Another problem

[lilbuddy]

Power washed my motor after the whole failed front main seal repair. It was runnign great and doin fine while power washing it then it died. tried to start it and nothing. Took off the dist cap and it was wet so i dried it and it started... Now it has a really weird problem and I dont know what to do. The dist cap is dry and i dont know what else to check...

What its doing, under a load especially in reverse and just reving to like 1100 and slowly letting out the clutch it sputters and wants to die, usually does die, the tach starts shooting up to like 4500RPM the temp goes past the red zone and the charge goes down to about 5 volts. Its obviously a massive electrical problem. It mainly just does it in reverse... Today going down the road when its still in gear and i let off the gas it sometime does it and the charge goes down tach starts surging and the temp goes past red, then the check engine comes on for a sec then comes off (does that in reverse too). It doesnt die though since im still rolling but it obviously has a massive electrical surge. Its way weird, I have no idea whats wrong...

Obviously dont power wash your motor no need for some  hole to write that. Ive done it before and it still ran fine but now its doin this weird problem..

[DTB]

probably something just got wet..let it dry out and keep your fingers crossed....


maybe pop the hood up and put a fan on it dunno bud

[lilbuddy]

probably something just got wet..let it dry out and keep your fingers crossed....


maybe pop the hood up and put a fan on it dunno bud

Thats what im hoping too...

I dont know ive also been driving it enough that it should have dried out by now but still nothing. Its so weird how its doing it in mainly reverse only. i have to use low low to back up, so gay. I cant give it gas either or else it does all that crazy

[jimbo74]

wierd how it only does it in reverse.....

i wonder if the ecu got any water, through the grommet in the firewall?

[fordh8r]

  I went through a mudhole once (actually twice  ) and my rig died as I came outa the mudhole and onto dry ground. A half hour later   it finally would start for no apparent reason (besides having been wet) and it ran like crap (and we wheeled it) for another couple hours before whatever was still wet finally dried out. I had to turn up the idle to keep it from shutting off and after it ran better I turned the idle back down and all was good.  

 Moral of the story, maybe just let it dry out and see what happens. If water can get in it, it should be able to dry out of it.  Don't panic yet LILBUDDY.    

[lilbuddy]

wierd how it only does it in reverse.....

i wonder if the ecu got any water, through the grommet in the firewall?

Im just clarifying not just for you but for everybody else,

NOT ONLY IN REVERSE. Just MAINLY in reverse.

No water got over there. I think it has to do when when it gets put in reverse it puts a fat draw on the charging system (dont know if anybody elses truck does but mine does in reverse and so did my 81) and when it does that it just starts like surging power or something... I have no idea. Thats why im asking.

  I went through a mudhole once (actually twice  ) and my rig died as I came outa the mudhole and onto dry ground. A half hour later  it finally would start for no apparent reason (besides having been wet) and it ran like crap (and we wheeled it) for another couple hours before whatever was still wet finally dried out. I had to turn up the idle to keep it from shutting off and after it ran better I turned the idle back down and all was good. 

  Moral of the story, maybe just let it dry out and see what happens. If water can get in it, it should be able to dry out of it.  Don't panic yet LILBUDDY.   

Not panicing, just getting pissed off

[lilbuddy]

Maybe I just answered my own question, maybe i fried my alternator or something having to do with the alternator.

Its weird though cause its fine going forward for the most part

[jimbo74]

i was jsut thinking maybe the volt regulator or the diodes in the alternator....

could also be a battery issue if the alt isnt working right, i know cars run like poop if the battery is trying to run the car

[lilbuddy]

I came to the conclusion that I think I fried my distributor. Reason for that is when I let off the gas driving forward i can watch everything just like surge. I dont think its the alt anymore because itd still run off the batt and for the little amount of time that i let off the gas it shouldnt kill the battery that fast. I think something in the distributor is short circuiting or something. Either that or its gotta be the coil cause when im driving forward what pretty much happens is it starts dieseling and then stops and check engine stays on  for like 10 seconds and turns off

[Duffil]

I came to the conclusion that I think I fried my distributor. Reason for that is when I let off the gas driving forward i can watch everything just like surge. I dont think its the alt anymore because itd still run off the batt and for the little amount of time that i let off the gas it shouldnt kill the battery that fast. I think something in the distributor is short circuiting or something. Either that or its gotta be the coil cause when im driving forward what pretty much happens is it starts dieseling and then stops and check engine stays on  for like 10 seconds and turns off

pull the cap and let it dry out for a while[the inside of the dissy].  the only thing in there is a pickup coil and a rotor.

[brainlessfool]

short in a back-up light?

[lilbuddy]

pull the cap and let it dry out for a while[the inside of the dissy].  the only thing in there is a pickup coil and a rotor.

Thats sometimes hard for me when I run around way too much...

Ill try it when I can though.

short in a back-up light?

No it does it forward too and it totally kills my motor, it has to do with the ignition on the motor

[germ]

dude,

i dont think you neccessarily fried anything, but it's definatly got a short somewhere, and the water is giving you an intermittent ground, which is thowing everything haywire. I'm assuming it's only been a couple of hours since you did this, looking at the times of your posts. Let it dry out over night, and it will probably be OK in the morning.

I would start looking at a few different things. First would be the EFI wiring harness. Have heard these tend to get shorts in them fairly easily, and shooting water in there could cause havoc. The whole reverse thing is kinda unusual, and would suggest that the reverse lights may have a short to something in the ECU or something else, which is why it runs so poorly in reverse. Not sure that anything except the lights change by putting it in reverse, so that's why I suggest that.

Kinda doubt the distributor or the coil, as reverse wouldn't affect peformance, and it would happen no matter which direction you were going. If it were the coil, you'd be dead in the water, (no pun intended), cause you couldn't make enough spark to fire the motor. The distributor cap, if it has a crack in it may occasionally run a POS charge to the body of the distrib, which could make it work wierd, may want to change out the cap and see if that helps.

Hope that helps

Erik

[lilbuddy]

Im goin on a day and a half and still its doing it and actually its not as bad as it being in reverse now but its getting bad while driving straight...

I think I have you guys partially confused on the way ive written it.

There is no short in the backup lights. It has to do with the ignition and my guess is the distributor. Thats the only thing I can think of.

[Duffil]

It has to do with the ignition and my guess is the distributor. Thats the only thing I can think of.

I don't really see how, but it could be...this thing is carbed, right?

[lilbuddy]

I don't really see how, but it could be...this thing is carbed, right?

No its EFI.. Its an 86

[Duffil]

No its EFI.. Its an 86

oh....sorry. the difference in the dissy is a position sensor..but there still isn't any electronics inside there..just to coils and a rotor.

[lilbuddy]

oh....sorry. the difference in the dissy is a position sensor..but there still isn't any electronics inside there..just to coils and a rotor.

Yeah but thats the thing is it does it only when im off the gas goin forward...

Its really weird. Causes like a whole power draw. Gauge seriously goes down to 5volts

[fordh8r]

  Just by chance, was the engine hot when you pressure washed it?    This may be a stretch but can you find a dark place to run it and watch the engine run in the dark. If the spark plugs or wires have failed since the washing you should basically see a mini lightning storm around your ignition components.  Something quick and easy to try and no money involved either.    I'll even assume you've disconnected all possible connectors to see if they may still be wet and causing problems.  Hope you find it soon! 

[lilbuddy]

  Just by chance, was the engine hot when you pressure washed it?    This may be a stretch but can you find a dark place to run it and watch the engine run in the dark. If the spark plugs or wires have failed since the washing you should basically see a mini lightning storm around your ignition components.  Something quick and easy to try and no money involved either.    I'll even assume you've disconnected all possible connectors to see if they may still be wet and causing problems.  Hope you find it soon! 

Yeah and nothing! Its pretty lame...

[fordh8r]

   The fix will come in time be patient...

[85xcab]

It may be a stretch but when you washed the oil and grease off the front of the engine how much of it ended up on the alt belt? Maybe it is slipping when loaded causing problems due to low voltage.

[lilbuddy]

It may be a stretch but when you washed the oil and grease off the front of the engine how much of it ended up on the alt belt? Maybe it is slipping when loaded causing problems due to low voltage.

I really do not think it has ANYTHING to do with the alternator....

There is no way that a bad alternator will make the check engine come on and kill your truck and take all the power ot of your system to make it die.. There is no way.

Ill test the alt tomorrow but i HIGHLY DOUBT it is that. Its an electrical problem not dealing with the alt.

[jimbo74]

There is no way that a bad alternator will make the check engine come on and kill your truck and take all the power ot of your system to make it die.. There is no way.

not saying it is or isnt the alternator... but if the truck is trying to run off the battery because the alternor is shot, then it can "kill your truck and take all the power ot of your system to make it die"

[85xcab]

You said it is turning the check engine light on. What is the code?

[KDXSR5]

You beat me to it. That is exactly what I was going to ask. I guess great minds think alike...

[lilbuddy]

not saying it is or isnt the alternator... but if the truck is trying to run off the battery because the alternor is shot, then it can "kill your truck and take all the power ot of your system to make it die"

No kidding but not within a matter of 2 seconds.

You said it is turning the check engine light on. What is the code?

Goes away in about 5 seconds after it does it.

[jimbo74]

it really sounds like a short

[lilbuddy]

it really sounds like a short

No kidding...

Sorry for being an ass but ive said numerous times i think its a short (just dont know where) and that its not the alternator anymore. I said it migta been the alt at first but then i thought htat there is no way that even if it didnt wrok, my battery will hold a charge a good hr and not only that it wont go from 14volts to about 4 in a matter of a millisecond.

i dont know what it is, its almost as if the main fuse for the truck is going out ro something. Im going to check that tomorrow. Reason I say that is that when theres a power draw (headlights, stereo, heater, reverse lights....) its doin something and killing everything. Thats the only thing I can think of between the alt/battery and the rest of the truck. I figured it might be that just now because when it did it backing up earlier, the headlights began to dim and shut off and the dash lights got incredably dim.

[85xcab]

If it flashed the check engine light it should have set a code. It might help find your short.