kaiser715 : starting my truck :(

starting my truck :(
Post by kaiser715 on Apr 6, 2006, 1:50pm



went to crank my truck last night. I'm finally working on it again, to get it ready for FE06.

Basics: 1977 Chevy 350, quadrajet, HEI

last cranked about 4 months ago. you may remember the story about the tailpipe full of birdseed.

changed out gas to fresh. emptied out the spin-on water-separting fuel filter (less than 1 qt capacity)

nothing has been messed with as far as timing, wiring, etc

gave it a shot of ether to get it to fire off and prime quicker...no real fire. Poured fresh gas down carb, and a bunch of turning over, it would fire about 3 times then go back to cranking.

pulled plug, grounded to motor, cranked over....white/yellow spark seemed OK. not a like a flashbulb, but easily visible.

topped off with charger, subsequent starting was tried with charger on 40amp fast charge.

ran 12ga wire direct from HEI to battery, no change

more gas down carb...do more of the same, crank over, about 3 fires, then just cranking with no more fire

held open throttle plate with screwdriver, to be sure breathing, no change. tried with choke closed.

friend checked exhaust pipes while I cranked, have pressure, so it's pumping air, not like stuck valves, etc

no backfiring thru carb

almost acts like the timing is way off, but again, it hasn't been messed with

IDEAS?????

I'm thinking

....pull the HEI cap tonight and check for corrosion etc

....maybe find TDC and see if dist is close enough on #1

....replace the coil (HEI on the cap)

....????

Re: starting my truck :(
Post by kaiser715 on Apr 6, 2006, 1:53pm

btw, why i'm thinking corrosion or something....shop has had a bad humidity problem the past few months, it's built into a hillside and back wall is weeping groundwater

Re: starting my truck :(
Post by barrman on Apr 6, 2006, 3:20pm

Something else that gives the exact same symptoms is the module for the HEI. The engine will almost "burp" to life and then die.

Most auto parts places should have a tester for that part. When you do take it off, don't touch metal bottom of it. Your bodies electrical field could short it out.

Re: starting my truck :(
Post by kaiser715 on Apr 6, 2006, 3:42pm

"burp" is a good description of what it is doing.

Re: starting my truck :(
Post by davea on Apr 6, 2006, 4:47pm

Could be a hole burned in rotor too. pull the rotor and flip it over. If there is a tiny black place on the bottom side then it has gone to ground because wires/plugs are worn and offer more resistance than the rotor.

Re: starting my truck :(
Post by xtreme on Apr 8, 2006, 9:40am

My truck was doing that and the problem was the ignition. I put a chevy HEI on it and it started up and ran fine.

In part this was caused by old gas and lazy ignition, I guess it was ok before because the gas was always pretty fresh. Gas sucks these days.

Re: starting my truck :(
Post by wrecker on Apr 9, 2006, 12:40am

As much gas as you supplied, you may just be flooded big time. Holding the throttle wide open to allow maximum air flow might just do it for you. Don't let up or start pumping once it tries to start. Hold it wide open until the engine clears the excess out which will be readily evident by the smoothing out and rpm increase. Since this is an older post, your truck should have sat long enough for the excess fuel to evaporate. Try it w/o the ether this time and you might be surprised.

Re: starting my truck :(
Post by kaiser715 on Apr 15, 2006, 5:55pm

AND THE WINNER IS.......

Mr. Barrman!!!! Tested the module today, it was bad. All ok now.