wezmykat
Newbie
1994 k1500 gmc suburban 350 bought the truck a little over a year ago and it took me this long to figure it out (haven't been driving much partially because of this)
Don't matter the weather the truck seems to start "fine" it will turn over a few times then fire up, it does run rough on cold starts for a few minutes, i let the engine warm up and once at normal temperature, if i turn it off and immediately restart it will start immediately (not even 1/4 turn) and run great. I can drive 5 minutes or over an hour or let it idle the whole time it don't matter - once the truck is shut off, if I wait about 5+ minutes, it work crank, at all, as if the battery is dead. If you boost the truck from another running vehicle, then it will start just fine, battery is shot I'm thinking.
I took off the alternator and went to a guy that rebuilds them, he tested it and said it's putting out over 100 amps and is running great. I ripped out all the wiring from the battery/alternator/starter/frame, sanded down all the metal, put new wires and bolts, issue remains. I went through 3 batteries (under warranty) one was weak, another was defective but the 3rd was excellent (used one of those big fancy testing machines) and the issue remained. New fuel pump, fuel & air filter, fuel lines, cleaned injectors, changed spark plugs, ignition coil, ignition control module, rotor, checked wiring, everything seems fine, issue remains.
After all that I was starting to lose hope.
One day, I dont know how, i fell onto a 60's camaro forum where they said that heat sink on the starter from headers was causing issues just like mine, so i decided to give it a try, even though my truck is stock. Online solutions ranged from 75$+ for shields and wraps and whatnot.
Great timing, my neighbor threw out a broken oven and was kind enough to include a giant aluminium container, so I cut it all apart, used the oven insulation, heavy stuff, about an inch think, disconnected the battery, unbolted the starter, wrapped it in the insulation, then the aluminium plate, then used the copper power wire to strap it all together, then bolted the started back, all out in the street crawling under the truck.
Well, a few months have gone by and the issue is 100% resolved, the 350 will start every time no matter what. Now what i needed to fix the issue ended up costing me 0$ and I wish i knew what the issue was before I went through all that trouble replacing the other stuff but hey. I hope this can help someone else!
Don't matter the weather the truck seems to start "fine" it will turn over a few times then fire up, it does run rough on cold starts for a few minutes, i let the engine warm up and once at normal temperature, if i turn it off and immediately restart it will start immediately (not even 1/4 turn) and run great. I can drive 5 minutes or over an hour or let it idle the whole time it don't matter - once the truck is shut off, if I wait about 5+ minutes, it work crank, at all, as if the battery is dead. If you boost the truck from another running vehicle, then it will start just fine, battery is shot I'm thinking.
I took off the alternator and went to a guy that rebuilds them, he tested it and said it's putting out over 100 amps and is running great. I ripped out all the wiring from the battery/alternator/starter/frame, sanded down all the metal, put new wires and bolts, issue remains. I went through 3 batteries (under warranty) one was weak, another was defective but the 3rd was excellent (used one of those big fancy testing machines) and the issue remained. New fuel pump, fuel & air filter, fuel lines, cleaned injectors, changed spark plugs, ignition coil, ignition control module, rotor, checked wiring, everything seems fine, issue remains.
After all that I was starting to lose hope.
One day, I dont know how, i fell onto a 60's camaro forum where they said that heat sink on the starter from headers was causing issues just like mine, so i decided to give it a try, even though my truck is stock. Online solutions ranged from 75$+ for shields and wraps and whatnot.
Great timing, my neighbor threw out a broken oven and was kind enough to include a giant aluminium container, so I cut it all apart, used the oven insulation, heavy stuff, about an inch think, disconnected the battery, unbolted the starter, wrapped it in the insulation, then the aluminium plate, then used the copper power wire to strap it all together, then bolted the started back, all out in the street crawling under the truck.
Well, a few months have gone by and the issue is 100% resolved, the 350 will start every time no matter what. Now what i needed to fix the issue ended up costing me 0$ and I wish i knew what the issue was before I went through all that trouble replacing the other stuff but hey. I hope this can help someone else!