What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

CK1500 won't start....

Queasyrida

Queasyrida

Registered Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2016
Posts
66
Reaction score
21
Location
Northern Maine
My '90 Blazer is put away for the winter. My '93 Chevy 1500 4wd quit running. It was hard starting for a week, now it won't start. Symptom: When it would start, it would crank 10-20 seconds and then fire. Black smoke would come from the tail pipe, and then shortly it would clear out. It ran smoothly and strong, doing a lot of snow plowing. Finally no start. Checking on line, the temp sensor is frequently a failure, causing the ECU to "think" it's 40 below, causing a very rich condition. I changed the sensor and plugs as they were fouled. Still no start. I tried ether and dumping a little gas right in the TBI. Didn't fire. I'm guessing no spark. Not familiar with ECU controlled ignitions, not sure where to start. It was getting dark and no one around to help me check for spark. I need advice how to systematically check my ignition. It's a 350 w/5 speed manual. Thanks!
 
Last edited:
verify no spark, or weak spark... gonna be a coil more than likely.... ignition modules just cr@p out usually.. coils often get weak and hard start, TBI yr coils are notorious for it..... just did one on my 91 4.3/5 spd last month.. it gave me a few start issues, than wouldn't start. spark was weak and yellow... new, fired right up..
 
ryoken said:
verify no spark, or weak spark... gonna be a coil more than likely.... ignition modules just cr@p out usually.. coils often get weak and hard start, TBI yr coils are notorious for it..... just did one on my 91 4.3/5 spd last month.. it gave me a few start issues, than wouldn't start. spark was weak and yellow... new, fired right up..
Click to expand...
Probably a good item to change anyway, just turned 250,004 miles! Does it have a separate ignition module, or is it ECU controlled? I'll change it tomorrow, thanks..
 
Update: I changed the ignition coil, nice fat blue spark. But still no start. I tried pouring a little gas down the TBI, floored it to open the throttle blades, it didn't try to run or even fire. Not sure which way to go on this, I checked for codes, nothing showed up. What throws me off is, other than hard starting, is that it ran fine after less than a minute warm-up, good power and smooth idle. It would start promptly for the rest of the day. Should I check fuel pressure? It doesn't have a fuel rail or a test port that I can see, I'm not sure how to do it.
ryoken said:
ignition module is in the dizzy..
Click to expand...
 
well, fuel, spark, air.... if it has spark, and you dump gas in it, or a shot of ether, it should light off... may not run, but should light off... are you checking spark at the plugs?
 
I checked the spark at the coil wire. I'll pull the cap tomorrow. Yeah, it should light, even if it jumped timing somehow, or pop back through the FI or something.......Very strange!
Thanks for helping....
 
that's why you should always check spark at the end of the plug wire... have they been pulled at any point recently? you'd be amazed at what horrible plugs will do.. I replace eleventy thousand sets a year in the boats...
 
Yes, I changed the plugs at the start of all this. They were old and gas fouled, with carbon tracks on the porcelain center electrode. Now the wires could be bad, but all of them at once? The day before, the engine started a little better than it had been and settled right in for the day. That's what's confusing, the clues don't give an obvious failure of anything. I was plowing snow that day, that's a hell of a load on the engine and it ran fine.....
I'll pull the dist cap today, but I don't know what to expect. With zero temperatures and nearly three feet of snow on the ground, this has been a real pain in the ass. I had just retired my '95 Ford plow truck, the frame was so rusted, I pulled the front diff control arm right off the frame! And it's still running. F*ck!
 
it's not that all the plug wires are bad, but it put's the cap/rotor and wires into the spark test loop... yeah, fug that working on sh*t in snow.... when I was younger yeah, ;)
 
I'd try another distributor rotor--had a few that looked 100% perfect,yet wouldn't let the engine start (and good spark at the plugs when I checked too,but evidently it jumped to ground inside the distributor when the plugs were trying to fire under compression)..

If the ignition module on yours controls the fuel injectors and the spark,I have seen many only fail on "one side",they get no pulse sent to the injectors,or the coil wont make spark,one or the other,or both,and not all the time,it can come and go and run ok at times,then refuse to start..
 
Very interesting, thanks Diesel. It's probably going to come down to something like that, an obscure failure, one that doesn't come to mind. It's guys like the ones on this forum that have been there, done that, that make this a challenging, fun hobby...... Thankfully I have a buzz cut, I'd be pulling my hair out.....

One half of the module failing? How did you ever find that?!
 
Looks familiar--my 6.2 in my plow truck refused to start every storm I got the past month here ,due to weak batteries that have been in the pickup since I got it in '03,and they were likely at least a few years old then !..its always when you need a vehicle to run the most that you'll have the most trouble with it..

Maybe you can swap the plow onto the "will run" vehicle ?..:thinking:.

Trial and error is how 90% of these types of ignition/fuel problems get solved--in the case of the ignition modules,swapping a known good one or new one is about the only real test--those "testers" at parts stores aren't always reliable..
--they can read "good" when the module is failing ,and bad when they are ok,and few employees know just how to operate those testers and probably kill more good ones than anything..also I tend to think they may have the tester rigged to say your parts are faulty,just to sell more too..
 
The "Will run" truck has a plow too, but is a '95 Ford F150 4wd that is so rusted, you can actually see through the frame everywhere! That's the one that the left control arm pulled out of the disintegrating frame. "Built Ford Tough!".
Update: Finally had a friend come by and crank the engine for me. Great spark at the coil, nothing at the plugs.... We're closing in! Started raining, I'm tired, tomorrow is another day....
 
Good spark at the coil,not at the plugs,is usually a distributor cap or rotor failure...

Good luck--I know how it sucks when the plow truck is down..

Maybe time to get some angle or channel iron and bolt or weld that Ford frame back together...good enough for "yard truck" status at least..

I have an '85 K-10 Suburban with a nice Diamond plow thats never been registered since I got it in '09 ,but if I had to put that in action it would require installing 2 batteries and probably an hour or more of fiddling and cranking to "maybe" get its 6.2 diesel to start..I've had to crank that thing so long every time I go to start it (especially below 30 degrees),I'm surprised the starter hasn't died yet..

And it is parked in a spot where it would be difficult to get it out of if we had a good amount of snow--also the 700R4 in it ,according to the previous owner,loses reverse without warning,and wont go into overdrive..(reverse has always worked in the driveway,but the last thing I need is a plow truck that cant back up after making a first pass .but the frame isn't rotted yet !--not much left of the rockers and door bottoms though...:(..wasn't my smartest investment really,and I know better than to leave a vehicle sitting for long too..:crazy:
 
Good spark at the coil,not at the plugs,is usually a distributor cap or rotor failure...

Good luck--I know how it sucks when the plow truck is down..

Maybe time to get some angle or channel iron and bolt or weld that Ford frame back together...good enough for "yard truck" status at least..

I have an '85 K-10 Suburban with a nice Diamond plow thats never been registered since I got it in '09 ,but if I had to put that in action it would require installing 2 batteries and probably an hour or more of fiddling and cranking to "maybe" get its 6.2 diesel to start..I've had to crank that thing so long every time I go to start it (especially below 30 degrees),I'm surprised the starter hasn't died yet..

And it is parked in a spot where it would be difficult to get it out of if we had a good amount of snow--also the 700R4 in it ,according to the previous owner,loses reverse without warning,and wont go into overdrive..(reverse has always worked in the driveway,but the last thing I need is a plow truck that cant back up after making a first pass .but the frame isn't rotted yet !--not much left of the rockers and door bottoms though...:(..wasn't my smartest investment really,and I know better than to leave a vehicle sitting for long too..:crazy:
 
diesel4me said:
Good spark at the coil,not at the plugs,is usually a distributor cap or rotor failure...

Good luck--I know how it sucks when the plow truck is down..

Maybe time to get some angle or channel iron and bolt or weld that Ford frame back together...good enough for "yard truck" status at least..

I have an '85 K-10 Suburban with a nice Diamond plow thats never been registered since I got it in '09 ,but if I had to put that in action it would require installing 2 batteries and probably an hour or more of fiddling and cranking to "maybe" get its 6.2 diesel to start..I've had to crank that thing so long every time I go to start it (especially below 30 degrees),I'm surprised the starter hasn't died yet..

And it is parked in a spot where it would be difficult to get it out of if we had a good amount of snow--also the 700R4 in it ,according to the previous owner,loses reverse without warning,and wont go into overdrive..(reverse has always worked in the driveway,but the last thing I need is a plow truck that cant back up after making a first pass .but the frame isn't rotted yet !--not much left of the rockers and door bottoms though...:(..wasn't my smartest investment really,and I know better than to leave a vehicle sitting for long too..:crazy:
Click to expand...
Thanks Diesel. I'll pull the cap tomorrow. I talked to the previous owner in NC today, he said "Oh yeah, the dist cap is only on by one screw, the other one in back where you can't see it is broken off..." I did try to move the dist by hand a day or two ago, it wasn't loose. But I'll bet I'll find something related to it tomorrow. Could be dirt in there....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom