Kingman Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 (edited) Hmmm...It's been raining, A LOT today. Now, usually my truck idles at 700-800 rpm in drive, and 1300 in park when warmed up. So here's the issue. Driving home from school today, I was idling at a stop light, and suddenly it started sputtering and the revs were dropping way down to nothing and then back up, then died. Started right back up in neutral, ran fine with one tiny little sputter. Put it in drive, immediately started sputtering, and the light turned green. Gassed it, and to my surprise, took off just fine with barely any sputtering at all. The next stop light, it didn't do it. Idled fine. Next stop light, did it again, but didn't die. Put it in neutral, the rpms raised, and it ran smoothly. That was the only time it idled fine after the first time this happened. Now it won't idle in drive, and dies almost. I checked my MAF sensor (cleaned 2 months ago) and the wires are snug. All my plug wires are clean, dry, and securely connected. The power wire to my dizzy is secure. I replaced the fuel filter yesterday. Just now I started it up, pulled the ebrake, put it in drive, and hurried to the tale pipe before it died. Exhaust seems fine, not smelling funny or anything. I'm wondering if there's anything underneath my truck that would mess something up if it gets wet? Something electrical. Or is this vacuum? I couldn't find any leaks, and it was so sudden, so... I searched around, but I couldn't find anything really that fit what's going on. Any ideas? EDIT: I thought this was related to my brake vacuum issue, so I pulled the ebrake a few times and it didn't change anything at all Edited December 13, 2008 by kingman92010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 lol, the e-brake is purely mechanical, no vacuum required. Check for vacuum leaks. Test to see if it does it only when you step on the brakes, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 How old are your spark plug wires? If it does this only in wet weather, I'd do a full tune-up if not done recently. BTW, 1300rpm seems high to me for warmed up idle, that sounds right or even a touch high for cold idle? I am not familiar with your year rig, but I'd expect warm idle in park to be well under 1k, warm idle in drive to be closer to ~600? if your engine is stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigent Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Idle Air Control Valve sticking? indigent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 13, 2008 Author Share Posted December 13, 2008 (edited) lol, the e-brake is purely mechanical, no vacuum required. Check for vacuum leaks. Test to see if it does it only when you step on the brakes, etc. It has an issue with sputtering a little bit when i press in the brakes hard and release them, that's why I thought this was related to the problem I had before, which is why I pulled the ebrake at a stop so I wasn't using the actual brakes to see if it stopped sputtering, which it didn't. When this happened I looked extremely closely over every single line, and couldn't find a leak anywhere Brakes thread How old are your spark plug wires? If it does this only in wet weather, I'd do a full tune-up if not done recently. BTW, 1300rpm seems high to me for warmed up idle, that sounds right or even a touch high for cold idle? I am not familiar with your year rig, but I'd expect warm idle in park to be well under 1k, warm idle in drive to be closer to ~600? if your engine is stock. Full tune up was done in July, and I put new NGK Platnums in when my temp sensor went bad since it fowled the crap out of the old ones. That was in early October. I raised my idle myself. The engine makes an obnoxious noise when it idles too low, which it was idling at 400rpm a long while back. Lately when the engine is cold it idles at 1000rpm and doesn't seem to run as good as usual. When it's warmed up, the idle raises. I think that alone is weird, because I thought engines idled higher when cold and lower when warm... Idle Air Control Valve sticking? indigent. Where would I find this...? Edited December 13, 2008 by kingman92010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 i'm guessing that it's on or near the TB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 14, 2008 Author Share Posted December 14, 2008 Alright so, it died in me again today at a stop light, only this time it wouldn't start back up. I had it in neutral, and switched to drive to go, and it cut out and died, causing someone to rear end me. No damage to my truck, his didn't fare quite so well, no one was injured. All it did was keep cranking and cranking, and a little sputter here and there. Then, bam, it started right back up and ran perfectly fine the rest of the way home. I didn't smell any unused gas or anything. I'm thinking maybe its not getting the gas...? I let it idle in drive with the ebrake pulled for almost a half an hour, and it didn't sputter once. And it's never done it when the engine is cold, either. Only when fully warmed up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huck Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 All it did was keep cranking and cranking, and a little sputter here and there. Then, bam, it started right back up and ran perfectly fine the rest of the way home. I didn't smell any unused gas or anything. I'm thinking maybe its not getting the gas...? Do you frequently run it really low on fuel? If it's a fuel problem, I've heard of vehicles clogging up when people run their fuel tank really low. This one sounds like a possible electrical problem. Whaddyathink guys? Alternator/battery in good shape? If the ignition isn't getting enough voltage, it could be dropping out occasionally. New Distributor Cap and Rotor? I cracked a brand new cap last time I was putting it on. Ruined it. That sucks about the rear ender. Hit your hitch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 14, 2008 Author Share Posted December 14, 2008 (edited) Do you frequently run it really low on fuel? If it's a fuel problem, I've heard of vehicles clogging up when people run their fuel tank really low. This one sounds like a possible electrical problem. Whaddyathink guys? Alternator/battery in good shape? If the ignition isn't getting enough voltage, it could be dropping out occasionally. New Distributor Cap and Rotor? I cracked a brand new cap last time I was putting it on. Ruined it. That sucks about the rear ender. Hit your hitch? I've ran it to 1/8 of a tank before, NEVER below. I dont trust it enough for that. Yeah, I kept an eye on my alternator voltage this whole time, and it's at a steady 14, and drops to 12 when it's cranking, then right back up to 14. So I think that's fine. The cap and rotor are new as well. It does, for him at least. Little ricer Honda car, lowered and blew out his headlight and tweaked his bumper. He hit my hitch. And it's SNOWING down here before Christmas! Edited December 14, 2008 by kingman92010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 14, 2008 Author Share Posted December 14, 2008 UPDATE: No longer just doing it in drive at idle. Cruising along, about 20mph, hit the gas a little, cut out and died. Pulled it over, did the same thing as before...cranked and cranked, then started right back up, sputtered a little, and then ran fine. Hmmmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 It really sounds sensor related, but I don't know the TBI units at all... Crank angle sensor maybe? You have run the codes on the ECU and it's all clear? B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Maybe a clogged up catalytic converter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 14, 2008 Author Share Posted December 14, 2008 It really sounds sensor related, but I don't know the TBI units at all... Crank angle sensor maybe? You have run the codes on the ECU and it's all clear? B It does indeed sound sensor related. Just because of how it suddenly starts up fine. When it died, and sounded like it wanted to come back to life for a few seconds, I heard what sounded like valves clattering and what not, and of all the times this thing has died on me since I've owned it, that is something I have never heard it do. My timing belt is 10,000 miles old... Maybe a clogged up catalytic converter? Brand new Magnaflow cat, and muffler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismojunky Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 is there a heavy smell of fuel comming from the engine? when it dies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 is there a heavy smell of fuel comming from the engine? when it dies? Not that I can tell, no. Just pulled code 44 ECCS Normal Operation. What's the difference between this and code 55 No Malfunction??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Ok, I am now leaning toward fuel pump and or fuel regulator. Next time it dies on you, turn the key off. Then turn the key to on without starting the engine. Repeat that two more times. If it starts without a ton of cranking, I think you need a new fuel pump or regulator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 ^ My second guess, mainly due to it dying when you step on the gas. I'm not sure why it would die at idle though, as that is the least fuel draw and one would think there should be sufficient pressure. This indicates the regulator dumping pressure?? Pure guess though, this is not my specialty... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huck Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Ok, I am now leaning toward fuel pump and or fuel regulator. Next time it dies on you, turn the key off. Then turn the key to on without starting the engine. Repeat that two more times. If it starts without a ton of cranking, I think you need a new fuel pump or regulator. I agree with BowTied here. It's gotta be fuel related if it's not electrical. No codes, new ignition components. I'm leaning towards regulator. Fuel pumps usually die a quick painful death and don't fade out over time. If it still runs (kind of) then the pump is still working. Been snowing like crazy up here in Bellingham. Lots of rigs in the ditches. Saw a Jeep Cherokee in the ditch. Good place for 'em. Went around 'em with my Titan thinking I should pull 'em out. Decided not to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I agree with BowTied here. It's gotta be fuel related if it's not electrical. No codes, new ignition components. I'm leaning towards regulator. Fuel pumps usually die a quick painful death and don't fade out over time. If it still runs (kind of) then the pump is still working. I used to think so, but I have had them fail both ways. I would agree that they usually fail suddenly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismojunky Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 when was the last time you changed your fuel filter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 (edited) Damn power was out for 4 and a half hours! Saw quite a few accidents today... Anyways, fuel filter was replaced the day before I posted this thread. Funny thing, after I came up here and posted that the code 44 showed up, I went back down to park it, and it wouldn't start. Just wouldn't start, for about 10 min. Then, randomly, it started. I smelled under the hood, and yeah, some smell of gas was there, but it wasn't too bad really. I can also hear the pump loud and clear. I'll try the key thing if it dies, I don't have a reason to drive tomorrow as there's no school, so we'll see But the strange thing is, it quit wanting to die at idle and now it wants to die when I hit the gas. But only sometimes? The entire time I drove it today, it didn't act up at all idling in drive, but it died that one time out of no where. Edited December 15, 2008 by kingman92010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 This is kind of how mine acted when a wire on my maf sensor started to intermittently stay connected. I don't know TBI very well, is it just a fuel injected carb? When its running can you rev it up ok? Like can you rev it up to like 2500 and hold it steady there and is it smooth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 This is kind of how mine acted when a wire on my maf sensor started to intermittently stay connected. I don't know TBI very well, is it just a fuel injected carb? When its running can you rev it up ok? Like can you rev it up to like 2500 and hold it steady there and is it smooth? Yeah, glorified electronic carb. Yup, it runs smooth as silk. At idle, I can mash it and it revs perfectly. When it died on my driving down the road today, I did think it was the fuel pump because it was running perfectly fine, then at 20mph, I barely hit the gas to accelerate and bam it died. Then it wouldn't start, then it kinda wanted to (with the clattering and what not) and then next try, started right up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 My buddy had a car, and it started doing this and it turned out to be the fuel pump, and it took a week to order the part, and he needed the car, so he would lightly tap on the access door under his rear seat with a hammer. I guess for him it wore out to the point where the pump would stick. I am NOT suggesting you hit your truck with a hammer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismojunky Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 thats exactly what minw did try disconneting your coolant tempurature sensor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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