03 Silverado

big2bird

big2bird

Charter Member, Founder Bird-Run, Cruise-In Bird-R
Joined
Mar 5, 2008
Messages
5,719
Location
Anaheim, Ca.
Well, after driving 2,500 miles on my vacaton so far, the truck just last night is getting hard to start. What changed?
97* with A/C on, and more and more alcohol in the fuel. No telling how much water I picked up too.
I suspect it's the fuelI did change the fuel filter before I left Kalifornia.
I have also had the ignition switch "stick" on start. (Starter runs on release).
Any thoughts out there?
I may dump another Techron in there to see if it helps.
 
Techron masked a good bit of the water/gas problem in my car for quite a while....then I found about a gallon+ of sludge in bottom of the tank....

Got a '02 Toy Tacoma here, 4 banger, one of wife's clients...roofing company, same type complaint, but ran fine for ME....

anyway the battery tray/fender area, driver's front, is totally trashed, rusted....as in really really bad as bad as my '85 dodge van....

Anyone any clues as to if Toy's electricals act up to boil a battery over THAT badly?? voltages seem normal NOW....

:gurney:
 
Tailpipe clean or sooted black?
Any black smoke at startup after shutdown over a couple hours?
 
010752 said:
Tailpipe clean or sooted black?
Any black smoke at startup after shutdown over a couple hours?
Click to expand...

Ya know, it is black. No noticable smoke though. I am starting to think ignition switch, as the key is acting goofier. Sticks in start, and seems to wiggle more than usual.
 
Sticky in start is usually in the solenoid/Bendix, but you know the truck better than anyone.

On an 03, the tailpipe should be pretty clean, unless you have fooled with the 02 sensors/ecm. Black can be a sign of injector going bad and leaking. When bad enough, will puff black at startup, but only after shut down a couple hours.

Water/alcohol supposedly affects them too,personally don't know.
 
010752 said:
Sticky in start is usually in the solenoid/Bendix, but you know the truck better than anyone.

On an 03, the tailpipe should be pretty clean, unless you have fooled with the 02 sensors/ecm. Black can be a sign of injector going bad and leaking. When bad enough, will puff black at startup, but only after shut down a couple hours.

Water/alcohol supposedly affects them too,personally don't know.
Click to expand...

I checked the milage, and I am getting 20 MPG on the money. Seems the last trip I got 22 or so. Of course, alot less gasahol , and maybe less load . No check engine light, but the tailpipe IS a tad sooty black. When I get back, I'll have Doug check the codes again.:ill:
 
Fair chance I fixed the Toy, 2.4 4 banger, plugs have individual coils, about 6" long with rubber tips on them, covering plug as a boot, well, found two of the boots were gross with 'hair' from arching, and one plug had what looked like rust but maybe arching damage on it....the one with the worst looking boot....

seems everyone wanted to see me new coils from Rock auto at 65 each to local at 95 each.....400 for coils over some rubber boots, I don't THINK so....

lots of rain recently, so it breaks down then, dry the last couple days....so runs fine....

found new boots off some other setup, ten bux each, peeled off the boots, and stuck them on these coils...same shit.....

:drink: some times it's best to just raid the parts shelf yourself, solving your own problems, can't always go by the damn book.....

:crap::banghead:
 
mrvette said:
Fair chance I fixed the Toy, 2.4 4 banger, plugs have individual coils, about 6" long with rubber tips on them, covering plug as a boot, well, found two of the boots were gross with 'hair' from arching, and one plug had what looked like rust but maybe arching damage on it....the one with the worst looking boot....

seems everyone wanted to see me new coils from Rock auto at 65 each to local at 95 each.....400 for coils over some rubber boots, I don't THINK so....

lots of rain recently, so it breaks down then, dry the last couple days....so runs fine....

found new boots off some other setup, ten bux each, peeled off the boots, and stuck them on these coils...same shit.....

:drink: some times it's best to just raid the parts shelf yourself, solving your own problems, can't always go by the damn book.....

:crap::banghead:
Click to expand...

Try as I may, I fail to see the slightest semblence of relevence here. You in the right thread Gene?:confused:
 
big2bird said:
mrvette said:
Fair chance I fixed the Toy, 2.4 4 banger, plugs have individual coils, about 6" long with rubber tips on them, covering plug as a boot, well, found two of the boots were gross with 'hair' from arching, and one plug had what looked like rust but maybe arching damage on it....the one with the worst looking boot....

seems everyone wanted to see me new coils from Rock auto at 65 each to local at 95 each.....400 for coils over some rubber boots, I don't THINK so....

lots of rain recently, so it breaks down then, dry the last couple days....so runs fine....

found new boots off some other setup, ten bux each, peeled off the boots, and stuck them on these coils...same shit.....

:drink: some times it's best to just raid the parts shelf yourself, solving your own problems, can't always go by the damn book.....

:crap::banghead:
Click to expand...

Try as I may, I fail to see the slightest semblence of relevence here. You in the right thread Gene?:confused:
Click to expand...

Symptoms match, rough running, intermittant operation....that's about all....

:gurney:
 
I am really leaning toward the key switch now. The A/C went off and on after starting today. The symtoms are electrical and spreading.:cussing:
 
Any possibility of any 'adjustments' to switch location, the way we used to do?? or is there another redesign??

maybe JimL82 can step up....
 
big2bird said:
I am really leaning toward the key switch now. The A/C went off and on after starting today. The symtoms are electrical and spreading.:cussing:
Click to expand...

Don't forget the passenger power window quite working then started working again. Electrical gremlins YUK :flash:
 
kwplot34 said:
big2bird said:
I am really leaning toward the key switch now. The A/C went off and on after starting today. The symtoms are electrical and spreading.:cussing:
Click to expand...

Don't forget the passenger power window quite working then started working again. Electrical gremlins YUK :flash:
Click to expand...

Yeah. It did that again too. Wish I could get Teri to stop.:phone:
 
big2bird said:
No check engine light, but the tailpipe IS a tad sooty black. When I get back, I'll have Doug check the codes again.:ill:
Click to expand...

You can get the codes read at any AutoZone or AdvancedAuto.... however, if the SES light is not on there likely is no code to read....

Is it burning oil ? Did you pull a plug to see what it looks like (color) ?? Do you have that 6.0L engine in the truck ??
 
MYBAD79 said:
big2bird said:
No check engine light, but the tailpipe IS a tad sooty black. When I get back, I'll have Doug check the codes again.:ill:
Click to expand...

You can get the codes read at any AutoZone or AdvancedAuto.... however, if the SES light is not on there likely is no code to read....

Is it burning oil ? Did you pull a plug to see what it looks like (color) ?? Do you have that 6.0L engine in the truck ??
Click to expand...

No light, no codes, no oil, the small Vortec.(4.8)? I'm getting 90% sure it's the switch. Jiggling the key seems to help.:cussing:
 
big2bird said:
MYBAD79 said:
big2bird said:
No check engine light, but the tailpipe IS a tad sooty black. When I get back, I'll have Doug check the codes again.:ill:
Click to expand...

You can get the codes read at any AutoZone or AdvancedAuto.... however, if the SES light is not on there likely is no code to read....

Is it burning oil ? Did you pull a plug to see what it looks like (color) ?? Do you have that 6.0L engine in the truck ??
Click to expand...

No light, no codes, no oil, the small Vortec.(4.8)? I'm getting 90% sure it's the switch. Jiggling the key seems to help.:cussing:
Click to expand...

Wonder if it's a import switch.....let us know....

:huh:
 
big2bird said:
mrvette said:
Fair chance I fixed the Toy, 2.4 4 banger, plugs have individual coils, about 6" long with rubber tips on them, covering plug as a boot, well, found two of the boots were gross with 'hair' from arching, and one plug had what looked like rust but maybe arching damage on it....the one with the worst looking boot....

seems everyone wanted to see me new coils from Rock auto at 65 each to local at 95 each.....400 for coils over some rubber boots, I don't THINK so....

lots of rain recently, so it breaks down then, dry the last couple days....so runs fine....

found new boots off some other setup, ten bux each, peeled off the boots, and stuck them on these coils...same shit.....

:drink: some times it's best to just raid the parts shelf yourself, solving your own problems, can't always go by the damn book.....

:crap::banghead:
Click to expand...

Try as I may, I fail to see the slightest semblence of relevence here. You in the right thread Gene?:confused:
Click to expand...

Get used to it, I have....:tomato:

How is an ignition switch going to affect gas mileage? If the switch turns off, even for only a moment, you should lose spark and get a misfire and/or stumble, that kind of thing would be noticeable, especially to a "tuned" driver like yourself.

Years ago I was fooling around and shut the key off on a running truck then turned it back on again quickly, I blew the muffler apart because it loaded up with unburned gas and then ignited. The whole truck lifted up a few inches from the explosion then settled back down. Scared the crap out myself....
 
DeeVeeEight said:
big2bird said:
mrvette said:
Fair chance I fixed the Toy, 2.4 4 banger, plugs have individual coils, about 6" long with rubber tips on them, covering plug as a boot, well, found two of the boots were gross with 'hair' from arching, and one plug had what looked like rust but maybe arching damage on it....the one with the worst looking boot....

seems everyone wanted to see me new coils from Rock auto at 65 each to local at 95 each.....400 for coils over some rubber boots, I don't THINK so....

lots of rain recently, so it breaks down then, dry the last couple days....so runs fine....

found new boots off some other setup, ten bux each, peeled off the boots, and stuck them on these coils...same shit.....

:drink: some times it's best to just raid the parts shelf yourself, solving your own problems, can't always go by the damn book.....

:crap::banghead:
Click to expand...

Try as I may, I fail to see the slightest semblence of relevence here. You in the right thread Gene?:confused:
Click to expand...

Get used to it, I have....:tomato:

How is an ignition switch going to affect gas mileage? If the switch turns off, even for only a moment, you should lose spark and get a misfire and/or stumble, that kind of thing would be noticeable, especially to a "tuned" driver like yourself.

Years ago I was fooling around and shut the key off on a running truck then turned it back on again quickly, I blew the muffler apart because it loaded up with unburned gas and then ignited. The whole truck lifted up a few inches from the explosion then settled back down. Scared the crap out myself....
Click to expand...

HIgh humidity bad/marginal wires/boots... OR switch/electrical going tosses computer into relearn mode, so it goes rich for a while to stabilize operation till O2 says to cut it back.....could be affecting the O2 sensor heater circuit also....

still wonder about the 'gasoline'......:tomato:
 
mrvette said:
Wonder if it's a import switch.....let us know....

:huh:
Click to expand...

I ordered it today. $18.00 from GM Parts Direct. I'll let you know. Also bought a right window regulator. for $109.00. It snapped this morning at breakfast. It's done.
 
big2bird said:
mrvette said:
Wonder if it's a import switch.....let us know....

:huh:
Click to expand...

I ordered it today. $18.00 from GM Parts Direct. I'll let you know. Also bought a right window regulator. for $109.00. It snapped this morning at breakfast. It's done.
Click to expand...

snapped?? that one of them 'tape' jobs.....best I can say is I seen one once....

some guys say tapes can be found for C4's about all I know of them....

:clobbered:
 
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