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99 Chevy S10 Pickup. Loses power while driving.
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BlinkerFluid
New User
Apr 30, 2014, 3:49 PM
Post #1 of 3
(2170 views)
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99 Chevy S10 Pickup. Loses power while driving.
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It's a 4.3 Liter V6 with 180k miles on it
I've been dealing with some kind of messed up electrical something for a while now. Way back when I first got it, I had a sudden death on the road and couldn't restart. Turned out a ground came out and the car refused to start as a safety precaution. The ground was routed to a part of the frame and welded to it. I was told this was more permanent a fix. Car runs fine for 4 more years. Then all of a sudden it dies on me again while I'm driving. The engine is still running, the radio is on, but I can't give it any gas, and my brake pedal is stiff as a boulder. I think the power steering goes out too. This time however I'm slightly more lucky because the car starts again. This happens a few more times and finally I get fed up and limp into a shop miraculously on momentum. They tell me I need a new batter, alternator, and a cable. I get it done.
Truck works ok for a few weeks, then components start to fail. The AC compressor stops working, then the wiper blade motor which I replaced myself with no result, and finally the fuel pump starts do decide not to work half the time I try to start it. At this point I'm too unimpressed with mechanics to want to take it back to anybody. I'm glad it's getting me form A to B still (when it starts) Finally one day about two years later, I turn the key and get the rapid clicking associated with a dead battery. I figure out that I can start it reliably with a jump from a jumpstart kit I bought. So I do that and decide to take it to Chevy to get it looked at. I tell them to do a full electrical. Look at every circuit and tell me what it costs to make it all work right again. They call me back with what was at the time great news. They say that the battery was dead, everything else around it was good. Apparently the battery died in two years because it was sitting on the tray loose and shifting around. They replace it, my truck starts right up and I'm on my way home. I'm happy, but not for long.
I decide to go for a short ride on the highway. Unfortunately there's afternoon traffic to get through first. I'm on the road for about 20 minutes, and I'm one stop light away from the freeway on-ramp, and the damn thing loses power AGAIN! Battery light comes on, no fuel into the engine when I hit the gas, and the brake pedal is stiff. I coast into the left turn lane and turn it off, pray, and turn it back on. I make a u-turn and carefully drive back home.
I'm about to take it back to Chevy but I want to feel like I have a clue first. Is it possible that ground is getting funny? Could it just be a relay? Is this the kind of thing a mechanic has to get lucky to diagnose or is there a more or less sure fire way to figure it out, and I just had a guy who decided he could smell good wires after he put the battery in, and neglected to do further tests?
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
May 1, 2014, 12:18 AM
Post #2 of 3
(2138 views)
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Re: 99 Chevy S10 Pickup. Loses power while driving.
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You need to take it to another shop that specializes in drive-ability.
They are going to have to monitor systems using scan tools and or lab scopes to see what goes missing when the problem occurs. Sounds to me like the dealership techs are lost on this one.
Troubleshooting fast glitches that are intermittent are the hardest problems for a technician to figure out. It can be extremely frustrating, but with the right tools and strategy the problem can be figured out. Dealership flat rate techs don't want to spend a lot of time troubleshooting hard intermittent problems because they don't get paid enough doing diagnostics.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on May 1, 2014, 12:18 AM)
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