Need Some Help Guys... :(

Z_71_steve · March 13, 2008

okay well i'll let out the first story cuz it may have something to do with whats going on with my truck..

yesterday i left my lights on on my truck and nobody bothered to tell me until i was ON THE WAY OUT THE DOOR... 10 hours of work later... so anyways.. i get out to my truck and its dead! so dead i couldnt use the remote entry, so i had it jumped and it was running horrable.. so as i left to come back home i noticed at the corner that it i was runnin 14 volts on the tac.. and as i stopped it dropped to like 9.5 .. so i kept going and eventually as i pulled into my driveway the truck died...

so i jumped it and let it run and it died again.. repeted this process like 2 times more then it started and stayed running..

so i went to bed and drove it to work this morning... well after fighting it (it almost stalled like 3 times) i got to work... ran over to autozone on lunch and he tested my alternator and my battery and he said they were both good... but when i went to leave... my truck died... so i started it tried to leave and it died again... so then i went in and bought a BRAND NEW optima red top thinking i had just ruined my battery... so i installed it... turned on and went to back out... stalled 3 times in the parking lot...

i just had new water pump installed last Thursday and the truck was running rough... but its a truck so i didn't think much of it.. 400$ later no leaking coolant but rough idle..

so now i've been driving it... i got it to run after it warmed up for about an hour i just left it idle... and i took it out on the highway... she's lazy... doesnt wanna shift good... doesnt wanna crank it.. so now she sittin in the driveway... and i am literally CLUELESS...

any thoughts? i have no idea what could be causing my truck to run rough and when i put it in reverse to shut down like that..

please give me some feedback! i'm in need!

thanks in advance... steve

grimmysnr · March 14, 2008

Whens last time you changed you maintenance items? Plugs, wires, and oil? Did you fill up gas prior to this happening? Like within a day or two? Whens last time you changed your fuel filter? To me this sounds like obvious ignition problem but since it starts and THEN dies i think its probably fuel delivery. Basically the engine is being gravity fed fuel until it dries up. Eventually though there wont be enough pressure to feed fuel and it just wont start anymore.

What you could do, is put the key in run and try to listen for a fuel pump. IF its extremely quiet or non existent then what you could do, and this will be messyyyyy is remove the fuel filter and have a buddy put the key in run. If the fuel spurts out of the feed line with some crazy pressure then your fuel pump is good and then replace the filter. If the fuel only comes out as if gravity fed then your fuel pump is bad. Check fuses too for ignition and fuel delivery components. Once you rule out the fuel pump start working your war forward. I would change your plugs and wires anyway just to rule them out. When you remove the fuel filter make sure to let the engine side of the fuel line drain completely.

Once you drain the fuel lines and check fuel pump then start with the engine. Only thing thats not mechanical would be the PCM. I really wouldnt say its that since dead batteries often reset the PCM to stock conditions until the truck "relearns" you.

Start with fuel delivery and work forward change out all filters plugs and wires. Report back with your results.

*EDIT

Come to think of it i remember i put some bosch 4 platinum plugs in my truck once and it ran like utter shit. Went to store and got NGK's and its smooth sailing from there. If you knew somebody who can flash PCM's id try that too atleast. I wouldnt pay much for it though.

Z_71_steve · March 14, 2008

Whens last time you changed you maintenance items? Plugs, wires, and oil? Did you fill up gas prior to this happening? Like within a day or two? Whens last time you changed your fuel filter? To me this sounds like obvious ignition problem but since it starts and THEN dies i think its probably fuel delivery. Basically the engine is being gravity fed fuel until it dries up. Eventually though there wont be enough pressure to feed fuel and it just wont start anymore.

What you could do, is put the key in run and try to listen for a fuel pump. IF its extremely quiet or non existent then what you could do, and this will be messyyyyy is remove the fuel filter and have a buddy put the key in run. If the fuel spurts out of the feed line with some crazy pressure then your fuel pump is good and then replace the filter. If the fuel only comes out as if gravity fed then your fuel pump is bad. Check fuses too for ignition and fuel delivery components. Once you rule out the fuel pump start working your war forward. I would change your plugs and wires anyway just to rule them out. When you remove the fuel filter make sure to let the engine side of the fuel line drain completely.

Once you drain the fuel lines and check fuel pump then start with the engine. Only thing thats not mechanical would be the PCM. I really wouldnt say its that since dead batteries often reset the PCM to stock conditions until the truck "relearns" you.

Start with fuel delivery and work forward change out all filters plugs and wires. Report back with your results.

*EDIT

Come to think of it i remember i put some bosch 4 platinum plugs in my truck once and it ran like utter shit. Went to store and got NGK's and its smooth sailing from there. If you knew somebody who can flash PCM's id try that too atleast. I wouldnt pay much for it though.

thanks for your help! my plugs wires are all stock and most likely need to be changed, and yes i actually topped off my tank the night before this happened... the fuel filter has never been changed. i have since bought a brand new optima Red top battery, i'm taking it in tomorrow to have them figure out whats going on, i'm thinking its something weird because it runs somewhat ok now... still trembles hard and then drops amps... i mean if i take both of my fingers and raise both of my windows at the same time my amps dive to 10.... so i'm not sure i got on the highway and blew it out pretty good... and it stopped stalling as i came to a stop but i'm not sure... i'll update u with more info tomorrow to see what they find at the shop.

marko · March 14, 2008

Whens last time you changed you maintenance items? Plugs, wires, and oil? Did you fill up gas prior to this happening? Like within a day or two? Whens last time you changed your fuel filter? To me this sounds like obvious ignition problem but since it starts and THEN dies i think its probably fuel delivery. Basically the engine is being gravity fed fuel until it dries up. Eventually though there wont be enough pressure to feed fuel and it just wont start anymore.

What you could do, is put the key in run and try to listen for a fuel pump. IF its extremely quiet or non existent then what you could do, and this will be messyyyyy is remove the fuel filter and have a buddy put the key in run. If the fuel spurts out of the feed line with some crazy pressure then your fuel pump is good and then replace the filter. If the fuel only comes out as if gravity fed then your fuel pump is bad. Check fuses too for ignition and fuel delivery components. Once you rule out the fuel pump start working your war forward. I would change your plugs and wires anyway just to rule them out. When you remove the fuel filter make sure to let the engine side of the fuel line drain completely.

Once you drain the fuel lines and check fuel pump then start with the engine. Only thing thats not mechanical would be the PCM. I really wouldnt say its that since dead batteries often reset the PCM to stock conditions until the truck "relearns" you.

Start with fuel delivery and work forward change out all filters plugs and wires. Report back with your results.

*EDIT

Come to think of it i remember i put some bosch 4 platinum plugs in my truck once and it ran like utter shit. Went to store and got NGK's and its smooth sailing from there. If you knew somebody who can flash PCM's id try that too atleast. I wouldnt pay much for it though.

thanks for your help! my plugs wires are all stock and most likely need to be changed, and yes i actually topped off my tank the night before this happened... the fuel filter has never been changed. i have since bought a brand new optima Red top battery, i'm taking it in tomorrow to have them figure out whats going on, i'm thinking its something weird because it runs somewhat ok now... still trembles hard and then drops amps... i mean if i take both of my fingers and raise both of my windows at the same time my amps dive to 10.... so i'm not sure i got on the highway and blew it out pretty good... and it stopped stalling as i came to a stop but i'm not sure... i'll update u with more info tomorrow to see what they find at the shop.

Sounds to me like the jump-start did something to the voltage regulator, or something. I suppose you could reflash your confuser. But it sounds like when the alternator is running full-tilt things are okay but as soon as it doesn't spin quite so fast, it craps out. Sounds like it has to put out some serious amperage to jump some slightly open circuit somewhere. Generally when alternators are bench tested they are tested at full speed. Have the guy re-test it at low rotational speed and see if it still puts out as it should.

Bostonsfavson · March 14, 2008

Sounds like it may be bad gas. Try running some isopropyl alcohol (dry gas) through there and see how it goes. If you still have issues, I'd say fuel filter, and then possibly fuel pump. Let's hope it's just bad gas though!

NorCal57 · March 14, 2008

I had very similar issues with my old truck a couple of years ago right after a tune up. After a LOT of searching, I found the new fuel filter was faulty and not allowing enough fuel into the TBI. What was interesting to me was the poor shifting then again, the ecu was probably trying to compensate for the issue?

My mother in law was also experiencing similar problems on her 97 Tahoe and it turned out to be the fuel pump. Same thing, not enough fuel to the EFI.

Hopefully it's a simple and inexpensive fix!

zxcv · March 14, 2008

It could be bad gas. I used to work at a gas station, and once there was diesel that was mixed in with the regular gas. Fun times. Needless to say, all the vehicles that filled up ran like crap afterwards. Water in your gas could be the problem too.

svensk · March 14, 2008

Check for codes! It's got to be throwing at least one if it wants to stall out. The SES light doesn't have to be on get one.

alaska511 · March 14, 2008

Check for codes! It's got to be throwing at least one if it wants to stall out. The SES light doesn't have to be on get one.

Ditto. That always amazed me that the SES wasn't on, and then I would find a code when I scanned it.

I see you got that sig handled LOL...looks good!

Z_71_steve · March 14, 2008

well i think you guys might be on to somethin with the gas cuz last night in a last ditch effort i toook it out on the highway and just flat our reemed it and it stopped stalling with a drop in rpm say if i were to come to a stop, but it still dropped when i pulled the windows down... so i dont know... i'm still at large its sittin in the shop now so hopefully they'll have some answers.

thanks again for everybodys help

Norseman · March 14, 2008

Jump-start did something to the voltage regulator.

Z_71_steve · March 14, 2008

***update***

i just got a call saying that the alternator is most likely bad. he said that he checked it at low idle and it dropped HARD... which is what i was experiencing... so i'm gonna pick it up and look for a new alternator... is there any after market alternators that put out a little above oe that i should possibly consider? the only reason i'm considering a little bit larger one is because i tow constantly throughout the summer as well as i have my amp, my xm radio, my radar, and my strobe all set up as well... so thanks and let me know!

thanks again, steve

2000DV4.8 · March 14, 2008

The fuel filter on the 03+ trucks is located in the tank, is isn't replaceable.

marko · March 14, 2008

***update***

i just got a call saying that the alternator is most likely bad. he said that he checked it at low idle and it dropped HARD... which is what i was experiencing... so i'm gonna pick it up and look for a new alternator... is there any after market alternators that put out a little above oe that i should possibly consider? the only reason i'm considering a little bit larger one is because i tow constantly throughout the summer as well as i have my amp, my xm radio, my radar, and my strobe all set up as well... so thanks and let me know!

thanks again, steve

You're welcome. Checking the posts this morning what sealed the deal for me was that thing about your windows. Bad gas doesn't have anything to do with opening your windows.

Let me restate that - bad fuel has nothing to do with opening your windows. Bad gas probably does!!!

2000DV4.8 · March 14, 2008

***update***

i just got a call saying that the alternator is most likely bad. he said that he checked it at low idle and it dropped HARD... which is what i was experiencing... so i'm gonna pick it up and look for a new alternator... is there any after market alternators that put out a little above oe that i should possibly consider? the only reason i'm considering a little bit larger one is because i tow constantly throughout the summer as well as i have my amp, my xm radio, my radar, and my strobe all set up as well... so thanks and let me know!

thanks again, steve

You're welcome. Checking the posts this morning what sealed the deal for me was that thing about your windows. Bad gas doesn't have anything to do with opening your windows.

Let me restate that - bad fuel has nothing to do with opening your windows. Bad gas probably does!!!