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88 gmc sierra refuses to start, have covered it all


saucerguy

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oday 07:17 PM

 

It died all of a sudden, I was rolling fast enough to make it to a parking lot. To eliminate being a low fuel issue I put in a little fuel into the tbi, got it to sputter but not start up. It did that a few times then nothing.

 

Going down my list of new parts but to no avail. I do not have spark or fuel at this stage.

 

New fuel pump, fuel filter, tore apart and cleaned out top of tbi/throttle body, diafram in good shape to boot. Fuel pressure at the line, injectors tested fine, still no fuel.

 

New ignition coil, new secondary coil, new fuel pump module, new cap and rotor, new crank position sensor/detonation knoc,

 

It turns over thanks to a recent new starter, battery, alternator I put in a couple of months ago so it has the juice to create the compression.

 

The injectors are getting juice, they function and push fuel when I fed them when the top end of the tbi was out.

 

I'm stumped at this point. Any help would be appreciated

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10 answers to this question

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Getting into performance mode in revisions to the engines internals, I can't imagine any stock set up really capable of handling the changed conditions. I don't have the budget or time to even think about going that route, just keeping what I have working on the road and trying not to get taken advantage of.

 

If I had this thing called time and money, I would get into building a rig from scratch, supercar style carbon fiber body/frame,running electric brushless motor(s) lipo batteries, stuff I use in my remote control planes. If I scaled up what I used there,ez 500 mph.

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I have a new PCM on hand, also shelling out money for an expensive mechanic to come over and diagnose as well.

 

I picked up a cheap back up truck so I can keep working on Sunday, it started having its own issues making it undriveable, its now at their shop to work upon and hopefully its nothing big. I rarely need a mechanic but now its cutting into my deadlines so gotta do what I gotta do.

 

You guys may very well have nailed it with the pcm, last nights research pointed to the same thing.

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I was the same way before, not now. Gaining respect for the tbi and computer control, losing it a bit for not letting people override it all to keep everything running.

 

Most people I ran into just wanted to address one side or the other, old school type of troubleshooting, these require more finesse, be its nit really more advanced and complicated compared to computer and espresso machine repair which I do.

 

I bought a new timing light, moved the distributor to a nice spot prior at random, just by ear, the timing was dead on, too cool.

 

It would be cool to keep this thread alive to help other people get out of a bind. So called friend mechanic quoted me $500 to do the same 30 min job I just did with the distributor, a part worth just over $100.... Come on, that is ridicoules

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I had a 1993 Cutlass Supreme died just like you said. New PCM it started right up.

Had 93 Lumina in family and same thing occurred. At the time the shop told me it was a common problem with this style. Solder connections failed in PCM. To check all you needed to do was rap the PCM case with plastic handle screw driver and it would start. Tell-tale symptom, the rap jarred the connections back together and it would run for an undetermined time and suddenly die again, always at the most inopportune time.

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This must've been the problem I had with my wife's '87 Buick Century about 14 years ago. Thing left her for dead at work.

 

I spent about an hour troubleshooting the next day, and sent it to the scrapyard. :lol:

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The capacitors in the PCM can dry out anytime ofter 10 years of age.

 

I had a 1993 Cutlass Supreme died just like you said. New PCM it started right up.

 

The unfortunate part is with them you have to bite the bullet and just take a shot in the dark that its the issue.

 

But the dealers do the same thing.

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Yeah most places up here get over $100 an hour. That's why I started wrenching many moons ago!

 

Only thing I don't like about TBI is the lack of adjustability. Throw a set of heads and a good sized cam in, and your stuck with stock programming. A chip might give you a little, but not enough. Can't play. System is super reliable though, compared to OBD-II. Alot less that can go wrong.

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It was the distributor unit after all. I switched it out, fired right up. I got two other mechanics one looks like I may be partnering up with to go independent with to launch a new mobile and regular repair biz with.

 

I'm keeping the old one to tear apart and see if rebuild is realistic, if not I get the core charge back, if so, in theory servicing an expensive assembly may become an option for helping others. I'll keep you updated when that time comes, also the math for a ignition coil at $45.00 and getting it along with a complete assembly at a bit over $100, if its a work rig might as well replace the whole shebang.

 

In the future, rule of thumb, no spark "and" no fuel happen at once, its either the distributor full assembly, or its the ecm. Do not waste time trying to get either side up independently unless you are dealing with a really Jerry rigged set up or something that has been sitting for years.

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When things happen suddenly like that, and to two unrelated systems as far as wiring goes, the first place to look is at the battery connections, then outward from there for any loose grounds or anything out of the ordinary.

 

Also check all the fuses related to fuel, PCM, and ignition. If one is blown, then you'll need to figure out why before tossing another fuse in there.

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Interesting. So even in '88 an ignitor issue could take out fuel. Good to know! I never really learned those systems in depth, because I normally gave up in frustration, and slapped a carb & HEI setup on them. Fixed the problem every time though! :lol:

 

Thanks for the update. :cheers:

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