emb2060
Junior Member
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2022
- Posts
- 9
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Waynesboro, VA
- First Name
- Evan
- Truck Year
- 1986
- Truck Model
- C30 (factory dump bed)
- Engine Size
- 350
Hi everyone. I'll try to make the background as brief as possible.
My truck recently experienced sudden death--meaning I have no idea what happened. I was helping a friend move some stuff to storage. I put the truck ('86 C-30 flatbed dump truck) in neutral while sitting at a light. It then refused to go back into gear. I managed to get it in first and pulled across the street into a parking lot to troubleshoot. Once I shut the truck off, it would go into gear fine, so I'm pretty sure that problem is in my clutch hydraulics, which I have the parts here to replace. It started shifting normally again, so I went a couple more miles to the storage place to unload. As I left to go back home, I experienced a different failure--the clutch failed to disengage when I pushed the pedal, and the truck stalled. After it stalled, the starter would not engage. When I turn the key, nothing happens. The battery shows good charge (although I admittedly haven't load tested), my fuses are good, etc. I tried putting a jumper in the clutch safety switch to eliminate that possibility; still, no dice. My father-in-law happened to be nearby and gave me a pull and we were able to bump start the truck and drive it most of the way home until I stopped at a stop sign and it wouldn't go into gear again. He pulled me the rest of the way.
I initially thought bad ground (as my turn signals/lights were also acting strange after this event) but they all seem to be good when I verify continuity with a meter. I pulled the instrument cluster out and realized that the big connector that plugs into the back had the bottom clip broken off of it. The printed circuit board was looking a little rough, so I replaced it and held the plug into the back as I tried to start the truck--still no engagement at the starter. I'm kind of lost for where to go next. I'd eventually like to rewire the truck, but I was hoping to be able to wait until the fall. I thought about one of those painless wiring kits, but I don't know. I also thought about looking for some kind of simplified wiring diagram, as all the truck really has is the lights, trailer plug, heater, radio, and the normal things under the hood like the alternator and electric choke. Anyway, I just wondered if anyone might have an idea of where I might want to look next, as I'm feeling pretty lost about what to do at this point. All ideas are welcome.
Thank you all.
My truck recently experienced sudden death--meaning I have no idea what happened. I was helping a friend move some stuff to storage. I put the truck ('86 C-30 flatbed dump truck) in neutral while sitting at a light. It then refused to go back into gear. I managed to get it in first and pulled across the street into a parking lot to troubleshoot. Once I shut the truck off, it would go into gear fine, so I'm pretty sure that problem is in my clutch hydraulics, which I have the parts here to replace. It started shifting normally again, so I went a couple more miles to the storage place to unload. As I left to go back home, I experienced a different failure--the clutch failed to disengage when I pushed the pedal, and the truck stalled. After it stalled, the starter would not engage. When I turn the key, nothing happens. The battery shows good charge (although I admittedly haven't load tested), my fuses are good, etc. I tried putting a jumper in the clutch safety switch to eliminate that possibility; still, no dice. My father-in-law happened to be nearby and gave me a pull and we were able to bump start the truck and drive it most of the way home until I stopped at a stop sign and it wouldn't go into gear again. He pulled me the rest of the way.
I initially thought bad ground (as my turn signals/lights were also acting strange after this event) but they all seem to be good when I verify continuity with a meter. I pulled the instrument cluster out and realized that the big connector that plugs into the back had the bottom clip broken off of it. The printed circuit board was looking a little rough, so I replaced it and held the plug into the back as I tried to start the truck--still no engagement at the starter. I'm kind of lost for where to go next. I'd eventually like to rewire the truck, but I was hoping to be able to wait until the fall. I thought about one of those painless wiring kits, but I don't know. I also thought about looking for some kind of simplified wiring diagram, as all the truck really has is the lights, trailer plug, heater, radio, and the normal things under the hood like the alternator and electric choke. Anyway, I just wondered if anyone might have an idea of where I might want to look next, as I'm feeling pretty lost about what to do at this point. All ideas are welcome.
Thank you all.
