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98 blazer no start

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philman

philman

Jedi Knight
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I try and keep one car I don't touch (for reliability purposes). Well, my '98 Blazer has decided to not start any more. It cranks fine, all indications normal. No trouble codes indicated. First time the shop changed the fuel pump. Second time fuel relay and filter. Third time the crank position sensor. Each repair lasted amazingly about six weeks. First indication is a stumbling while driving along, then better head to the side of the road quick. I've decided that since the professionals seem to be easter egging, I might as well save money and easter egg a few things myself. Any ideas?
 
Sounds like you're going to a Chevy dealer for your repairs. They no longer hire mechanics with problem solving abilities...just technicians who R+R the parts the computers tell them to R+R.

One question is: "Which engine do you have?"

But my first inclination is to look at (drum roll please....) Ignition Coil Packs. These tend to go bad very easily, especially if you have the ones that go right onto the plug.

The other thing to look at -- key cylinder.

Many modern cars, especially the ones with anti-theft controls (like chips in keys) have a tendency to exhibit exactly the same problems when the key cylinder wears our (usually from a heavy key ring.) What happens is you're driving along, and the bumps jiggle the keys, which causes momentary non-contact and you get an engine stumble -- then boom, nothing. Sometimes it will restart, sometimes it won't.

It's not a Chevy-specific problem. My friend's Acura 3.2TL and my brother's Volvo C70 Convertible have had identical problems in the last year, both solved with new key cylinders.

Depending on the type of car/wiring, sometimes you get no crank at all, other times you'll get crank, but no juice to the fuel pump.
 
hmmm, key cylinder. I never would have thought of that. I thought I would try a new ignition module, cap and rotor. It's the 4.3 liter vortec with the distributor at the rear of the block. Right now its raining and I can't move it into the shop (besides it won't start) so I have a few days to ponder on this. Thanks sammyb.
 
I was trying for the longest time to remember what had caused a similar problem in a '94 Blazer with the same engine that I used to own.............it was the ignition module! I think you're on the right lines here.
 
I had and 92 Blazer that had a similar problem and replaced all the spark plugs wires. It had 170,000 miles on it ran great after this.

Don
 
update.....today no rain so I changed the ignition module, cap, rotor, and coil pickup sensor. viola--started right up. thanks for the help guys! next is sparkies and wires.
 
ok, started doing it again. driving along, stopped at a traffic signal. car died, no warning. restarted fine. proceeded to chess match. would not restart after match. finally started, stalled three more times on the way home, but I was able to park it in front of shop this time. Then, today started fine. My cousin suggested replacing some of the appropriate fuses. worked again, so i did a few other items and came back to it, no start. grabbed my meter and started voltage probes. At some time the previous owner had installed an aftermarket alarm system or something and the hot wire from the underhood bussed electrical center to the ignition switch had two 20 amp circuit breakers (in series) installed in it which reduced the voltage to the ignition switch (fused at 40 amps) to about 2 volts.whack-whack, car starts.aftermarket circuitbreakers bypassed.

my power distribution diagram shows a direct wire from the buss to the ignition switch, so i don't know what was added or why.
 
Attack of the aftermarket hack shop! It'll get ya every time.
One of the wires in tha aftermarket alarm has to be in series with an ignition wire under the dash (factory wire cut , and redirected throught the alarm system). Thats how it locks the car from starting. If that box, or any of it's wires go funky, all sorts of weird stuff can happen.
 
[quote the hot wire from the underhood bussed electrical center to the ignition switch had two 20 amp circuit breakers (in series) installed in it which reduced the voltage to the ignition switch (fused at 40 amps) to about 2 volts.whack-whack, car starts.aftermarket circuitbreakers bypassed.
/quote]

Phil, I'm thinking you may be back here again. Circuit breakers, no matter how many are in series, will not reduce voltage; only some sort of resistance (load) can do that.
If the symptoms are still there, please look at the fuel filter (even if it is new, I've seen aftermarket filters swell up and stop the flow when hot, and then open up again by the time the tow truck got the car back to the shop. You'd need to try blowing through it as soon as the engine stalls to verify this. Also, GM cars have another filter at the bottom of the fuel sender/pickup unit in the tank. These are very fine mesh, and if either dirt or water gets to it, you'll starve the fuel pump. The normal cure is to remove and throw it away, though new parts are available.
Good luck if you need it again.
 
I took the circuit breakers out of the circuit and (I think) restored the normal wiring. The installed wiring was crimped together, but I soldered.
 
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