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Soo 88' path won't start when below freezing...


gsumann
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So I thought I need a need a battery. Had the battery tested and the battery fine. Next day it's above 40 degrees and the truck starts right up so I decided to change the spark plugs first put in some Bosch +4 plugs truck would start but would die on idle. So changed the spark plugs to some cheap NGk truck starts up and runs fine when you give it gas but it tries to turn off at idle.

And I still have the same not starting issue when below freezing no start.

 

I'm lost I really need this truck to work before it's starts snowing. Not sure where to even start.

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When you turn the key does it crank, click, make weird noises, etc? Check connection at battery, starter, alternator, etc. It could just be a poor loose connection or corrosion. The low draw coupled with the lower cold cranking amps of the battery may be the culprit. Will it jump start in the cold?

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It cranks but won't start. The battery and the alternator are only 6 months old. Would the starter not work when it's freezing temps?

The belts look good. I tried to jump start it in the cold but no dice. Soon as the sun comes up and it gets around 40 degrees it starts right up. But still has the idling problem

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if it the battery is strong enough to crank but no start it could be bad gas. there are different formulas for cold weather, you might have just a little water vapour in the lines. if the tank is almost empty just fill it up with Premium it might help. I try and avoid regular when it is cold out as it has higher levels of ethanol that can absorb moisture.

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If its cranking, the starter is working. I assume an 88 is carberated, you might want to try cleaning the carb, if there is guck, it might not allow the choke or valves to open properly when gummed up below freezing. Bushnut is right on too, ethanol pull tons of moisture out of the air & is horrible for our engines. Try using additive such as heat or denatured alcohol, especially if its parked for some time. Also, for good measure, I whenever I have a reoccurring issue such as this, I'll run a can of seafoam through my fuel to knock some of the carbon out of my engine, or 6 oz. in my crankcase oil 200-500 miles before an oil change.

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'88 is throttle body injected, not carbureted. Cleaning the throttle body may help, though, if your idle air setup (I'm not entirely sure where this lives and how it works on the TBI models) is gunked up and/or not opening properly. A functioning idle air control setup lets a little air around the throttle plate, similar in effect to holding the gas pedal down a little, until the engine's heated up and can idle on its own. If it's not working, the engine won't want to start or idle when it's cold. I think the same mechanism boosts the idle once the engine's warmed and idling when the A/C compressor kicks in or the power steering is working hard, but I could be wrong on that (especially given my limited knowledge of the TBI models).

 

I tried Seafoam on my rig, and the throttle body was still filthy when I got into it. I'm not sure if I did the Seafoam wrong or if it just didn't do the job. I ended up cleaning it by hand, and noticed a nice power increase from getting all that black gunk out of there.

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So I put some Heet into it last night and tried to start it this morning and no dice. I thought the plugs came pre gapped I guess I'm wrong I have only changed plugs in newer cars and once in my old 1988 BMW I might have to check that in a couple of days when it warms up.

 

It's has been below freezing here for like 4 days straight. On the top of the air cleaner it says electronic controlled so I guess it has a TBI It's a 1988 SE v6 automatic. The previous owner replaced almost the entire exhaust and the owner before him put lots of new parts almost everywhere under the hood so I know it was well taken care of but I guess it wasn't driven much the mileage hasn't even broke 110k yet. A older couple owned it and only drove it when it snowed. I never had a problem with it until it gets below freezing.

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Most plugs come "pregapped" to the most common gap size. One plug may fit a dozen different vechiles, but not all will be gapped the same, so it will be gapped to fit the majority of them. For example, if it were to use a similar plug, the gap would be different on say a 4.6 Cadillac vs a 2.0 Malibu. In addition its always a good practice to regap them, I can't tell you how many times I've opened a spark plug box to find the end bent down due to poor handling from shipping.

 

Its more common to have hard start or no start issues on cars that sit a long time, as softparts begin to dry rot & break down, thus not only not doing their intended job, but also clogging something along the system. Cleaning the throttle body may do wonders, its about a 5-10 minute one man job. Out of curiosity, not that I generally recommend it, but have you tried ether (starting fluid) or wd40(somewhat safer) to see if it fires below freezing?

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Some plugs come with little cardboard sleeves on the ends to prevent the electrodes getting knocked around in shipping. Checking them's not a bad idea while they're already out, but as far as solving your starting issue, IMO it's the wrong tree to bark up. I've read stories on here of rigs running fairly well with the plugs burned way out of spec. Somebody (B?) had the center electrode on the cap straight fall out and the thing still ran, arcing from the coil terminal to the rotor. If it'll overcome that, a few thousandths plug gap is not going to keep it from starting.

 

Ether goes into the throttle body. Basically take the filter off, hold the throttle open, shoot a little of it (couple seconds at the most) down its gullet, then try starting it again. The hope is that the high volatility of the ether will mean that it'll fire where gas won't, even if the spark is weak, the compression is low, the gas is iffy, the starter's weak, or the system is flooded. It can be a great help on carbureted cars, but it shouldn't be necessary for a fuel-injected engine, and I'd be a little leery of using it around MAF sensors and whatnot. It's also what Richard Pryor set himself on fire with, though to be fair he wasn't starting his car with the stuff.

 

Try starting it when it's below freezing with the throttle opened a little (hold the pedal down a bit). If it starts and runs that way, but dies when you let off, my bet is still on the idle air control.

 

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It'd be better to shoot the ether into the air cleaner while it's still bolted on with the tube off. TBIs won't run with the air cleaner removed because of turbulence issues. It's very annoying.

 

The temp sensor for the ECU is down behind the timing cover on the LH cylinder head. It'd be a good idea to ohm that and compare to factory specs. If this is malfunctioning, the ECU won't give the engine the correct AFR to run.

 

As far as the idle controls go... there's 3 different ones. First two are the IACV which is two pintle valves. One holds standard warm idle to a point (but there are adjustments that can be made via two screws) and the other is an idle up solenoid for the load accessories. When you turn the high beams, heater, rear defrost, AC, or turn the steering wheel this ups the idle to stabilize the motor and spin the alternator faster. Both of these are electronically controlled. The third is a cold idle control. It's a wax thermo element that physically pushes on the throttle cam to open the butterfly. As the coolant running by it warms up the wax heats up and releases pressure on the plunger which slowly lowers the idle to normal.

 

Even if all 3 are removed the engine will still run on its own warmed up. Cold you'd want your foot on the gas pedal.

 

And as far as plugs go, it'll run fine with the plugs out of whack which is unlikely to begin with especially from NGK. For future reference, don't waste your money on the Bosch plugs. Standard NGKs are the way to go.

Edited by Kingman
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