TBI timing help…

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

bucket

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Posts
30,615
Reaction score
28,848
Location
Usually not in Ohio
First Name
Andy
Truck Year
'77, '78, '79, '84, '88
Truck Model
K5 thru K30
Engine Size
350-454
The injectors should not continue to spray after stalling. I might recommend a cheap oscilloscope so you can see the injector trigger and start diagnosing that.

It's also possible they are just leaking and bleeding off fuel pressure.
 

Ricko1966

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2017
Posts
5,596
Reaction score
9,111
Location
kansas
First Name
Rick
Truck Year
1975
Truck Model
c20
Engine Size
350
I'm assuming you bought this truck used at some point in time and have never timed it yourself until now,so you dont know how P.O.timed it andvwhy. I would not assume the coil,distributor and ecm all went bad at the same time. That being said it is now running so obviously whatever went bad to keep it from running has been replaced. First make quadruple sure,you didn't create your own idle proplem while you were replacing parts. Knocked off a vacuum line,unplugged a wire etc. Now put away the timing light and start timing it by ear. It ran before,there's a sweet spot and you need to find it again. Then if you are worried about it you can do some reverse engineering to figure out why it won't run at factory setting.
 
Last edited:

Vbb199

B-rate Hillbilly Customs
Joined
Jan 12, 2018
Posts
9,108
Reaction score
15,456
Location
Salisbury NC
First Name
Vince
Truck Year
89, 79
Truck Model
89 Suburban R1500, 79 C10
Engine Size
350, 502
Nobodies suggested it, so i'll be the first.

Try swapping the ESC module for another one.
 

Vbb199

B-rate Hillbilly Customs
Joined
Jan 12, 2018
Posts
9,108
Reaction score
15,456
Location
Salisbury NC
First Name
Vince
Truck Year
89, 79
Truck Model
89 Suburban R1500, 79 C10
Engine Size
350, 502
4 pins, next to the TBI , pass side of intake
 

mstumpf

Junior Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2023
Posts
8
Reaction score
3
Location
77845
First Name
Mike
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
R1500
Engine Size
305
Two questions... the first one is really dumb, so please forgive me:

Are you for sure putting the timing light on cyl 1, rather than cyl 2? Cylinder #1 is left bank (driver side)

What does the injectors' spray pattern look like when it's running? Is it a nice, fine, cone pattern?
There are no dumb questions!

Yeah I made sure I was putting the timing light on the driver's side bank for cylinder one.

The cones have a nice cone pattern.
 

YakkoWarner

Full Access Member
Joined
May 29, 2024
Posts
188
Reaction score
252
Location
Central Texas
First Name
Wolf
Truck Year
1989
Truck Model
R2500 Suburban
Engine Size
454
I'm still trying to get my mind around the injectors continuing to trigger once the engine stops. Since the injector pulse comes from the distributor pickup similar to the ignition coil trigger, if the distributor isn't turning they injectors in no way should be firing at all. If something is fooling them into continuing to spray once the engine stops, that same something logically could be playing hell with the spark timing as well.
 

squaredeal91

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2023
Posts
2,591
Reaction score
4,716
Location
Cave junction Oregon
First Name
Greg bush
Truck Year
1991 SB
Truck Model
K30
Engine Size
5.9 Cummins 12 valve
I know you replaced distributor but it's still possible the new one has a problem. So in the beginning.
Was running good daily then wouldn't start for your son. You replaced distributor and it now runs but poorly and now you have different symptoms than before. Maybe point at distributor again? Definitely a weird one man
 

squaredeal91

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2023
Posts
2,591
Reaction score
4,716
Location
Cave junction Oregon
First Name
Greg bush
Truck Year
1991 SB
Truck Model
K30
Engine Size
5.9 Cummins 12 valve
So I unplugged the coolant temp sender which is only 9 months old and the engine seems to stop stumbling and hesitating……the plot thickens….
Sounds like you're getting close. They go bad allot. Keep extra CTS in glove box. Look around for oem brands like Delco or Delphi.
 

bucket

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Posts
30,615
Reaction score
28,848
Location
Usually not in Ohio
First Name
Andy
Truck Year
'77, '78, '79, '84, '88
Truck Model
K5 thru K30
Engine Size
350-454
Sounds like you're getting close. They go bad allot. Keep extra CTS in glove box. Look around for oem brands like Delco or Delphi.

The original GM CTS's didn't go bad a lot. Just on occasion. The replacements these days tend to suck.
 

squaredeal91

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2023
Posts
2,591
Reaction score
4,716
Location
Cave junction Oregon
First Name
Greg bush
Truck Year
1991 SB
Truck Model
K30
Engine Size
5.9 Cummins 12 valve
The original GM CTS's didn't go bad a lot. Just on occasion. The replacements these days tend to suck.
I meant what you said but wasn't clear lol. I've gone through lots of cheap ones in the past from the auto parts store.
Oem parts are bound to last longer has been my experiences. Especially electronics.
 

90Supurban

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2024
Posts
15
Reaction score
14
Location
Midwest
First Name
D
Truck Year
1990
Truck Model
V1500
Engine Size
5.7
Unplugging the coolant temp sensor defaults to -40 degrees, I believe? At the very least it will throw it into open loop, but also richen it up just based on what it thinks the temp is. Doesn't necessarily mean the sensor is bad. Running richer, or just being in open loop, could be masking something else. Skewed O2 sensor pushing it lean? Something still wrong with the timing that is masked when its richer (CTS unplugged)? Do you have access to a scan tool that will read data from this ancient stuff?
In a previous post, when you unplugged the coolant temp sensor, it didn't change anything. When it is running, make sure both injectors are firing. Sometimes those connections get splayed and make bad/intermittent contact. Could be firing on 1 injector intermittently or something.

As someone else mentioned, you could have bad NEW parts as well. Victims of shoddy aftermarket quality when there is no other alternative for us.
 

Sgt Gus

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2023
Posts
318
Reaction score
474
Location
Texas
First Name
Mark
Truck Year
87
Truck Model
R20 3/4 ton
Engine Size
454ci/7.4L
There are no dumb questions!

Yeah I made sure I was putting the timing light on the driver's side bank for cylinder one.

The cones have a nice cone pattern.
Could you tell me what distributor, make and model#? Trying to get one with melonized gear.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
44,414
Posts
956,954
Members
36,735
Latest member
rljohnson013
Top