Cold weather idle/running issues.

[deve05]

So I live in Florida where it's rarely ever cold enough for a car to notice, but the last couple of days its gone below 32 degrees and my truck has been acting up. It has what feels to me like a misfire, not just at idle but also while it's driving down the road. I've had a dead cylinder in the past(35 psi) and this feels much more relevant than that ever did the vibration it generates and the sound is very noticeable. Sounds like if one cylinder or more was just pumping air. I've gone one by one on all my plugs and the stumbling gets worse on every plug. I'd like to say I was shocked by several plugs, not sure if it's supposed to shock me or not. I had both my heads professionally rebuilt not long ago. I checked my compression and I'm at 160-165 accross the board and my plugs look fine. My carburetor was also rebuilt but I do not stand by the rebuild since Im still having a low/high cam issues were sometimes I have to blip the throttle to get the engine to kickdown to low cam... So basically my question is, is there something stupid im missing? Can cold weather make a carburetor act up? What should I try next? My knowledge on carburetors is very little. All help greatly appreciated.

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[75gmck25]

Is it an electric choke? Maybe its not heating up properly and pulling the choke to the hot position.

Bruce

 

[Snoots]

X2 on the choke.
Grabbing a spark plug shouldn't shock you. Pulling it while the engine is running will. Sounds like you've got some bad wires.
Are you smelling a lot of fumes? Does the exhaust have blue smoke?
Kinda sounds like it's running rich and loading up (choke). Or, maybe they didn't re-seal the well plugs in the carb (if you have a Q-Jet). What carb do you have?

 

[deve05]

Is it an electric choke? Maybe its not heating up properly and pulling the choke to the hot position.

Bruce

It is an electric choke! Wich i know nothing about the operation of it.

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[deve05]

X2 on the choke.
Grabbing a spark plug shouldn't shock you. Pulling it while the engine is running will. Sounds like you've got some bad wires.
Are you smelling a lot of fumes? Does the exhaust have blue smoke?
Kinda sounds like it's running rich and loading up (choke). Or, maybe they didn't re-seal the well plugs in the carb (if you have a Q-Jet). What carb do you have?

I definitely grabbed it while the engine was running lol the plugs and wires are about 4 months old. And what I have is a Rochester Quadrajet 4 barrel. No smoke at all, except when i floor it and let off a brief spurt of black smoke, but its always done that.

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[deve05]

X2 on the choke.
Grabbing a spark plug shouldn't shock you. Pulling it while the engine is running will. Sounds like you've got some bad wires.
Are you smelling a lot of fumes? Does the exhaust have blue smoke?
Kinda sounds like it's running rich and loading up (choke). Or, maybe they didn't re-seal the well plugs in the carb (if you have a Q-Jet). What carb do you have?

Also since its been happening now that you mentioned it I've been smelling what i thought was gas, could be fumes. Idk how to tell em apart...

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[Honky Kong jr]

Also since its been happening now that you mentioned it I've been smelling what i thought was gas, could be fumes. Idk how to tell em apart...

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The choke probably isn’t working properly and it’s way to fat and that’s what your smelling.

 

[deve05]

The choke probably isn’t working properly and it’s way to fat and that’s what your smelling.

Could that also cause my rough run/misfire? How can i know for sure if the choke is working or not?

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[Honky Kong jr]

Could that also cause my rough run/misfire? How can i know for sure if the choke is working or not?

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Yes

 

[deve05]

The choke probably isn’t working properly and it’s way to fat and that’s what your smelling.

Im sorry for that previous question, i really havnt done research on that one. Just following the train of thought. Now could the cold weather make a difference in this? Or this is just pure coincidence? Cuz it was running great before the cold.

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[Honky Kong jr]

Im sorry for that previous question, i really havnt done research on that one. Just following the train of thought. Now could the cold weather make a difference in this? Or this is just pure coincidence? Cuz it was running great before the cold.

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It could also be ignition( distributor,plug wire) related too due to cold weather but yes the choke too.

 

[deve05]

Yes

Okay thanks! I appreciate it! I'm gonna mess with my carburetor tomorrow and let you guys know what happens! Thanks for all the great advice!

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[deve05]

It could also be ignition( distributor,plug wire) related too due to cold weather but yes the choke too.

How can the cold affect wires/plugs and distributor? My distributor rotor, cap, wires and spark plugs are less than 6 months old btw. All Carquest/AC delco branded.

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[Honky Kong jr]

How can the cold affect wires/plugs and distributor? My distributor rotor, cap, wires and spark plugs are less than 6 months old btw. All Carquest/AC delco branded.

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Temperature is a bitch on stuff man. Your just not used to it. Lol **** shrinks when it gets cold.

 

[deve05]

Temperature is a bitch on stuff man. Your just not used to it. Lol **** shrinks when it gets cold.

Now you've said it...lmao my previous cars have never done this in cold weather but it's been fuel induction. So you think maybe I should just let it be till the weather passes or do I have a problem I need to be looking into?

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