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Truck won't start

HoytHarris

HoytHarris

1/2 Ton Status
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Jul 5, 2015
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Huntsville
So a few days ago I was driving my 1990 GMC Jimmy perfectly normal with no problems at all, and then left it parked for two days and when I come back, it barely starts and as I'm driving (about a 6 mile drive) the engine (from what I could tell) kept cutting out on me and kicking back in almost immediately kicked back in, and after having it parked another day overnight it now will not start. It will crank but will not turn over. What is the problem?
 
Check charging system as well. Bad alternator will give low voltage to the TBI system and cause hiccups.
 
Check battery and alternator, have them both tested. A bad battery can have many many symptoms, some that you would never guess until they happen to you.
 
Alright update. I got the truck started but it was running extremely rough but then seemed to work itself out and was running fine again. I let it sit for a few hours and then drone it about 15 miles when I started getting really bad and loud pops coming from the engine, along with the engine hesitating when accelerating. I stopped to get gas and could smell a burning smell from the tailpipe, and so I assumed I had previously gotten bad gas that was contaminated with water so I went and got a fuel additive that removes water, and on the drive home while driving up a steeper hill, I lost complete power to the engine and had to take another route home. Any explanations??
 
HoytHarris said:
Just replaced distributor and spark plugs, running great again!
Click to expand...
Too late to tell you almost --- but not quite --- the same thing.

Secondary voltage failure is usually the problem here - or lack of it really.

You might have gotten away with just a cap/rotor, but all is well that ends well. Hope you got some good plugs that don't start with a "C" on them.

PS: forget about water in the fuel. It just doesn't happen any more except in Mexico, Bangladesh and possibly Italy.

Yeah - Italy is more than possible - it's very LIKELY a problem there. You're not in Italy, are you?​

The smell from the tailpipe is unburned (really, unignited fuel from the non-arcing plugs) gas that is hitting a hot cat and just burning off inside the case. Cats don't like that.
 
If you replaced the whole distributor it could have been a bad ignition module or pick up coil. Glad to hear it's running good for you.
 
Rhat's
wheels87k5 said:
If you replaced the whole distributor it could have been a bad ignition module or pick up coil. Glad to hear it's running good for you.
Click to expand...

That's the trouble with using a shotgun method to repair something. You can't tell what actually fixed it as there were so many parts involved that ONE of them may have been the whole problem - but we'll never know.

I just hate throwing $$ into a job without fully diagnosing it first. But this worked out OK - expensive maybe - but success was had by all.

Everybody got fat - especially the parts house.
 
Agree. That's exactly what I did when I first got my K5 years ago. And that is why I have spare sensors still in the box. Including a spare distributor. :doah:
 
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