blzrdrvr
Registered Member
I was driving my '84 K10 the other day, and the check engine light came on! I'm so confused...
CK5
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W.t.h.?!?!
- Thread starter blzrdrvr
- Start date
Likely you've got the CCC system. You can google CCC quadrajet and there will probably be ample photos.
I am unsure if the ESC/EST setups (305 only, non-CCC trucks) used a check engine light. You'll have to let us know which you have, either CCC or ESC/EST. As far as I can remember, the only trucks to get CCC were CA emissions designated.
If you have CCC, your best solution, since you already have a check engine light in the dash, is to swap to TBI immediately. That light is like 90% of the work to go TBI lol. Do not waste money on CCC parts.
I am unsure if the ESC/EST setups (305 only, non-CCC trucks) used a check engine light. You'll have to let us know which you have, either CCC or ESC/EST. As far as I can remember, the only trucks to get CCC were CA emissions designated.
If you have CCC, your best solution, since you already have a check engine light in the dash, is to swap to TBI immediately. That light is like 90% of the work to go TBI lol. Do not waste money on CCC parts.
Its a reminder to make sure your engine is still attached to the truck. 
2 years ago my CEL light would come on occasionally ('86 K5 350 - CCC - Cali) but only after heavy rain or dew. figured it was some kind of gas/water contamination or a short? Eventually stopped so I didn't mess with it. Local smog guy was surprised that it still works and how the light would cycle off after the engine starts. He told me that the majority of the CEL on cars this old weren't working anymore. So I was messing with him and asked "isn't it an automatic fail if the CEL not working?" he just gave me a blank stare...
blzrdrvr
Registered Member
I feel bad
Guys, I'm sorry. Bubba and Dyeager, I thought I was being funny...Dyeager, I apologize most regretfully.
You had the most thoroughly thought-through responses I had never expected to get- I had no idea that older trucks like the one i described actually had "engine warning lights"...thus I thought my "joke" would be well received. I wanted to say this earlier, but i left my line in the water to "catch more fish".
I learned something. (For the record the ESTC Module did go out on me, bought a new one, have since changed to a "one wire" dizzy, engine was originally fitted with a carb, and still is.) Since you guys know so much about this confounded thing, I would like to know more about it, pls PM me with reading material so I can understand what GM was trying to do. For example: I know the Electronic Spark Timing Control is there to prevent knock, yet it seems unnecessary, evidenced by the millions who have bypassed that system.
jekquistk5: Pretty good! If I lived in a rough part of town, I might actually need to do that!
Guys, I'm sorry. Bubba and Dyeager, I thought I was being funny...Dyeager, I apologize most regretfully.
You had the most thoroughly thought-through responses I had never expected to get- I had no idea that older trucks like the one i described actually had "engine warning lights"...thus I thought my "joke" would be well received. I wanted to say this earlier, but i left my line in the water to "catch more fish". I learned something.
(For the record the ESTC Module did go out on me, bought a new one, have since changed to a "one wire" dizzy, engine was originally fitted with a carb, and still is.) Since you guys know so much about this confounded thing, I would like to know more about it, pls PM me with reading material so I can understand what GM was trying to do. For example: I know the Electronic Spark Timing Control is there to prevent knock, yet it seems unnecessary, evidenced by the millions who have bypassed that system. jekquistk5: Pretty good! If I lived in a rough part of town, I might actually need to do that!
Check the link in my sig for the manuals. ESC/EST should be referenced from 1986 back to about 1981 or 1982. Somewhere in the service manual it should talk about it. One person said the links contained a virus, but that may be an antivirus problem vs. a file problem.
Gist of it is, the 305 was higher compression than any other GM engine being produced at the time, but still had bad combustion characteristics due to the (very) old tech cylinder heads. That, coupled with questionable gas and probably many other factors (to include an EGR failure) could cause knock more readily than with the lower compression engines. Since it was more likely, GM apparently thought it best to give the owner some "insurance" to make sure the engine didn't destroy itself if something went wrong.
Gist of it is, the 305 was higher compression than any other GM engine being produced at the time, but still had bad combustion characteristics due to the (very) old tech cylinder heads. That, coupled with questionable gas and probably many other factors (to include an EGR failure) could cause knock more readily than with the lower compression engines. Since it was more likely, GM apparently thought it best to give the owner some "insurance" to make sure the engine didn't destroy itself if something went wrong.
scottsdale86
1/2 ton status
My 84 K5 still has a fully functional ccc, differential pressure switch (map sensor) o2 sensor, smog pump, electronic distributor and egr. It all works fine and if you understand it can be easy to fix and diagnose. Basically any obd1 testing will direct you to what the issues are. Now what you should he concerned most with is if your vehicle is a California emission vehicle or federal emissions vehicle. Federal emissions will have much less of the computer controlled stuff on it thus held to a lower emission standard.
