JK1500

Hello, new to the club and this is my first Chevy. I needed something to tow the toys and picked up this 1994 5.7 z71. Love the truck but have been replacing things looking to resolve an issue and now I think they are related but need hep or want to know if this is common.

I drove home a friends house picking up a 4 wheeler. got home, shut the truck off. Went to move it and no fuel no spark. I had it towed and it was "Just a lose ignition wire" but nothing was fixed. I asked GOODYEAR to go through the truck but they said they cant because there computers wont hook up to it. just said come get it. I was driving it yesterday doing 70mph and the truck shut off. pulled over, motor turned and turned and turned... Nothing. took the air cleaner off jiggled the driver side wire harness going to the coil. Told my daughter to try it and she fired up. Drove a few more miles down the road, she shut off for a few seconds and then kicked back on. I dont see any fraying but am wondering if I just need to re-splice this harness with a new one? Has anyone else had this problem? could it be something else?

A side note, I have had an issue with gassing it from a dead stop and she stalling out (since I bought it). Ive replaced the following trying to get rid of the issue but am wondering if its related to this ignition problem.
Replaced the following.
EGR VALVE, TPS, spark plugs, wires, (cleaned cap and rotor), new fuel pump, rebuilt TBI, 2 new injectors, new O2.
no check engine light but is a turd from 0mph. Sometimes in reverse she stalls easier. If you are doing like above 10mph and floor it, she goes but now this lose wire connection is becoming a bigger problem.

Thanks for any input. Just trying to have a dependable farm truck that can become a workhorse

Rednucleus

If you want to throw one more part at it change the ICM in the distributor. Common culprit for your complaint. AND welcome to the forum!!

JK1500

Thanks Rednucleus! This is the first I have heard of that. I will read up on it.

Rednucleus

My 93 suburban with 350K+ miles is on its 3rd or 4th one

Irish_alley

another common problem is poor grounds. there should be one on the engine and firewall. but clean all the connections. the issue might be once they warm up the connection gets worse and might need to be "wiggled" to reestablished the connection till it arcs out again

JK1500

So I used the truck yesterday to drive the recycle and trash cans to the street, started normal, ran fine, once I got to the street I let it sit there and idol. It was fine.... Temp Gauge was reading like 130degrees at this point. Put it in reverse and she died. Wouldnt start back up, just crank and crank, proceeded to then jiggle wire from coil to Ignition control and she fired up but died instantly. Kept cranking and she fired up but ran terrible until I floored it and then when the RPMs came down she popped and pinged and stalled.

Waited 10 minutes, started right up, started driving and it was missing or wanting to die really bad. Parked it, picked up a Ignition control Module B&W I think it is, replaced. Fired right up, drove great until the temp of the engine started to get warm and then same thing. Stalled, pinging/miss fire stalls. Wait a few minutes and she fires up. I looked at the wire from the coil to the ICM and it seems fine, not frayed or anything like it should just work. Same with the other coil wire going to the harness. I have owned the truck 6 months and have prob. put 1000 miles on it because its a farm truck basically. 210k miles on the clock and really no history other than I keep replacing sensors etc trying to nip this thing. I have no check engine light but will do the paperclip trick tonight and see if it gives me any codes.

I wanted to pick up some drywall yesterday because I am remodeling the kitchen but I think by the time I get to the end of the street, she is going to keep stalling and be undrive-able.

Irish_alley

next time it acts up try only wiggling one wire at a time to ry and pin point the issue

JK1500

I will do that. I did notice when I was hooking up the ICM that the pickup connector that connects to the ICM on the distributor looks old. As in the plastic connector was yellow and seemed brittle. I might try pulling the distributor, disassemble it, clean it, and replace that pickup. Google has tole me the symptoms I am experiencing is either ICM or pickup? I feel as though this issue has finally escalated. I bought the truck knowing it bucked, popped and stalled when you floor it from a stop. But it ran great otherwise. Something has finally failed...

Irish_alley

in my experience when the pick-up coil goes theres no more running at all. the icm other wise can come and go

JK1500

I understand IRISH. I ordered a ACDELCO pickup coil, got it yesterday. Ive never pulled a distributor before, is it as simple as marking where the shaft is on the engine and where the distributor rotor is pointed? Thanks