Cold weather broke my truck

[cabledawg]

Its an 88 Chevy Burb with a TBI350. About a month ago when we had constant sub-zero temps, it started to get hard to start. Cranking longer before firing, then needing ether when the engine was cold, to needing ether all the time even if I just shut the truck off. Seems to run fine once it starts and a little squirt of ether is all it takes to fire up. With the temps coming back up I though the issue would go away, but it hasnt.

I've changed out the temp sensor and I ran some Lucas Oil injector cleaner through it. I dont think the fuel system is bad so I'm looking at the ignition system. But before I do anything else, anyone have any suggestions as to what happened? I dont like goose chases and I'm stumped on this problem.

 

[eagle mark]

Check for a weak coil! I seen a few including my sons truck would start and run warm but not cold.

 

[diesel4me]

If it uses an ignition module in the distributor they can do that..it controls the firing of the injectors as well as the spark,and one or the other can fail intermittently or during temparature changes..

A friend has a 2000 Chevy pickup with a 4.8 V8 and he couldn't get the thing to fire up without having to crank it over at least 30 seconds every time the temps dipped below 30 outside..often it refused to idle at first when it finally did fire up,and stall several times,until it warmed up--then the truck started instantly the rest of the day..

He tried replacing the temp sensor,o2 sensor,fuel pump,and made sure the pump was getting a full 12V,and it was...made sure no fuel lines were porus and letting air in,or fuel out,no leaks...he even tried swapping another computer from a junkyard a friend let him borrow,no difference..he thought about the chip in the ignition key being bad,but why would it eventually start then run fine?..he decided not to risk paying for a replacement key..

One day he decided to try something..he put a ceramic electric heater in the cab,and left it on all night recently,when the temps dipped below 10 degrees--the next day when he got in and went to start it--it fired up instantly!..

Finally ,after asking every mechanic he knew if they had any guesses,a service technician at a chevy dealer told him it was likely a wiring harness that goes to the ignition switch in the cab!---seems they had a run of them that lose their connections at the plugs when the temparature drops!..-its a short section about a foot long,with two plugs on it...

He bought a new one from the parts department,and it has started perfectly every day since,and its been sub-zero more than once since he replaced it...he battled this problem 2 winters,and wore out a starter,before finally finding out what was causing it...500 bucks and a lot of labor later!..

 

[chicken joe]

x2 on ignition module, this is where i would start. hope you get it figured out soon i hate hearing about people using either to start an engine.

 

[diesel4me]

Me too,especially diesels...though I have had to resort to using starting fluid myself on my truck and small engines,I hate doing it because it always sounds like the piston or connecting rods are shattering when they start up..

There is a "proper" way to use ether--on a diesel,with glow plugs,you should not energize them or disable them before using ether--if you already had them energized its best to disable them,then wait a few minutes for them to cool off before trying to start it with ether--this prevents kickback that busts up stuff...

Also its best to have the engine spinning over full tilt BEFORE you spray the ether into the intake--too often people spray a long healthy squirt in the intake or carb,THEN try starting it,and it results in binding,kick back,and possible damage to engine parts,the starter drive,starter housing or "nose",and sometimes a fire erupts out of the carb too...not a good scenario...though it is difficult or impossible to spray ether in while cranking alone,its best not too be tempted to just "spray and pray"...

 

[cabledawg]

I have a spare coil in the garage so I'll start with that. I might even have a spare ignition module, but I'll save that swap till after the coil is ruled out.

I hate using ether to start up, but it's needed until I can fix whatever is broke. Since I'm usually by myself I just pull the lid off the air filter, fire a quick squirt, lock the filter back down and take my time getting in to start the engine. I tried spraying through the filter, but it unless it's dripping wet it has no effect.

Thanks for the info guys!

 

[AR_K5]

This may sound strange but ether is like methamphetamine to an engine, one you start using it, it can be very hard to stop.

Personally I would start by trickle charging your batter on the lowest (Amp) setting your charger has, and change the spark plugs. It would also be a good time to check the compression on each cylinder while changing the plugs.