Engine died

[tannerezell077]

i have a 94 k1500 and as i was driving home the truck shut off without warning. the lights and all that still work radio works just won't turn over. almost like the battery is dead but i'm getting lights and all that on so i know it's not. could anyone help me out?

 

[kennythewelder]

It could be a lot of things. Does the starter spin the engine over ? Does everything go dim or out when you try to spin the starter ?

 

[tannerezell077]

It could be a lot of things. Does the starter spin the engine over ? Does everything go dim or out when you try to spin the starter ?

it seems like it's slowly trying to turnover and when you try and crank it the lights go dim. i hooked it up to another truck and tried to jump it off but no luck there either. i would guess bad alternator since the truck died while driving but the lights come on so the battery shouldn't be drained

 

[kennythewelder]

It could be a bad alt. do you have access to a battery charger ? If so, you can charge the bat. and try to start the truck. A lot of the time, when a car or truck is running good, then dies out of the blue, it can be the fuel pump has gone out. Also you can swap in a good battery, and see if the truck will start. If it will, you can test the alt to see if it is working by removing the pos cable off of the battery with the truck engine running. If the truck keeps running, then the alt is good, but if it dies, the alt is not working. As for the fuel pump, you can run a pressure test to see if there is fuel pressure.

 

[tannerezell077]

It could be a bad alt. do you have access to a battery charger ? If so, you can charge the bat. and try to start the truck. A lot of the time, when a car or truck is running good, then dies out of the blue, it can be the fuel pump has gone out. Also you can swap in a good battery, and see if the truck will start. If it will, you can test the alt to see if it is working by removing the pos cable off of the battery with the truck engine running. If the truck keeps running, then the alt is good, but if it dies, the alt is not working. As for the fuel pump, you can run a pressure test to see if there is fuel pressure.

the fuel pump is less than a year old and i also got under to hear if it is working when i turn the it and it is. if it was a bad alt or battery would the headlights interior lights and radio still work fine? that's what's got me stumped

 

[kennythewelder]

If the FP is only 1 year old, you are probably ok, but just because you can hear it come on, doesn't mean it is good. FPs tend to get week with age, you can even has some pressure, but not enough to run the truck. As for the ALT, yes the lights and radio can still come on, but when you try to start the truck, there is not enough power in the battery to do so. The ALT is what runs the truck, the battery is just a place where the power is stored. You may very well have a bad battery cable. You are getting enough power to run the lights and radio, but not enough to start the truck, because of a bad cable. IMO the first thing to do is to swap in a good battery, or charge the one you have, then see if you can start the truck. If it starts, then like I said before, take off the pos battery cable, and see if the truck dies, or keeps running.

 

[kennythewelder]

I have also seen a bad coil do this, and I have seen engines jump time and do this.

 

[tannerezell077]

it seems like it's slowly trying to turnover and when you try and crank it the lights go dim. i hooked it up to another truck and tried to jump it off but no luck there either. i would guess bad alternator since the truck died while driving but the lights come on so the battery shouldn't be drained

If the FP is only 1 year old, you are probably ok, but just because you can hear it come on, doesn't mean it is good. FPs tend to get week with age, you can even has some pressure, but not enough to run the truck. As for the ALT, yes the lights and radio can still come on, but when you try to start the truck, there is not enough power in the battery to do so. The ALT is what runs the truck, the battery is just a place where the power is stored. You may very well have a bad battery cable. You are getting enough power to run the lights and radio, but not enough to start the truck, because of a bad cable. IMO the first thing to do is to swap in a good battery, or charge the one you have, then see if you can start the truck. If it starts, then like I said before, take off the pos battery cable, and see if the truck dies, or keeps running.

i will swap out the battery today and see if there is any luck i may have another spare alt laying around and might swap it. but could all of those things you mentioned cause the truck to shut off? like a bad battery i didn't think it could cause the truck to shut off unless the alt is bad too?

 

[sntrym]

I had an ignition coil die on me on the freeway. Truck sputtered, then just died. Coasted to a stop, called a friend, got another coil and popped it in, kept driving.

 

[tannerezell077]

I had an ignition coil die on me on the freeway. Truck sputtered, then just died. Coasted to a stop, called a friend, got another coil and popped it in, kept driving.

i'm just confused on why the truck is acting like the battery or something is dead. it's like it doesn't have enough power to turn it over or like it's not turning it over fast enough. could the coil, distributer cap, or rotor be the cause still?