I have a 98 chevy truck that only wants to start when it wants to
it will run for weeks at a time then it will not start some days I think it
a spark problem and it seems to be worse if it sits outside or has not been run for a few days
Any suggestions
Thanks

 

That is a very difficult problem, because if I say to go check something and you check it out when it is starting ok then we did not learn anything. but start with all the plugs under the hood and around the steering column (leave the yellow ones alone) make sure they are plugged in well. the tabs that hold them in place are not broke and if you take them apart make sure the terminals are clean and do not look distorted.

 

it seems elike a moisture problem the more i think about it
it rained here for about 2 weeks and never started then i pushed it in the shop for a week and it started right up
but now its 10 below sitting out side and it will not start
is there a chip in the rotor that could be going bad

 

First thing I think of when you say moisture, is spark bleeding through somewhere. If there is a crack in the dist cap lets say or the coil wire it may cause that. if the path of least Resistance is through the crack than across the gap in the dist cap and plug then out it goes. Moist air of a rainy day will alot of times facilitate this. spray water out of a windex bottle on the ign system when it is dark out side and see if you get a light show. it has to be done while the eng is cranking.

 

just crank it when its dark..im pretty sure u dont need water at all.. you'll see the sparks.. or if u got $50 bucks to throw init to...get delco plugs and wires..and while ur at it a new dis.cap

 

Only reason i use water is it shows up when the problem is there but sometimes you cant see the spark, i guess if it is a small crack.

 

well let me put it this way..i'v never used water lol.. to me water and eletronics dont seem to go together.. i'v seen way too many trucks mudding hit a hole going fast.. water gets into the dis. cap and you messed up.. it'll barely start and run.. but im sure you can try it..