't notice too much during warm up because the choke is compensating for it by dumping huge amounts of air into the system. Once the engine warms up, the choke starts restricting air flow. With restricted air flow and weak spark, you're engine can't run. If there isn't enough spark to keep the cylinders firing, the compression of the engine itself is enought to kill it as soon as you put it in gear and the engine is "under load". That's why you have to floor it to keep it running. You need the air.

Anyway just a couple thoughts. I could be wrong, and if I am, I'm sure somebody here will be more than happy to recalibrate my thinking. /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

I want to thank all my brothers (Ya'll fellow members) It's a miserable hot and humid evening with scattered showers so I guess I'll drive the P.O.S. untill Friday evening as I work twelve hour days two on, two off, three on, and so forth. I'll hot wire the dist. first and go from there. Great having so imput from intelligent and generous people.

/forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

[ QUOTE ]
Great having so imput from intelligent and generous people.


[/ QUOTE ]

I know you can't be talking about me! /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif When you get it figured out, let me know. It seems that something is always wigging out on my K5. So any 'forehand knowledge I can get is like $$ in the bank to me! /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

He cant be talking about me either!I just try to help people out--after you work at a parts store for 20 years,you get to see and hear a lot of different problems and symptoms,then you buy a few junks of your own!
I agree that his coil could be dying,when they get hot they are most likely to crap out--I've seen pick up coils that would run perfect for days,then stall a truck 10 times in 1 day,and if you gave it a cold bath or shot of freon and cooled it,it would start right up again--until it got warm again. Your also right about the HEI voltage--if its too LOW it might make the coil hot,maybe like when your starter smokes when the battery gets low,like a "brownout"!.The ignition module has a dwell advance built into it,I have seen some that still ran the truck(tested good on the tester)but showed no increase in dwell after 2000 rpm like it should have,a new module made it run much better,but in that case the owner was having acceleration problems,not a poor idle or stalling.Cheap (non GM no-name)modules somtimes dont have the dwell advance curcuit at all--and it does affect the performance and mileage quite a bit.
Hope you get to figure it out--and let everyone here know what fixed it! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

[ QUOTE ]
I want to thank all my brothers (Ya'll fellow members)

/forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Ya'll "sumbeaches" are GOOD /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif

Ran a new 10 ga wire to the Dist. and Perfect idle!!! Can't tank ya enough for the assistance as when I try different stuff and nothing helps I get discourged and it's great having others to toss ideas back and forth with. Intelligent people that is...........well smarter than them Ford people anyway! /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif
 
Re: 73 K-5 won\'t idle

/forums/images/graemlins/peace.gif /forums/images/graemlins/peace.gif /forums/images/graemlins/peace.gif /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/woot.gif /forums/images/graemlins/woot.gif /forums/images/graemlins/woot.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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