ddn69

well lately its been hard to start lately. Like having to pump it rapidly.Then yesterday it took me about 5 min to start it. It would start but shortly die. I would try to keep the engine idling but it wouldnt stay. This morning after doing the same thing it wouldnt start. Now it wont start at all. We tried jumping it to no avail, tried charging it, etc. But still nothing. Theres about a little less then a 1/4 tank of gas in the tank, and I did put some gasline antifreeze in about a month ago. Its extremely cold here. And has only been doing this since its been really cold. My question is..a few. Would having plus cumberland farms gas in it affect it. And not having much in it.(could freeze?) Another thing is that the belts are pretty bad. But since it was charging and we tried to jump it too would that make a difference?

My friends dad asked if its been running bad. Besides not idling at startup easily in these cold times its been running average. He said since it didnt want to start up with jump, fluid, non-choke problem. He said the timing chain may have something wrong with it. Or It just maybe too cold. I would think it would turn over even though its very cold outside. Im gonna have it towed to a shop on tuesday, have them put on new belts on it, check the engine light, and see why its acting so stupid. Hopefully it shouldnt cost more then 250.00 for all that.



Nate

RB83L69

No reason not to use starting fluid, or otherwise add extra fluid.

Try pumping the gas all the way to the floor, real slowly, about 10 times; then try starting it.

If it runs terrible when cold outside until it warms up, the choke is not working or needs adjustment.

ddn69

well it hasnt been running terrible. It just takes a bit of footwork to stay idled in the cold. I agree though the choke light is on and so is the engine light. Could oil be a factor?

Nate

hydric

if it turns over real rough, you may have to thick of an oil

what weight are u runnin?

ddn69

10w30. its around 10 degrees out average.

hydric

well i wouldnt think that would be to thick of an oil? once it warsm up, the oil is thinner n broken down..

do u still have the problem? if you got a q-jet, examine your choke/you may have a bit a carb icing problem. i guess they are popular with q-jets. I would say its a problem within your choke...

and u said your check-engine light is on... scan the codes n let us know what ya have.

theres an article on thirdgen.org in the tech section that gives u instructions to do so and a list of the codes.

ddn69

well as i said now it doesnt even start. hence the oil question. The guy at autozone had a key and turned it 3 times or whatever still didnt get anything. he said it could be shorted and i should take it to a mechanic. I havent tried to read em yet.

(Im gonna get some 5 w 30 today and put it in there, and then put some gas in the tank and then put some water in the battery, tighten up the + on the terminal if its loose. etc. try to see if its anything dumb. I could try heating up the oil but i dont know if my friend has a portable heater. I have an electrical source if need be for it.)

Nate

hydric

i'm lost, does it turn over? if it does turn over, check for spark. your coil may be bad, other things to condsider if it does turn over n wont start and has no spark is ignition module, pick-up coil, power source going into the coil...

if it is getting spark, pour some fuel and see if it runs.. if it dont turn over at all, check the ground on your battery, check fuses/fusible links to the starter... check the starter solenoid, check for rusty metal connections including your connections to the battery and especially the wires going onto the start solenoid..

i didnt read to see if u did any of this, just some more stuff to add onto your to-do list

Red87SC

check coil, plugs, and dist. rotor! thats what i had to replace on mine and it all works great now.

ddn69

I had to replace every plug in it. They were all fouled up. Also my friends dad adjusted the choke so the gap is bigger. He said its supposed to come open and it wasnt. He said its most likely is what was fouling my plugs and causing me such horrible mileage. It sounds alot better with the carb fully open.

My check engine light is still on though even after disconnecting the - terminal for like a few minutes. I also disconnected the + terminal too. Nothing. The guy at autozone couldnt figure it out. So im bringing it in on tues.

Do you guys think that was the reason for my plugs being fouled?

Im hoping itll run alot better. It already was idling alot better. It used to idle at 1500 cold now its not so high. And I can actually kick it down.

Nate

RB83L69

If the "Choke" light is on, you need an alternator. Due to a little bit of over-elegant engineering on GM's part, it's sort of mis-labelled. But, the bottom line is, your alt isn't working; and if the alt doesn't charge, the choke will never get its 12V to heat up its little heater so that it will go off after a couple of minutes of the car running.

Here's the circuit schematic. Notice how the rectified 3-phase produced by the diode trio in the alt puts 12V on the side of the light opposite the ignition, and also allows the choke relay to send 12V to the choke.

If you can't make sense of it, just trust me, the "Choke" light is really the "Alternator" light. It's labelled "Volts Indicator" on this factory schematic.

ddn69

hmmm what if the light only comes on when the fuse blows. The fuse only blows also when excessive gas is pressed....Help..

Nate