Author Topic: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart  (Read 6367 times)

Offline bake315

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'87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« on: May 12, 2018, 05:23:56 PM »
Hey guys. It's been ages since I posted anything here on the Forum, and since then I sold my '74 C20 and now I have this '87 R30. Anyhow, I was driving home oh, and I was running fairly fast, maybe 65 to 70 miles an hour, when all of a sudden it just died - almost as if somebody flipped a switch. I have yet to seriously dig into this truck, especially since I'm sitting on the side of the road at the moment, waiting for a tow truck. I'm trying to get a sense of what to start looking for as far as the cause. My initial guess is that a fuse is blown somewhere in the area of fuel delivery. I know I have plenty of fuel in both tanks, and I've tried starting on both. I did notice it seems to be a little bit odd sounding while I'm cranking, almost as if there's a dead cylinder. This engine has been super smooth and doesn't smoke, so I doubt if it's anything mechanical. I'm looking for a gut instinct from y'all. Thanks!

Oh, and one other thing - there seems to be an excessive amount of oily residue inside the air cleaner, so my second guess would be crankcase ventilation.
• '73 Cheyenne Super C20 454/400 http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=7672.0
• ’79 Scottsdale K10 350/NP208/SM465 “Oscar” http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=37885.0
• ’87 Custom Deluxe R30 350/400 “Felix”

Offline Irish_Alley

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2018, 06:09:15 PM »
welcome back, at this point it could be anything. need to check for fire and fuel, it could be anything from distributor, ecm, fuel pump, ecm or just a fuse. do you even hear the fuel pump prime when you first turn the key one? how about if you swap tanks? if no fuel pump sound check fuse ecm 2. if its good and if you have some spare wire just the little red wire on the fuel pump relay and see if you can hear the pump start then.
If you can’t tell yourself the truth, who can you tell it to?~Irish_Alley

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth ~Sherlock Holmes

Offline bake315

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2018, 07:36:10 PM »
welcome back, at this point it could be anything. need to check for fire and fuel, it could be anything from distributor, ecm, fuel pump, ecm or just a fuse. do you even hear the fuel pump prime when you first turn the key one? how about if you swap tanks? if no fuel pump sound check fuse ecm 2. if its good and if you have some spare wire just the little red wire on the fuel pump relay and see if you can hear the pump start then.

Hi Tim.  Thanks for the welcome back.  So here's what I have... I can't actually hear the fuel pump prime at this point (thanks partially to the warning buzzer - still works, surprisingly.) I thought I could hear the relay click over, but it could have been something else.  Tested both ECM fuses under the dash - each tested good.  Performed the ohms test on the external HEI coil - tested "0", confirmed good power getting to it.  One of the very first things I tried was to switch tanks from R to L - seemed to make no difference.

Next test will be the direct hot lead to the relay and try for some joy there.
• '73 Cheyenne Super C20 454/400 http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=7672.0
• ’79 Scottsdale K10 350/NP208/SM465 “Oscar” http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=37885.0
• ’87 Custom Deluxe R30 350/400 “Felix”

Offline bake315

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2018, 08:58:15 PM »
OK... pump tested good.  Relay tested good.  Ugh.  Starting to recall what I liked about pre-computer trucks.  So, I think I can perhaps rule out fuel delivery at this point, other than checking the inline filter for an obstruction (which would have had to make it past the sock filter in the tank?)  At the very instant it died - there was an audible "pop".  I couldn't tell for sure, but it didn't sound like any sort of a backfire or anything like that.  Is there any way to test for fire which doesn't rely on a helper being present?

I suppose I could "rent" a code reader from AutoBone and see if it can tell me anything helpful...
« Last Edit: May 12, 2018, 09:26:28 PM by bake315 »
• '73 Cheyenne Super C20 454/400 http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=7672.0
• ’79 Scottsdale K10 350/NP208/SM465 “Oscar” http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=37885.0
• ’87 Custom Deluxe R30 350/400 “Felix”

Online bd

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2018, 09:32:42 PM »
Check both sides of every fuse using an incandescent test light.  Give the three fusible links a firm tug to see if they stretch or separate.  Make sure the distributor is tight and hasn't spun around.
Rich
It's difficult to know just how much you don't know until you know it.
In other words... if people learn by making mistakes, by now I should know just about everything!!!
87 R10 Silverado Fleetside 355 MPFI 700R4 3.42 Locker (aka Rusty, aka Mater)

Offline Irish_Alley

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2018, 10:07:15 PM »
just because the fuel pump primes or runs doesnt mean the injectors are getting the signal to "fire" and that could be a distributor issue. im not sure theres much you can do without a helper turning it over for you.

after you do what BD suggested you can try other test by yourself if you have the right tools. i have used jumper cables to test for fire but pulling a plug wire and if you have a spare spark plug (or you might have to pull one from your block) and attaching one end of the jumper cable to a good ground and then the other respected end to the steel part of the plug and moving the plug to a visible spot from the driver seat and turn the engine over watching for spark.

the injector test you can do with a noid light and it will light up (also visible from the drivers seat )but most people dont have a noid injector tester. you can try to start it on carb cleaner or gas down the tbi but be careful of where and how much fuel you use. 
If you can’t tell yourself the truth, who can you tell it to?~Irish_Alley

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth ~Sherlock Holmes

Offline bake315

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2018, 11:01:49 PM »
Give the three fusible links a firm tug to see if they stretch or separate.

Whoa!  I think we have a winner!  I didn't even need to tug on anything. This would account for that "pop" that I heard.  Too late to fix it tonight - project for the morning.  I'll let y'all know how it goes.

This place is so awesome.  Great to be back!


« Last Edit: May 12, 2018, 11:03:45 PM by bake315 »
• '73 Cheyenne Super C20 454/400 http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=7672.0
• ’79 Scottsdale K10 350/NP208/SM465 “Oscar” http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=37885.0
• ’87 Custom Deluxe R30 350/400 “Felix”

Online VileZambonie

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #7 on: May 13, 2018, 06:46:05 AM »
Trace it because fusible links don't just go for no reason. Most likely a wire on that circuit has made contact with bare metal.
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Online bd

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #8 on: May 13, 2018, 10:00:20 AM »
Rich
It's difficult to know just how much you don't know until you know it.
In other words... if people learn by making mistakes, by now I should know just about everything!!!
87 R10 Silverado Fleetside 355 MPFI 700R4 3.42 Locker (aka Rusty, aka Mater)

Offline bake315

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #9 on: May 13, 2018, 06:44:14 PM »
Trace it because fusible links don't just go for no reason. Most likely a wire on that circuit has made contact with bare metal.

Yeah, I'm thinking it chafed against something as well.  Finally getting out there to mess with it now.
• '73 Cheyenne Super C20 454/400 http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=7672.0
• ’79 Scottsdale K10 350/NP208/SM465 “Oscar” http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=37885.0
• ’87 Custom Deluxe R30 350/400 “Felix”

Offline bake315

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• '73 Cheyenne Super C20 454/400 http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=7672.0
• ’79 Scottsdale K10 350/NP208/SM465 “Oscar” http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=37885.0
• ’87 Custom Deluxe R30 350/400 “Felix”

Offline bake315

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #11 on: May 13, 2018, 07:14:38 PM »
Found the chafe.  Pretty obvious this could have gotten ugly pretty fast.
• '73 Cheyenne Super C20 454/400 http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=7672.0
• ’79 Scottsdale K10 350/NP208/SM465 “Oscar” http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=37885.0
• ’87 Custom Deluxe R30 350/400 “Felix”

Offline bake315

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #12 on: May 13, 2018, 08:12:51 PM »
(sigh) Well, I replaced the section that fried between the fusible link and the block, verified good power above and below the link - still in a no-start status.  I will replace that link anyway, since the condition of the wire going into it was a little bit sketchy anyway.  I was hoping it would start and run, at least. :(

On to those wiring diagrams...
• '73 Cheyenne Super C20 454/400 http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=7672.0
• ’79 Scottsdale K10 350/NP208/SM465 “Oscar” http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=37885.0
• ’87 Custom Deluxe R30 350/400 “Felix”

Offline bake315

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #13 on: May 13, 2018, 09:54:21 PM »
Man, this is like trying to read Chinese...
• '73 Cheyenne Super C20 454/400 http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=7672.0
• ’79 Scottsdale K10 350/NP208/SM465 “Oscar” http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=37885.0
• ’87 Custom Deluxe R30 350/400 “Felix”

Online VileZambonie

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Re: '87 R30 died at highway speed - will not restart
« Reply #14 on: May 14, 2018, 06:28:21 AM »
Did you check all of the fusible links and all of your fuses? What is it doing? Crank no start?
,                           ___ 
                         /  _ _ _\_
              ⌠¯¯¯¯¯'   [☼===☼]
              `()_);-;()_)--o--)_)

74 GMC, 75 K5, 84 GMC, 85 K20, 86 k20, 79 K10