87 GN running like %$#@ HELP!

Jason A

Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2013
Rick L graiciously ( CANT THANK HIM ENOUGH FOR HIS TIME!) spent his holiday sunday trying to get my 87 running right.. Admittedly, the Neg battery cable was loose, and thought that may be the problem (my fault). buttoned that up...no dice. he replaced the fuel pump with a brand new walbro (hotwire kit). swapped out chips, swapped out the coil pack, still runs crappy.. BL reading keeps resetting to 0..Before boost the ALKY light starts to flicker.(set to 5).. hits boost, the green light goes on and fall FLAT on its face..check engine light on Malfunction code 42.. Rick addressed that, reset it.... so in the end since we ran out of daylight, he turned the alky off, turned the boost down, and drove home like a granny!.. OTW home, the scan master now is wigging out, cant even get a accurate coolant reading, nothing . thinking its something electrical.. please send some ideas!... Thank you.. Jason. heres the list..

RJC FMIC
New Alradco Radiator
New Dual Fans Alradco
60#
Razors Alky
Rjc Dist plate
New PRECISION 5831turbo
RJC boost controller
lt1 3" maf with translator
tinman intake
scan master
Bob Bailey's chip
 
If the Block Learn keeps resetting (I assume you mean 128 not 0) the computer is loosing power. Check for bad contact/corrosion on the orange feed wire from the battery or on the computer itself.
 
orange wire looks good.. Ill double check it though. I dont wash the car with water.. Rick asked me that.. I just use detail spray.. but no water.. I will check the area near the ecm as well.. I know Rick is very thorough.. just looking for replies which I may have overlooked... Thank you. Jason
 
check the grounds. See if something come loose with the spray job.
 
check the grounds. See if something come loose with the spray job.
I will recheck again.. Ricks good like that, we were just troubleshooting for a long while last night, Im sure we ll get things sorted out..its frustrating as all hell though.
 
Time to find a friend with spare parts. I'd start by swapping ECM.
John.. We did that.. we swapped out a known good one and no improvement... we swapped out the alky map sensor,, and again same result... Like I said , Rick is very thorough.. just this particular problem escapes us...gotta be an electrical issue.. just gotta track it down..
 
At a idle start wiggling connecters see if you can get a change in idle I had a broken wire at the connector of the ignition module that was setting code 42


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
At a idle start wiggling connecters see if you can get a change in idle I had a broken wire at the connector of the ignition module that was setting code 42


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sounds like a good place to start.. the idle when started went straight up past 3000.. it did settle down. I was coasting to a stop light and the engine just died.. it started right up, but continued to occur. I dont have a clue.
 
It sounds electrical to me sometimes a broken wire or bad connection is a good place to start (and doesn't cost anything) just today I was cruising down a busy street and the car went dead I was able to get out of traffic popped the hood looked at fuel pressure gauge setting on 0 checked my fuel pump relay and the wire broke off at the connector
 
To clarify, It was the positive battery cable that was loose. The cable was swiveling on the stud. (Stud too long) After fixing that problem it was acting like the positive battery cable was grounding out on the header or something. The car stumbles and the ce light comes on but no codes are set. It's a electrical issue somewhere.

I'll let you all know what the problem is when I get it nailed down.

Rick
 
To clarify, It was the positive battery cable that was loose. The cable was swiveling on the stud. (Stud too long) After fixing that problem it was acting like the positive battery cable was grounding out on the header or something. The car stumbles and the ce light comes on but no codes are set. It's a electrical issue somewhere.

I'll let you all know what the problem is when I get it nailed down.

Rick
Yes.. I stand corrected.. it was the positive cable which was loose..gonna order a new crank sensor.. Im sure rick will get the kink out..
 
Don't forget to check the fusible links down by the starter,that would cause the problem you are describing.
 
Rick L graiciously ( CANT THANK HIM ENOUGH FOR HIS TIME!) spent his holiday sunday trying to get my 87 running right.. Admittedly, the Neg battery cable was loose, and thought that may be the problem (my fault). buttoned that up...no dice. he replaced the fuel pump with a brand new walbro (hotwire kit). swapped out chips, swapped out the coil pack, still runs crappy.. BL reading keeps resetting to 0..Before boost the ALKY light starts to flicker.(set to 5).. hits boost, the green light goes on and fall FLAT on its face..check engine light on Malfunction code 42.. Rick addressed that, reset it.... so in the end since we ran out of daylight, he turned the alky off, turned the boost down, and drove home like a granny!.. OTW home, the scan master now is wigging out, cant even get a accurate coolant reading, nothing . thinking its something electrical.. please send some ideas!... Thank you.. Jason. heres the list..

UPDATE.. UPDATE...UPDATE..UPDATE!

So,, I want to update you all on my progress... First and foremost, let me Thank Rick Lutz!... After a trip Sunday to Ricks, he checked the obvious sources to what may be causing the problem in my car.. After a few hours, he suggested that I leave the car with him for the night... I agreed.. ( I didnt want to be breathing down his neck).. He calls me the NEXT morning and says its fixed!.. The problem, you ask?.. He found that the ground had come loose that was attached to a transmission bolt..WTF?.. not only that, he said 4 bolts were loose.. Rick buttoned up the ground, relocating it to the block, (where it can be easily reached next time something like this comes up) and tightened the bolts.... the result?...

My GN with all the upgrades, Runs like crazy!!.. just the way its supposed to!.. no stumble, all BOOST!... THANK YOU Rick for all your hard work and not giving up on me and my car.. ( sometimes I can be a pain).. Rick not only fixed my car issue(s).. did it with the professionalism that you wont find anywhere else.. Got a GN problem.??. First call.. Rick Lutz...hands down.
 
From the factory the system grounds are attached to the back of the passenger head. On Jasons car they were relocated to the trans bolts. Not a big deal as long as they are tight. The bolts were finger loose causing intermittent system ground that was reaping havoc with the computer. Scanmaster would go crazy. Random numbers flopping around. Alky would start spraying before boost and led would flicker. The ecm was also getting extremely hot and the car would not boost without falling on it's face.

Car runs very well now. Have fun Jason!

Rick
 
Top