1994 K2500 No start after driving and up to temp.

Hey all, long time lurker and been searching for days for someone with a problem like mine but can't find anything.

The Truck = 1994 K2500 4x4 with a TBI 350 152k miles

Anyhow I bought this truck from a old man about a year ago and it is very clean inside and out bone stock for the most part and runs like a top, everything electrical works, has Ice cold AC and has been great to own, till a week or 2 ago..

Took the familly for a cruise and it was business as usual when the truck was started if fired up instantly like always and we were on our way.. We drove about 25 miles and shut it off to check out a trail down to the creek and was down there about a half hour, when we returned to the truck tried to start it and it just cranks over but will not fire..

Tried this for a bit and no luck, was able to call a friend and he towed us home (luckilly had service)

Next morning fires right up like nothing ever happened and runs good as usual so I shut it down and restart it and all is good, atleast I thought..

Next Evening I run to Home Depot about 3 miles away and I'm in there only half hour or so came out and she wouldn't start again... Had to leave it there and I walked Home.. I returned twice overnight to start it and no luck waited till noon the next day and it fired right up and brought it home..

I changed the Plugs, ICM, and Coil

Problem still exists..

This condition is Constant and repeats itself..

First start of the day fires right up and it runs great, if you get up to running temp and shut her down and wait a half hour it will not even try to fire for the rest of the day.

But next day it will start again..

Anybody have a issue like this before? I was Hoping the ICM would have been the answer..

Also sorry for the long post, I'm just stressed out and gotta get this truck running right asap, If any of you guys got any advice I'd be very Thankful!

Update : right now it's in it's "no start mode"

I went and picked up a inline spark tester and getting no spark from plugs or coil..

I also see no action from the injectors..

Fuel pump primes when I turn the key but runs for like 20 seconds instead of 2 secs like I normally see folks post..

I would check the fuel pressure and the fuel pressure regulator in the throttle body. The diaphragm inside it can rupture and the spring can break.
Had a similar issue with my Dad's old 88' 1/2 ton, 350 tbi. It would run fine and out of the blue it would die. Sometimes it would restart quickly, sometimes not. After ALOT of messing with the aggravating thing , it turned out to be a bad pickup coil in the distributor.

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Start with basics, cap and rotor first.
Did you replace those ?
What method did you use to determine no spark?
Did you use an actual HEI spark tester or did you use the old school stick a screwdriver in and hold it near an exhaust bolt?
Not a legit way to test an HEI and might lead you down the wrong path.
Get an HEI spark tester, 20 bucks and a cheap and easy way to figure out where to look
Take a good hard look at your coil too, if you see like a grey looking pattern around the frame of it, its probably a leaker
they are known for it.

thinger2 said:

Start with basics, cap and rotor first.
Did you replace those ?
What method did you use to determine no spark?
Did you use an actual HEI spark tester or did you use the old school stick a screwdriver in and hold it near an exhaust bolt?
Not a legit way to test an HEI and might lead you down the wrong path.
Get an HEI spark tester, 20 bucks and a cheap and easy way to figure out where to look
Take a good hard look at your coil too, if you see like a grey looking pattern around the frame of it, its probably a leaker
they are known for it.

Click to expand...

1) No Did not replace cap and rotor both apeared in good shape and were clean.
2) I gave it a shot of starting fluid and nothing.. Purchased a inlline spark tester and got no spark from plugs or coil.
3) As mentioned above changed the plugs, ICM, and coil already same results with zero change in pattern.

Thanks for your reply.

mtl111 said:

I would check the fuel pressure and the fuel pressure regulator in the throttle body. The diaphragm inside it can rupture and the spring can break.
Had a similar issue with my Dad's old 88' 1/2 ton, 350 tbi. It would run fine and out of the blue it would die. Sometimes it would restart quickly, sometimes not. After ALOT of messing with the aggravating thing , it turned out to be a bad pickup coil in the distributor.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

It has never died on me and will be 100% perfect till I shut her down and then no start if it sits for 30 minutes or so... If I start it up imediatley after shutting it down it will start up still.

Is it common for a pick up coil to fail with heat and function when cooled down? If I have to tear the distributor out I'd like just purchase a whole new drop in unit but there is nothing local to me but spectra and i hear nothing but bad things..

Rockauto has a reman delco but it is over 200.00 no cap and rotor plus not sure I want to order anything from them anymore Since I've had bad luck with them numerous times..

I wasn't suggesting that you immediately go out and change the pickup coil or entire distributor, i was just giving my experiences with it. When we had that problem sometimes it would start back up immediately, other times you might be sitting there for 15 min or so before it started again...it was random. When yours doesn't start, there is NO spark at all correct? With it having to sit a little while and then the issue comes up, it sounds like an ignition part is getting heat soaked. I would think coil and or ICM but you said you changed those and still have the issue. I am assuming the ICM came with a packet of heat sink compound and you did use it? Were the coil and ICM quality parts? If so, I'm kinda stumped at the moment. I would definitely check the fuel pressure though, the way you described it earlier doesn't sound right.

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mtl111 yes I changed the coil and the ICM both were made in the USA parts (standard motor parts) I also used the supplied paste that came with the ICM..

Zero change in symptoms..

It will only show this problem after driving and then shutting down the rig for a few and trying to restart it..

It does seem like a heat soak issue..

From my research it seems the only parts that will cause a no spark no fuel is either ICM or Pick up coil but thought I'd check for ideas before throwing more money at it with no results..

i've owned the rig a little over a year put about 6k miles on it with out any issues, It has been very solid and dependable till this started 2 weeks ago..

Take a can of the dust off stuff used on computers, turn it upside down and spray the pickup coil until it cools off. Slap the cap back on and try to fire it up.

I'm thinking pick up coil