bad idle

[blazinbg]

I went to get a smog check two weeks ago and failed, I was told by the tech bad EGR or cat. converter so i decided to replace both. when replacing the EGR I also replaced the cap and rotor (plugs and wires relatively new) went back to smog station and passed. couple days later started the truck fine and took off in the morning not even a mile down the road at light the truck cuts off got it to start again but it made loud explosions. now the truck idles very low to the point of cutting off and now have engine noise in my speakers. any ideas of what might be happening. help appreciated!!!!

 

[bradshawtech]

What part of Ca. are you in?
I would guess that the dist. cap came loose or some ignition failure.
Start checking what you changed, I would guess it will be associated with the recent tune-up.

 

[blazinbg]

I re-checked the cap and rotor and the rotor had some plastic shavings cleaned it up and reinstalled and with my mechanical abilities I must have moved or done somthing wrong, now it wont even start.

 

[Fordum]

The shavings are a clue as to the problem. I assume that they are from the distributor cap?. If so, something has caused the rotor to hit the cap. I would grab the rotor shaft and see if it will wiggle. Also, check the rotor closely and the cap. If you have the old ones I would put them back on and see if it cranks.
Plus, I would bump the engine around until the timing mark is pointing at the indicator and then see where the rotor is pointing.
Every other revolution, it should be pointing at the no. 1 plug wire.
The timing chain may have jumped time.

J.

 

[Fordum]

Oops, just remembered the noise in the radio. You are getting sparks where you shouldn't. I would suspect a cracked dist. cap. I know its new, but new ones go bad too.
The ignition noise you are hearing is the sparks going somewhere besides the plugs.
If you can, go outside when its dark, turn off all the light, and have someone crank the truck while you watch the dist for sparks. Bet you will see some.

J.

 

[bigmike72]

Figured I'd jump in, agreed with Fordum...you need to figure out what's going with the shavings inside the distributor by following his advice (did the rotor hit the cap? Is the cap cracked? Is the rotor shaft loose?). Shavings, scrapes, anything like that inside the rotor housing/cap is not normal and there is definitely a problem that needs to be sorted out. How old is that distributor? If its unknown then I'd pull the whole thing out to check the condition of the gear and everything else. Might be time for a new distributor.

Once that is sorted out, I'd also check the timing on the engine (which you should do if you pull the distributor anyhow). It's not going to run right if the timing is off, bad idle, low power etc...

 

[blazinbg]

so I finally replaced the cap and rotor again while i was there noticed the connections to the ignition module were messed up i pulled one at the junk yard and replaced it also noticed the ignition module had some rust replaced it and fires up great and runs back to normal. but I still have engine noise in my speakers any ideas?

 

[Fordum]

OK, just to be sure, you are talking a popping noise like from the plugs, right? I once worked on a car with "ignition noise" for an hour before finally cranking it up and found out it was alternator whine......
If so, first and easiest thing is the night time check. Go out at night with all the lights off and crank it up. Look for sparks. Also, listen for them. You could have a plug wire not all the way down on a plug and arcing inside the boot.
Does this model have the little filter cap to ground like the old point types had inside the distributor? Those old ones prevented point arcing and erosion, but the new pointless ones have a cap for noise suppression.
Also, any chance you moved an antenna wire and got it loose?
Plus, make sure all the grounds are still in place. Such as one from the body to the hood.

J.