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  1. Y

    TBI timing help…

    Hold the phone! Injectors were running after the engine stalled? As in trickling fuel, or full spray? That could be a symptom of a different problem. My (probably incomplete - others feel free to fill in what I miss) comprehension of how the injectors work is the computer gets a pulse from...
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    Windshield Wiper Intermittent Function

    So how much oil does the relay leak out on a weekly basis? Seriously, Lucas stuff gets a bad rap when in reality they made decent stuff, but the cars it was installed into had no rust prevention and the grounds would corrode, causing all sorts of stuff to go weird that was not a defect in the...
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    TBI timing help…

    OK these become clues (or "data points" to the more tehnically engineeringly inclined). Code 42 is the not very helpful "electronic spark control" error - lots of things can trigger it. Disconnecting the bypass to set the timing will set it, so you need to clear the codes by disconnecting the...
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    TBI timing help…

    The ECM is usually the last thing to eat itself, not impossible but would save that for after sorting out a lot of other things 1st. Did the new distributor include a new module as well? If not that would be the top of my suspect list. When you set the motor at TDC, did you pull a plug and...
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    Vintage Air Gen V (5) or replace existing compressor, etc., for 1987 R20 Suburban?

    My rear bracket is all out of sorts. The plastic that everything screws to has gotten so brittle that its just flaking apart. Right now theres just a lot of zip-ties and hopes holding most of it together, although the fan does run freely. Doesn't move much air though, I don't think the...
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    Vintage Air Gen V (5) or replace existing compressor, etc., for 1987 R20 Suburban?

    The thermal switch is on the passenger side of the engine (single wire) - if the wire came off and is touching metal somewhere, it will trigger the fan to come on. If the wire isn't just hanging loose, try unplugging it from the switch and turn the key on; if the fan stopped than there is a...
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    Vintage Air Gen V (5) or replace existing compressor, etc., for 1987 R20 Suburban?

    I have one of the later year (1989-1991) Suburbans that have the compressor on the passenger side of the engine and the alternator on the driver side. Will that prevent me from upgrading to a Sanden compressor? My system is factory but not doing well at all - the more I read the more I think I...
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    Radiator fan direction

    Unfortunately I couldn't find any markings on it that would indicate which direction it should turn, so I had to go more or less on faith that it was the correct pump for the engine (and it did not appear to be a recent replacement) - it stays perfectly cool running down the highway at 67-70...
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    Blinkers are acting up

    I'm with Fast99 on this one - that sounds like a grounding issue to me as well. The sockets and housing on trucks of this age have corrosion - how much depends on a lot of factors but none of them (unless already restored) are rust free - so thats where I would start. I frequently add...
  10. Y

    Fluid Changes

    That could explain some of the very odd intermittant oil smoke I have gotten when running at highway speeds...not sure how hard removing the covers on mine will be (1989 a lot of "stuff" in the way compared to the 60's-70's engines) but could be worth a look....
  11. Y

    Batteries sho

    When you charge the battery and connect it, do you see or hear any kind of spark as the cable is attached to the battery? If its runnng down in 3 days that would seem to be enough draw to actually cause a small spark. I'd also try leaving one of the battery cables disconnected, to rule out any...
  12. Y

    Radiator fan direction

    Yeah - I found that out the hard way when I went to flip it around thinking they had put it on backwards, and it was STILL wrong. Had to go buy the right fan, they apparently put one from an older engine that used V belts (pump turning same direction as engine) instead of a serpentine setup...
  13. Y

    Radiator fan direction

    Also when rotating it should blow air towards the engine, sucking through the radiator. It should be pretty easy to tell based on the rotation and angle of the blades, but don't tell that to the previous owners of my 1989 who had it blowing the wrong way.....
  14. Y

    1987 Silverado fuel issue

    Ahh that could explain the confusion then - I have the big block. It definately is the oil sensor/switch (3 wires, 1 to gauge 2 for fuel pump backup).
  15. Y

    ‘87 454 TBI, NO Fuel spray, HAS fuel pressure, has 12v @ injectors, has spark

    Where did you get the device (and roughly how much was it if you don't mind saying since I kind of need one too)??? If you're not getting readings at all, I'd hazard a guess that your ECU is either not powering on or is experiencing a problem. The ECU itself lives behind the glovebox - I would...
  16. Y

    Parasitic draw

    Yes - my friend Dave had that happening on his 1987 C30. If there is a miswiring that keeps the exciter circuit live, that can cause it to happen even with a perfectly functioning alternator. A bad diode in an otherwise working alternator could do it too - it will charge perfectly fine but...
  17. Y

    Can the heater core be turned off?

    Thats pretty much what I needed to know and thanks for the prompt responses. If it didn't have a control valve by design, probably not wise to install one. I'll just do the hose coupling trick for now and maybe try to do something more elaborate next year when I'm past heater season again (and...
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    Can the heater core be turned off?

    A lot of vehicles have a valve to control the flow of hot water through the heater core, whereas the the squarebody vintage trucks don't. I am wondering if that could be added because down here it gets way too hot in the summertime, and even with the controls set to vent I get air much hotter...
  19. Y

    1987 Silverado fuel issue

    They seem to just stick it wherever they want. My 1989 Suburban has it on the engine block itself just behind the power steering pump.
  20. Y

    Modern center console rear a/c and heat

    The rear air in the squarebody Suburbans was all the way back in the cargo area above the tailgate/rear doors and uses a secondary evaporator with high pressure lines plumbed under the vehicle back up to the engine bay compressor, so that system wouldn't be much help for doing a modern...
  21. Y

    ‘87 454 TBI, NO Fuel spray, HAS fuel pressure, has 12v @ injectors, has spark

    I wonder if someone got tired of seeing it on all the time (or was attempting to get thru an inspection/sale) and just yanked it. See if you have a suspicious looking empty bulb holder swinging around loose up in there somewhere. Or some cut wires that go nowhere. A small mirror helps. I know...
  22. Y

    ‘87 454 TBI, NO Fuel spray, HAS fuel pressure, has 12v @ injectors, has spark

    Usually when the ICM module goes bad you lose both spark and injector pulse - if it runs off of starting fluid/bit of gas dribbled into the TB then you can rule out the pickup in the distributor and probably the ICM as the problem. The way the injectors work is they have +12 on them...
  23. Y

    Brake light keeps going out

    A bad ground can be confusing - what will sometimes happen (my friend Dave's 1987 Chevy did this one) will be if the ground is bad, current will partically flow back through the other filiment and make it seem like its working - you press the brake and it comes on, turn on the lights and it...
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    Parasitic draw

    I like that shunt - where did you get it? I have used an antique DC ammeter to hunt down phantom draws in British cars (it is a relic from my grandfather which he used back when houses were fed with DC current - measures up to 300 amps) - that shunt and a modern digital meter would be a lot...
  25. Y

    1987 454 TBI down on power, runs good otherwise

    From what I can tell on mine the injectors aren't a low-high configuration. both spray more with increasing throttle when you observe them - but that question does bring up a possibility. If only ONE of them is working (or one working well one marginal), that could explain the low-throttle...

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