Stranded.. Engine starts up then dies (1 Viewer)

[sea2skydad]

If it runs in reverse then the problem is the main wiring loom that runs beside the engine. When you shift to Drive the engine torques putting tension on the loom causing a short. When you put it in reverse there is no tension on the loom and it runs fine. With the engine running and the trans in reverse grab the wiring loom and move the loom around (don't be shy). If the engine sputters or dies while in reverse then you have your culprit.

Open the loom by cutting the heat wrap and you will find some fried wires that you can resplice. Rewrap the loom with some heat wrap tape and drive for another 100k.

 

[SmokingRocks]

Thats a good suggestions, however it ran in reverse and drive and then when I put it into park again it idled fine. Also this morning it fired right up and is idling as I type......

Sounds heat related to me. Anyway I will do some serious digging this next weekend.

I want to thank everyone for their quick responses especially @BVCOTaco for offering local help. This forum is truly amazing.

I will update with more info as I start peeling back the layers.

 

[Trollhole]

My guess is the engine harness.

 

[jfz80]

^^ definitely a good suggestion and worth looking at and doing the super technical pinch pull twist test while running to eliminate it as a possibility. I've seen it be somewhat intermittent before the burn becomes more detrimental. I believe a common wire to burn is for the main injector loom. Can't hurt and free to perform.

 

[SmokingRocks]

My first thought was something like that, so I did the push, pull, twist test on most the wires I could reach.

The PO did all sorts of work on the spark side, so I'm fairly certain the problem isn't there. The fuel side is all OEM, so I think I am going to start with the resistor, then pump and sock and a new relay. Shouldn't cost too much for peace of mind knowing that the fuel delivery system is all new.

I will look into the looms more closely... maybe put my white lab coat on and start monkeying with those wires.

 

[jfz80]

did you try the large main harness bundle that crosses the EGR tube at back of head by firewall that is a very well know culprit on here?

 

[SmokingRocks]

I have not but I will try it right now. Thanks for the troubleshooting jfz

 

[LFD2037]

Pull on your fusible links near the battery. There's 3 of them.

 

[SmokingRocks]

Well I looked closely at the loom that goes across the firewall then turns to the front and goes into the spark plug wire chase. it looks obvious to me that someone has been in this loom once already.... I'll post a pict up soon, anyone know if this is something I can order from an autoparts store?

 

[LFD2037]

Pull on your fusible links near the battery. There's 3 of them.

Did you check these? Takes <1 minute.

 

[SmokingRocks]

The plot, as they say, thickens... I talked with the PO who is "'bows deep in a 60" right now and he said the PO before him (that from this point forward will be referenced as the PO) had the same issue. When Steve got the truck he removed a bunch of the shoddy electrical work the PO had done to it. He said he never had an issue with it and I believe him as I doubt he was putting many miles on it.

He also said the PO had replaced the fuel pump with a new NAPA unit. I'll recheck the fuseable links tonight, I did give them some good tugs though when stranded. If a fuseable link was going bad wouldn't the problem be a lot more frequent? I guess those links have caused some very confounding issues before.

I'm gonna move forward and start seriously unfxxxing some of the PO's fxxxed work.

 

[SmokingRocks]

Steve (whom I bought the truck from) has been amazing trying to help me troubleshoot via text furthermore he went above and beyond and offered to send me a new harness to replace this old brittle one. That will at least take one variable out of the equation.

Thanks Steve, I know your reading through here... still don't know your handle on this site.

 

[BVCOTaco]

Thats a good suggestions, however it ran in reverse and drive and then when I put it into park again it idled fine. Also this morning it fired right up and is idling as I type......

Sounds heat related to me. Anyway I will do some serious digging this next weekend.

I want to thank everyone for their quick responses especially @BVCOTaco for offering local help. This forum is truly amazing.

I will update with more info as I start peeling back the layers.

If anyone has any problems when they are around Buena Vista, if I am able to help I will. I have a good size garage and lots of tools.
Better yet, if anyone is wheeling down this way, let me know as well.

 

[Tenzig Norgay]

Possible sensor going bad and telling fuel pump to shut off

 

[SmokingRocks]

This is just getting stranger and stranger... For the previous two days it wouldnt stay running in my driveway, I've poked, pulled, pinched, twisted, molested, yelled at, cursed at, shot mean looks at and shook fingers at every wire in the bay. Nothing changed the state of the stall out.

So I was happy as I figured that the problem was finally persistent, which would aid me in pin pointing it. Today I grabbed a jumper wire so that I could bypass the resistor and relay and direct power the fuel pump to eliminate that possibility. Popped the hood and was getting ready to start the test, but figured I would just make sure it was still having issues and what do you know IT STARTED AND RAN.... It hasn't MOVED from where it had the issue for TWO DAYS. Then it just WORKS? What the ***! I figured maybe I need to get it hot (even though it happened when it had been sitting for a day)... So I drove it around, now I can't get the damn thing to replicate this issue...

I'm keeping the jumper in the truck but IDK how to replicate this issue other than take it on a long drive far away from home... which is a s*** idea! I'm starting to get irritated.

 

[scottryana]

Did you pop the inspection cover on the fuel tank? Maybe there is a bunch of crap in there and after sitting for two days it settled and isn't clogging the fuel pump pickup sock?

 

[SmokingRocks]

I will, but the PO replaced the fuel pump and filter because he was dealing with the same issue. So I don't think this is the culprit. Also its not like a fuel starvation stall its like a shut off stall.

 

[SmokingRocks]

I also put it in Drive then reverse and power braked in both gears to torque the engine to see if it was getting shorted that way... Didn't stall out.

 

[Mechanic747]

I fought a similar problem, but it included a hard restart. Turned out to be a bad temp sensor. It acted like it would cut spark after a few seconds. New fuse able links, fuel pump relay, efi relay and cc canister did make it run smoother, too.

 

[tag3]

Sorry for the weird joke. You got a piece of water stuck somewhere.