89 V2500 Dies while driving.

[Ditch Wicked]

Been a bit, I have been slowly taking care of a bunch of little things. Now I seem to have a recuring issue with the burb dying while driving. It is not just a stops running issue, it sometimes is a total loss of electrical power. Dead, no lights, no flashers, no check engine light. Sometimes it will crank over and run for a couple seconds then die again. After a couple times doing that, it will lose all electrical power. A couple times the electrical power came back by turning the steering wheel to the left. Also seems to be worse when below half a tank. I just had all the switches in the steering column replaced, along with the lock cylinder. Has a new cap and rotor, new plugs and wires, new injectors, rebuilt the TBI, and new fuel pump relay. Also have new battery cables. I am not sure where to go from here, could sure use some help from people more knowledgeable on this subject.

 

[Vbb199]

Well not to be captain obvious but make sure the battery cables are secured to the battery with NO wiggle whatsoever

From there, is the positive cable firmly bolted to the starter?

Is the ground from the battery bolted well to a clean surface?

 

[Ricko1966]

Check for 3 GOOD grounds 1 to body,1 to frame 1 to engine. Also check your new battery cables connections at both ends as well as all the wires connected to the starter. There are 2 fusible links that supply all power,so even if one was bad you should still have some functions. The common denominator to ALL the circuits in the truck are the Main battery hot lead and the battery ground. That's where I'd pay a lot of attention 1st. I'd also make sure the bulkhead connection at the firewall is clean and secure.

 

[Ditch Wicked]

So, I checked all the grounds, all the wiring I could see and touch, all the sensors I could see and touch, and the distributor cap and wires. I found that the body to block ground on the passenger side is loose and spins freely, and the no.4 plug wire spark plug boot is fried and corroded and was loose on the plug. I am ordering a new ground strap, and searching for a plug wire. I cant believe it would be this easy. And that three mechanics missed it. I dont want to jinx it, but...

 

[Ditch Wicked]

Oh and BTW it passed CA smog after replacing the O2 sensor. Barely. But I live in a exempt except for transfer of ownership zip code. So it wont need another one.

 

[Grit dog]

So, I checked all the grounds, all the wiring I could see and touch, all the sensors I could see and touch, and the distributor cap and wires. I found that the body to block ground on the passenger side is loose and spins freely, and the no.4 plug wire spark plug boot is fried and corroded and was loose on the plug. I am ordering a new ground strap, and searching for a plug wire. I cant believe it would be this easy. And that three mechanics missed it. I dont want to jinx it, but...

You can just slap a homemade ground on it to test your theory.

 

[Ditch Wicked]

Well, it isnt a ground issue. Any other recommendations of places to look?

 

[Ricko1966]

You can just slap a homemade ground on it to test your theory.

Well, it isnt a ground issue. Any other recommendations of places to look?

Everything in post 3

 

[Broken85]

Check the negative bus bar behind the dash. Should be on the Pilar side of the firewall. You might be able to see it from underneath, but I always got to them by removing the dashpad. There is A lot of ground wires attached to that bar and if there was a leak, or rust the bus bar could be shot and no longer grounded. If you find it, it’s an easy fix to add a new bus bar and ground it correctly.

 

[Ditch Wicked]

Check the negative bus bar behind the dash. Should be on the Pilar side of the firewall. You might be able to see it from underneath, but I always got to them by removing the dashpad. There is A lot of ground wires attached to that bar and if there was a leak, or rust the bus bar could be shot and no longer grounded. If you find it, it’s an easy fix to add a new bus bar and ground it correctly.

Issue may be solved. It was likely the wire that goes from the starter solenoid to the fire wall buss bar in the engine compartment. The wire was brittle and broke between the post and the fusible link. Replaced the wire and fusible link. It runs pretty good now, and seems to accelerate smoother now. Now, to tackle the surging at idle when it warms up. Thank you all for the help and tips, I wouldnt have found the issue without y'all.