Chevy Sport Van not starting
May 6th, 2012, 08:58 AM
#1
Always room for one more
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Georgia
Posts: 7,689
Chevy Sport Van not starting
Hey everyone.
90 Beauville 350. About a month ago it quit on me and I had it hooked back to my house. Found something in the pickup ring in the distributor had rusted and disintegrated. After a new distributor it ran like a champ.
Yesterday. Got about 3 miles from the house, it quit again. Just dies without warning and the lights come on. Cranks fine, fuel pump cycles, no fire. But unlike before, it started after sitting a couple minutes. Got home, messed with it all afternoon ran fine. This morning, no start. Did the screw driver in the spark plug boot test, no spark.
Any ideas? Has something fried my new distributor? Is the external coil module given it up? It's got plenty of gas. I'm not good with electrical stuff, is there something else in the system that I'm not thinking of?
Thanks much
90 Beauville 350. About a month ago it quit on me and I had it hooked back to my house. Found something in the pickup ring in the distributor had rusted and disintegrated. After a new distributor it ran like a champ.
Yesterday. Got about 3 miles from the house, it quit again. Just dies without warning and the lights come on. Cranks fine, fuel pump cycles, no fire. But unlike before, it started after sitting a couple minutes. Got home, messed with it all afternoon ran fine. This morning, no start. Did the screw driver in the spark plug boot test, no spark.
Any ideas? Has something fried my new distributor? Is the external coil module given it up? It's got plenty of gas. I'm not good with electrical stuff, is there something else in the system that I'm not thinking of?
Thanks much
May 6th, 2012, 01:12 PM
#5
Always room for one more
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Georgia
Posts: 7,689
Thanks guys.
Yes it's TBI. Autozone says the module is bad. So before I go in to NAPA tomorrow and they give me grief, what are some possible "external" ways for the module to go bad. Remember it's only a couple weeks old. The Autozone person said there's no way to test the external coil, can that be spiking somehow and blowing up the module? Could bad plugs/cap/rotor somehow be feeding back and killing it? Do these modules go bad with any frequency? Perhaps I should carry a box of them and the tools to swap it out quickly.
Yes it's TBI. Autozone says the module is bad. So before I go in to NAPA tomorrow and they give me grief, what are some possible "external" ways for the module to go bad. Remember it's only a couple weeks old. The Autozone person said there's no way to test the external coil, can that be spiking somehow and blowing up the module? Could bad plugs/cap/rotor somehow be feeding back and killing it? Do these modules go bad with any frequency? Perhaps I should carry a box of them and the tools to swap it out quickly.
May 6th, 2012, 01:39 PM
#6
"Car"mudgeon
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Perry, GA
Posts: 5,191
You need to use heat sink compound under it as heat is the #1 killer.
HEAT SINK COMPOUND!
DO NOT Use Dielectric Grease!
The module you buy will probably have a package of colorless dielectric grease with it.
DO NOT USE IT!
Buy some heat sink compound (also goes by 'Heat Transfer Paste').
Radio Shack p/n 276-1372 A (around $3) works very well.
Good luck
HEAT SINK COMPOUND!
DO NOT Use Dielectric Grease!
The module you buy will probably have a package of colorless dielectric grease with it.
DO NOT USE IT!
Buy some heat sink compound (also goes by 'Heat Transfer Paste').
Radio Shack p/n 276-1372 A (around $3) works very well.
Good luck
May 11th, 2012, 11:06 PM
#7
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 27
Aftermarket modules can be of questionable quality. Personally I'll take original GM junkyard modules over parts store modules.
Check the wires from the pickup coil to the module carefully, the insulation tends to break down after a number of years. Also check for corrosion on the connector terminals.
Neither of these will cause a module to fail but will leave you walking or chasing intermittent problems.
Check the wires from the pickup coil to the module carefully, the insulation tends to break down after a number of years. Also check for corrosion on the connector terminals.
Neither of these will cause a module to fail but will leave you walking or chasing intermittent problems.
Thanks guys.
Yes it's TBI. Autozone says the module is bad. So before I go in to NAPA tomorrow and they give me grief, what are some possible "external" ways for the module to go bad. Remember it's only a couple weeks old. The Autozone person said there's no way to test the external coil, can that be spiking somehow and blowing up the module? Could bad plugs/cap/rotor somehow be feeding back and killing it? Do these modules go bad with any frequency? Perhaps I should carry a box of them and the tools to swap it out quickly.
Yes it's TBI. Autozone says the module is bad. So before I go in to NAPA tomorrow and they give me grief, what are some possible "external" ways for the module to go bad. Remember it's only a couple weeks old. The Autozone person said there's no way to test the external coil, can that be spiking somehow and blowing up the module? Could bad plugs/cap/rotor somehow be feeding back and killing it? Do these modules go bad with any frequency? Perhaps I should carry a box of them and the tools to swap it out quickly.
May 12th, 2012, 01:24 AM
#8
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Georgia
Posts: 7,689
Well as I suspected another new distributor fixed the problem and the van is now running well once again. I don't have a lot of confidence in the cheep NAPA modules now so I got an extra module(not from NAPA) to keep in the van so when the current one goes bad I can swap it out and be on my way.
I'm disappointed in NAPA. They used to be the place to get stuff, and now they just sell overpriced crap like everyone else. However, I did find out that all the other places sell the exact same distributor, but NAPA is the most expensive by far. And, the others come with a new cap and rotor, but NAPA's doesn't. I think I'm done with them.
So thanks again everyone for chiming in.
I'm disappointed in NAPA. They used to be the place to get stuff, and now they just sell overpriced crap like everyone else. However, I did find out that all the other places sell the exact same distributor, but NAPA is the most expensive by far. And, the others come with a new cap and rotor, but NAPA's doesn't. I think I'm done with them.
So thanks again everyone for chiming in.
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