1988 s-10 blazer with 4.3 tbi won't crank

i have a 1988 chevy s-10 blazer with 4.3 tbi. it won't crank at all. The battery appeares to be fine, getting all accessories. I have replaced map sensor, open coolant sensor due to service engine light coming on, that sokved that prob. distributor cap and rotor have been replaced in last few weeks: rotor was burnt despite having been replaced 3 mos. prior ( the reason I replaced again was because I had water in the fuel due to weather). The fuel filter was replaced a few weeks ago. It had this happen a few weeks ago and I had to have mechanic come out ( was on hwy) He cleaned the fuel pump relay switch and said without having it at the shop, he couldn't specifically tell me what was wrong but he felt that wasn't the only prob. Didn't happen again until yesterday. It had been chugging severly like it wants to die and I have to put it in over drive for enough power. It has also sounded very weak turning over for few months. I'm thinking it may be starter. electric module, fuel relay switch ( would that throw a code?), coil, igniiton switch, battery could be too low to get enough juice, or the distributor ( rotor was burnt after only 3 mos. which could also be due to oxygen sensor being bad; although i'm not getting code any longer.) I had the fuel pump in the gas tank checked at mechanics and they said it was okay. I would greatly aoppreciate any imput on this prob. and opinions to see if it sounds like i'm on the right track. Thank you. :banghead:

if its not crancking check for power to starter solinoid,
if good test starter. if your soliniod is good you should be able to hear it click when you go for a start. the soliniod engages the starter motor and it turns the flywheel. nothing else cranks the engine so see what is
causing the starter not to turn

if its not crancking check for power to starter solinoid,
if good test starter. if your soliniod is good you should be able to hear it click when you go for a start. the soliniod engages the starter motor and it turns the flywheel. nothing else cranks the engine so see what is
causing the starter not to turn

Thank you very much for answering my post. I went out this morning and it started right up. The rest of the day I've had no prob. but as I mentioned I had this happen a few weeks ago also. I'm thinking that the solinoid is getting ready to go out completly. that's going to be my first approach. It was not clicking as you said. I'm glad you mentioned that. I had not thought about whether it was clicking until then. Thanks and i'll let you know how it goes.
It's still having the sever chugging though which is a seperate issue, which I'm still trying to pin down and would appreciate any imput you may have on that.

The battery "appears" fine?

Three possibilities come to mind...
1. Bad connection between the battery and the starter.
2. Bad ground.
3. Starter is starting to go.

If it happens again try to find out if the starter makes any noise at all. Also, turn on your interior lights and turn the key when the problem comes up again (and it will). Does the light just dim a little or totaly go out? If it just dims that is normal, if it goes totaly or most the way out then you probably have a bad battery to starter or ground connection. The starter will be sucking everything it can through the connection but the high resistance will cause all other truck systems to loose power. Good luck and keep us posted.

Hi,

Sounds like your truck is giving you the fits.... You give a lot of info in your post, some of which is helpful.

Slow cranking of the starter... things to ponder:

Start (pardon the pun) with the obvious... is the battery in good condition electrically? One of the other posters gave a good way to driveway assess the condition. A more thorough method would be to take it to your local autoparts store and let them do a battery check...this will show how the battery handles a load, its charge state, any dead cells, etc. Many times this is a *free* service (the better to get you to buy their batteries). If the battery flunks, well then buy a new one and disregard the rest of this... but....just FYI.....

Electrical connections... it is amazing what a thin coating of corrosion on a battery terminal will do. The resistance created by the corrosion prevents proper charging and also prevents full current draw. Remove the battery cables, get some medium grit sand paper (or you can buy one of those nifty battery terminal brushes when you bring the battery in to have it tested). Lightly scrub the posts of the battery until they are shiny (this won't take much as they are made of lead). Now lightly scrub the insides of the ring connectors on the ends of the battery cables... again you want them nice and shiny. While you're at it, clean the battery...especially the top. Reinstall the battery cables... if you have some petroleum jelly (Vaseline), smear the a bit of it on the tops the the terminal connections.... your trying to keep some of the moisture out. If you have a side-terminal battery where the cables screw into the side or back of the battery you can do the same type of maintenance.... only instead of sandaper, use a small wire brush to clean the cable connectors and the "pads" on the battery.

Water,water,water.... as in distilled.... yes, we've all gotten lazy with the "maintenance free" battery but... some are only disguised as maintenance free. Unless your battery is *totally* sealed, there are probably caps you can pry open to access the cells to check water levels....you may need a screw driver to pop them off. The "water" in a lead-acid battery is a mix of distilled water and sulphuric acid (the "acid part of lead-acid)...BE Careful. Take a peek in each cell... usually there's a "ring", about 1/2 to 3/4 inches below the top opening, indicating the proper height of the water... any low cells need water added to bring them up to proper level. Use distilled water, not tap water...distilled water has no minerals in it... and a turkey baster to add water as needed.

A good charge.... if your battery has never gotten a good charge (becuase of the dirty connections to it) this might be all it needs to make it good as new. If you've taken it to get it checked and they find nothing wrong with it other than a low charge state, consider buying a small, 12v battery charger. Or better still, if you've got a neighbor with one, mooch it off him (or her). Prior to charging, do all the above first.

BTW, a low battery can effect how the engine runs, especially if there are any engine management computers, electronic spark controllers, etc.


Good luck...hope this helps a bit....

Mike

THANKS FOR REPLY. YES, I AM ASHAMED TO ADMIT THAT ALTHOUGH I'M VERY GOOD AT CHECKING THE LEVELS ON THE REST OF MY FLUIDS, i HAVE NEGLECTED BATTERY MAINTENANCE. YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THINKING THAT SINCE IT SAYS MAINTENANCE FREE, THINKING THAT IT WAS AS FAR AS WATER IN THE WELLS, iT IS NOT SEALED AND DOES IN FACT HAVE CAPS. iPLAN ON HAVING THE BATTERY CHECKED AS YOU WERE SAYING BUT i AM HESITANT TO THINK THAT THIS IS THE ONLY PROB. CONSIDERING THAT IT DIDN'T EVEN ATTEMPT TO CRANK AT ALL AND YET I HAD ALL MY ACCESSORIES, RADIO, LIGHTS, ECT. IF IT HAD BEEN AT LEAST TRYING TO TURN OVER I WOULD THINK IT WAS ONLY THE BATTERY. ALSO WHEN I WENT BACK TO WHERE IT WAS THE NEXT MORN. IT STARTED WITHOUT A PROB., DIDN'T EVEN SOUND WEAK. I DO AGREE THAT MY BATTERY DEFINATELY NEEDS ATTENTION AND I APPRECIATE AND WILL HEED YOUR ADVISE. THANKS.