Help, engine keeps turning off.

[Chevyman680063]

I have a GM Goodwrench 350 crate motor that was in the truck when I got it back in 03. The last 2 or so months it has been randomly cutting off on me. One day while driving it cut off on me for maybe 2 seconds then cranked back up without me doing anything. I pulled into a parking lot when it did that and when I was coming to a stop in the parking lot in turned off and didn't come back on by itself this time but I was able to get it to crank back up. I first thought that maybe the old fuel pump that was on it when I got it was going bad so I replaced it with an Edelbrock Performer Series pump to match the Edelbrock carb. I put on it back in 03. Well it seemed to work fine for about 2 days then it started trying to cut off again but never did actually cut off. I checked the fuel filter and noticed several pieces of trash in it. I looked in the gas tank and saw rust in the bottom of it so I ordered a new tank. I then took the fuel line off and cleaned it out and put a new filter on it too. It seemed to run fine for about a week or so then it started acting up again. It cut off on me while I was driving through a parking lot and when it came to a stop I tried cranking it but it didn't seem to want to turn over. I tapped the gas pedal a couple times but that didn't work. I turned the key again and finally got it to crank up after turning the key for about 3 or 4 seconds. I checked the filter but it looked clean. I checked the spark plugs to make sure they didn't get fouled out but they all seemed to be fine. I was wondering if maybe some of that trash/rust could have gotten into the carb. and is causing problems with it, or is there anything else you guys think I should check? Thanks in advance.

[89 crew]

Are you sure it is a fuel problem? I haven't gotten to listen to it messing up, but when I think of a truck dieing I instantly go back to an old ford my Dad had that would loose connection on the power to the distributer. other electrical problems would be an overheating module, hot lead to distributer shorting out intermittently. More info could help with diagnoses.

[bob1967]

I'm just throwing this out there, because I am not for sure, but would a cracked distributor or bad points cause that. I kinda agree with 89 crew on possible electrical.

[Chevyman680063]

Yeah it's hard to describe it over the internet. One reason I thought it was something with the fuel was because I found alot of trash in the fuel filter that wasn't there before. I put the new fuel pump on and replaced the filter and it did fine for about a day or 2, cleaned the filter and as soon as I turned it on there was trash in it again. That's when I looked in the tank and found the rust. Replaced the tank and cleaned out the line and it did fine for around a week. The filter is clean now but it still is cutting off whether I'm driving down the road or just sitting in Park. I went to the store the other day and when I got in it and tried cranking it, it didn't want to crank. It was trying to crank it just wouldn't turn over (sounded kinda like it wasn't getting gas). I got it to crank and went to another store and when I was leaving it shut off and I coasted over to the side of the store. Again, it didn't want to turn over even when I tried giving it some gas which usually gets it to start. It took about 3-4, maybe 5 seconds of me turning the key before it would crank. What kinda made me think it was something electrical another time was the time it cut off on me when I was going down the road and it coasted for about 2 seconds then just cranked itself back up without me touching the key or moving my foot on the gas pedal.

[89 crew]

Check the battery cables! positive cable for shorts and neg cable for connection. I had a caprice that drove me nuts on that!

[89 crew]

also What are we working on? year? hei or points? has the wiring loom been butchered? was there any work done on it just before it started having problems? Any info you have would be handy!

[Chevyman680063]

I'm probably gonna get some new battery cables for it anyway since they were the ones that were on it when I got the truck in 03. I noticed on the battery cables that the wires inside are exposed at the contacts anyway. I'm gonna have to check out my distributor (if I can, the thing is so close to the firewall that there's not much room to work) and battery cables tomorrow. I really appreciate the help guys. Also, do you think the voltage regulator could have anything to do with it? If anyone else can think of anything at all for me to check I'd greatly appreciate it.

[Chevyman680063]

I'm not sure what year the motor is but it's the same crate engine you can get from GM, the GM Goodwrench 350 with 250 hp and 350 ft lbs of torque, though I doubt it's making that much since it's got some oil leaks. It has the HEI distributor that was in it when I bought it in '03. There had been no work done on it before it started acting up. It was fine one day then the next it just started acting up. There's no telling what was done to the truck before I had it.

[89 crew]

I meant what year is the truck. The wireing looms have changed greatly between 1947 and 2003.

[Chevyman680063]

The truck is a 63. I would have posted this on the 60-66 boards but it sometimes takes awhile to get a response.

[89 crew]

is it alternator or generator?

[Chevyman680063]

Alternator, I had to replace the one that was on it when I got it a few months after I got it because the bearings in it were bad. Replaced it with a new one from Advance and that one had bad diodes in it so I had to get them to give me another one. The alternator on it is now around 4 years old.

[89 crew]

ok, electrical things that can cause an engine to die like yours. loss of connection. That would be battery cables, ignition switch, power to hei, MASSIVE draw on the system, shorted battery cable. damaged parts, module, broken power connection in the coil, battery cables, ignition switch. It doesn't mean that all of this is wrong! These are possibilities to check. I would still start with checking battery cables and corrosion on the posts. Does it only give troubles hot?

[Chevyman680063]

At first it seemed like it would only act up after I had been driving it a few minutes but then it started doing it after I had just cranked the truck up and was letting it warm up. Just the other morning I cranked it up to let it warm up and within about 15-20 seconds it turned off.

[89 crew]

does it seem to have poor performance when you get it running? compared to when you bought the truck?

[Chevyman680063]

It has seemed to be lacking in performance since it started acting up the last 2 months.

[89 crew]

pull the module and have it tested at your favorite auto parts store. if they can't test replace it.

[Chevyman680063]

I'll have to do that tomorrow, rather later today that is since it's 2:00 in the morning here. Thanks for all the help man.

[72swb_327stroker_?]

i agree on the module 100%! 8 out of ten times hei powered chevys die out like that because of module problems....ie; connections, bad module, poor wiring,ect, ect.. also wouldn't hurt to do the batt cables, and ground the motor to frame 2 different places, better ground= less problems!

[LockDoc]

-
I would guess Ign. module or coil. If you have another distributor you could put in it I would try that. Could also be resistor wire if it has one....

LockDoc

[ChevLoRay]

Your problem is quite a bit like one I had. I suspected fuel, but ruled that out pretty early. I thought it was maybe a bad module, but they're either good, or not. The heat sink compound (between the module and the breaker plate) was refreshed, so that wasn't an issue.

After it died in traffic going to WalMart on New Years Day of '03, I brought it back home. I decided to replace the distributor with an ACCEL HEI (about $120 from O'Reilly's). Problem solved.

The malady was a broken wire inside the distributor that would open up when I let off of the gas, causing the vacuum advance to move the breaker plate just enough to break the circuit. When the engine was off, the connection was restored and it restarted without any problem.

[chip46wis]

Agreed on the module---been there myself

[bull1kevin]

pull the module, hold it up to the light, and if it looks like a gm module then throw it as far away as you can and buy an MSD6AL!

[Shyguy]

I had the same problem with my '71 with a 350 and Hei.

I first thought is was a fuel problem, but after further checking I found that the dizzy cap and rotor were shot so I replaced them and since the coil looked to be real old I also replaced it. Here is what the rotor looked like and it had been running pretty good before it started acting up.

Danny